Rice: Immigration Debate Chance to Show GOP Has ‘Broad Appeal’

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday said that immigration reform would be a pivotal issue for Republicans, who needed to prove their party had “broad appeal.”

“I think immigration is really the big issue, frankly. We sent some pretty bad signals around immigration,” said Rice, as she made her debut as a CBS News contributor on “Face the Nation.”

In a panel discussion, Rice said the Republican Party needed to shift its messaging on immigration and said voters would be watching the upcoming debate on comprehensive immigration reform in Congress.

“The Republican Party certainly has to stop turning off large segments of the population. I’ve said it’s not a strategy to keeping hoping that parts of the population don’t turn out. You’ve got to simply broaden,” Rice said. “The Republican Party has to demonstrate that it has broad appeal.”

Rice also praised Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for leading the call for immigration reform among Republicans in the Senate.

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