A little common deception amongst friends

Oft-mentioned potential VP nominee Marco Rubio is, by Republican standards, a moderate on immigration. Perhaps in large part because of a portion of his family's history he may not wish to dwell on. It seems that his maternal grandfather came to the United States illegally during the Batista Regime. Three years later when Castro came to power he saw an opportunity and went back to Cuba to try to take advantage.

Three years later, and now disaffected, the same grandfather hopped on to an airplane for the United States without a visa.  Once here, he was adjudicated to be in the United States illegally.  However, he remained in the United States and gained legal residency in 1967 -- by lying about when he came to the country, saying it was 1965. In other words, an illegal aliens -- in Antonin Scalia's words "a virtual bank robber."

These facts are at variance with what Rubio long has claimed as his background -- though he himself, obviously, is an American citizen (I won't even demand the long-form certificate), he embellished his family's history -- even more than usual -- and made it a political tool for his ascension.

But the most telling aspect of this is how Marco Rubio's story would play out were his family not historically from Cuba, but Mexico. You know, like Mitt Romney's family.

Oh never mind, they are both Republicans. They weren't born in an exotic, non-American place like Hawaii.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]