Could supporting immigration reform renew the GOP?

>>> recently a senior advisor for mitt romney , during his campaign joins me now. kevin, has -- is there a risk for the republican party if they don't get this message because of the population changes and because of what we saw in the last election, frankly?

>> well, yeah. i think the risk politically is much larger. i think there's also great risk to our economy, but that's separate. i think on the politics of this there is great risk. you look at 1992 when bill clinton was elected president. he won with a margin billion 700,000 among hispanic voters, and that was when it was 2% of the vote. in 2012 barack obama won. when president obama won re-election, 10% of the vote, and he won with over five million. somewhere in there republicans have to go and find over 4.5 million votes outside of the hispanic population just to keep up with democratic gains among that demographic. it's changing a lot of attitudes. understanding that there is -- that there are great challenges here. there are very, very deep opinions on both sides. making the case for what a moderate easternized immigration system looks like and how republican policies, how conservative principles can contribute to that.

>> not to rehash too much, but just looking back, do the republican debates where everyone including mitt romney seemed to be running to the right and when rick perry and -- the access modified access in texas, he was vilified among his republican colleagues. was that a mistake? was that the moment from mitt romney to distinguish himself from his other debaters and take a stance that would have helped him in the general election ?

>> i believe it was. one of the reasons why is because the -- when you have a campaign that's driven by tactics and i think that was a move that was -- that was a position that was driven by a tactical move to the right of somebody who had established a lead inside the primary. when you are driven by tactics, what happens is that you end up losing a lot of -- you're only thinking with your head, and this is an issue that many people look at with their heart. how we are ae welcoming party and we're a party that understands the value of immigration to the larger economy. the allure was very -- in the short-term gain was too great i think during the campaign during those debates, and -- to offer up what is essentially a more modernized immigration system and what a republican version of that looks like.

>> jeb bush can play a major role. can he not?

>> i suspect he will. he is an intlex wal force. i think he is an example of where both the head and the heart meet on this issue. i think there will be a lot of different discussions inside the party on that. you remember that rick perry got in trouble for saying that if you disagree with me you have no heart, and i think that's something that will be interesting to watch. if you look at the 2008 campaign, anybody who disagreed with john mccain he essentially vilify and went out and attacked. i think in this debate right now, the opportunities come when when -- they look to persuade those other legislator wrshz they look to change their minds. we also recognize that the -- that some of the resistance that they had to some of the details of the policy are legitimate, but that with those legitimate concerns there are also solutions, and i think that is something that when we look at all the horse trading that's going to take place on how we get a bill, that's going to be interesting to watch.

>> we've seen ray la hood is leaving the cabinet, and the president wants at least one republican we know of chuck hagel to be in the cabinet. the confirmation hearing will be friday. this is senator cornyn discussing why he opposes chuck hagel .

>> i cannot support a nominee for defense secretary who thinks we should be tougher on israel and more lenient all around. we need a defense secretary who understands and fully appreciates the danger of a nuclear iran and the importance of the strong u.s.-israel alliance.

>> do you think chuck hagel doesn't understand the danger of a nuclear iran?

>> well, i think it's much more complicated than that. i think there are legitimate reasons, and i think folks like senator cornyn have good reason to have questions about senator hagel 's viewpoint when it comes to looking at the -- at the american foreign policy .

>> does the president deserve to have the --

>> i firmly believe when you get to choose the cabinet that you want and there, of course, is the advice and consent of the senate, and that's an important part of the process . i think that's why these hearings are going to be quite illuminating. i think you will see some changes from senator hagel based on some of the past statements that he has made. he has had some policy prescriptions that haven't worked out right, and i think many of these senators are going to explore those, and as part of trying to find the right foreign policy platform for the country, that's all going to be part of that debate.

>> kevin madden, it's great to see you again. thank you very much.