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Marco Rubio Tag

Liberals have so convinced themselves that George W. Bush is to blame for 9/11 that any suggestion Bill Clinton shares responsibility for the attack is inconceivable to them. Donald Trump recently pointed out that 9/11 happened on George W. Bush's watch which turned into a narrative of Trump blaming Bush for 9/11. Marco Rubio appeared on Newsmax TV this week and pointed out that Bush inherited a difficult situation from Bill Clinton. BuzzFeed reported:
Rubio: Trump Lacks Basic “Understanding” Of 9/11, Clinton Not Bush Deserves Blame Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says his opponent Donald Trump is wrong to suggest President George W. Bush bears responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, arguing that the majority of the failures that led to the deadly attacks should be attributed to President Bill Clinton’s administration instead.

Marco Rubio's presidential campaign is a lean machine. You'd be hard pressed to a Rubio staffer living the high life in lavash accommodations, courtesy of campaign donations. How does Sen. Rubio's campaign spend its money?

"Please Put Your Tray Tables in the Upright and Locked Position"

They stand in number-ordered line at the Southwest gate just like the rest of us.

Ahead of and with the release of the quarterly campaign fundraising totals, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are jostling for the top spot among establishment candidates.  Rubio has jumped to the fourth spot (below Trump, Carson, and Cruz), and Jeb, once considered an "unstoppable juggernaut," has slipped into single digits and is slashing campaign staff salaries. Brett LoGiurato reports:
A long-simmering feud between two Florida Republican presidential heavyweights has erupted out into the open over the past day, prompted in part by the release of federal campaign-finance disclosures. The campaigns of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) publicly traded barbs Thursday over the reports, each trying to outdo the other over which campaign was thriftier and in better position going forward.
Both are from Florida and both are counting on the same donors and the same support, so the competition is fierce as Florida voters' shift from Jeb to Rubio.  This gets even more dicey because Rubio was Jeb's protégé, and apparently, Trump isn't the only one who sees him as "disloyal" in attempting to further his own presidential ambitions in a race that many thought Jeb would win handily.

Wednesday morning, Senator Rubio joined Fox and Friends to discuss Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate. Bold, fresh ideas? Not so much. The debate was more like an 80's flashback, according to Rubio. "The biggest threat to her [Hillary Clinton‘s] candidacy is her outdated ideas. If you watched that debate last night it looked like something from the early ’80s. It was basically a liberal vs. liberal debate about who was going to give away the most free stuff,” said Rubio.

During an interview with Special Report's Brett Baier Tuesday night, Republican presidential contender Donald Trump said eminent domain is a "wonderful thing."
"I think eminent domain is wonderful if you're building a highway and you need to build, as an example, a highway, and you're going to be blocked by a hold-out or, in some cases, it's a hold-out. Just so you understand, nobody knows this better than I do, because I built a lot of buildings in Manhattan and you'll have 12 sites and you'll get 11 and you'll have the one hold-out and you end up building around them and everything else, OK. So I know it better than anybody."

Two weeks ago at the second Republican presidential primary debate, Senator Marco Rubio predicted what happened in Syria yesterday with alarming accuracy. Here's a refresher from David Rutz of the Washington Free Beacon:
Everything Marco Rubio Said About Russia and Syria at the GOP Debate Is Coming True Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) was prophetic at CNN’s GOP presidential debate Sept. 16, predicting that Russia would continue to exploit a vacuum in the Middle East and “prop up” Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to demonstrate to the Middle East it was the most important power broker there. The Obama administration was admittedly caught by surprise this week when Russia announced an intelligence-sharing agreement with Iran, Syria and Iraq to battle the Islamic State, another example of Vladimir Putin expanding his influence in the region after he deployed warplanes and tanks to help Assad earlier this month. Over the weekend, Russia announced it would step up its military support to prevent the collapse of Assad, which Putin believes would be destabilizing. This, Rubio said at the time, is Putin’s vision for repositioning Russia “as a geopolitical force.”

Based on the media chatter, Marco Rubio is being set up as the alternative to Jeb in taking on The Donald. Jeb wasn't up to the job of taking on The Donald. Jeb's counterpunches reminded me of George Castanza on Seinfeld. His comebacks to Trump just never seem to work: The Donald has moved beyond Jeb, and now is attacking Marco:

There are two big stories in a Florida Atlantic University poll of Republican voters to be released tomorrow. The Orlando Sun-Sentinel reports, Poll: Marco Rubio pulls ahead of Jeb Bush in Florida; Hillary Clinton in trouble:
Marco Rubio has overtaken Jeb Bush among Florida Republicans, as he benefits from positive reviews of his performance in the most recent presidential debate. A Florida Atlantic University poll to be released Wednesday shows Rubio, the state's junior senator, is in second place in the Republican primary field in Florida. His political mentor, former Gov. Jeb Bush, is in third place. Donald Trump, the real estate investor, former reality TV show host and part-time Palm Beach resident, is in first place among Florida Republicans, as he is nationally.... On the Republican side, Trump had 31.5 percent of the Republican primary vote. Rubio was second with 19.2 percent and Bush was third with 11.3 percent.
Ben Carson came in at 10.3% and Carly Fiorina at 8.3%

Marco Rubio did a pretty good job in the Republican debate last week. He didn't hurt himself in any way and when he had a chance to speak, he sounded strong and got applause. Since then, two liberals have expressed fear of Rubio as a candidate and it seems real, not the type of fear liberals express for a weak candidate they secretly want to get the nomination. First up is MSNBC's Chris Matthews who claims that Rubio "terrifies" him. Here's what he says in the video below:
I'm sorry, I see this race going to Marco Rubio and it terrifies me. He's the biggest hawk running, he's a beautiful speaker, a very attractive young candidate who really knows how to spellbind. He's the young new breath, he's an Obama!
Watch:

Last week's CNN debate stirred the pot in what has been a roller coaster of an early primary season. A post-debate CNN poll showed Carly Fiorina surging into second place behind Donald Trump (a 12% jump since early September,) followed closely by Ben Carson. Right now, it's an outsider's race---but how long can it last? The tendency to wax and wane has been a hallmark of the GOP's "outsider" candidates. Their bumps and slides have had less to do with their budding policy plans, and more to do with how they've handled themselves under the extreme pressure of the national spotlight. Trump (for all his faults and foibles,) Fiorina, and Carson have all found their niche in the conversation, and if that was all it takes to become president, we could vote tomorrow and eliminate the primary state middlemen. Alas. As time wears on, primary voters (who are on the whole completely different animals compared to general election voters) will increasingly demand more and more substance from these candidates, and some pundits cite this as the reason the "outsiders" will become supplanted by more politically experienced candidates.

Even in the big, bad world of politics football gets some love. Or at least it does from Senator Rubio. The good Senator from Florida took some time away from the political inquisition to toss around a football and answer America's most pressing questions. Super Bowl pick? And what about his Super Bowl pick percentage? What made him more nervous, his first presidential debate or first college football game? What Senator would make the best NFL player? Far from an armchair quarter back, Rubio played on a football scholarship to Tarkio College. He also routinely flew back to Florida to coach his son's youth team.

Marco Rubio is not a fan of the Iran deal and had plenty of criticism for Democrats and his own party in a recent interview on FOX News. Al Weaver of the Washington Examiner reported:
Rubio pans Dems for 'walking the plank' on Iran deal Sen. Marco Rubio lit into Democrats supporting the Iran nuclear deal Friday after 42 of them blocked a resolution that rejected the deal on Thursday. During an interview with Fox News' Martha MacCallum, the 2016 hopeful called out Democrats for "walking the plank" by supporting the deal after seeing how Sen. Charles Schumer was treated by the administration after he came out against the agreement in August. Rubio also argued that Democrats who backed the agreement have "become captive to a radical element in their party." "They know it's a bad deal. The Democrats know it's a bad deal," Rubio said. "That's why they all couched their terms in the sense of 'I don't think it's perfect, I don't think it's ideal.'"

Early in the 2016 cycle, the Republican establishment pushed Marco Rubio aside in Florida and put its money and support behind Jeb Bush. That decision has created a scenario which could rob both candidates of the state's highly coveted delegates. Jim Newell of Slate reported:
Has the Republican Establishment Created a Monster? Last fall, when Jeb Bush was still mulling a bid for the presidency, Bloomberg Politics reported on what was considered then—and is still considered now—Bush’s greatest advantage as a presidential candidate: His ability to separate wealthy donors from vast sums of money quickly. “Unlike his competitors,” the thinking went, “Bush could lure donors off the fence in a hurry, without undergoing a hazing trial to test skill and stability.” That is precisely what happened. Instants after announcing over the winter that he was “seriously considering the possibility of running for president,” Bush and his team set up the Right to Rise PAC and super PAC to serve as cash receptacles for eager GOP establishment donors. The money rolled in, and by July the super PAC announced that it had met its goal of raising more than $100 million in the first six months of the year.

This week top presidential contenders from both parties journeyed to Puerto Rico to talk economics, health care, and the future of the commonwealth's place in American politics. Puerto Ricans won't vote in the presidential election, but their 23 delegates could mean the difference between life and campaign death in a field as crowded as the GOP's is, and the Democratic Party's is likely to become; and both Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio appeared determined to stake their claim. Their events were only miles apart, but represented stark differences in the way the two candidates are courting voters. Marco Rubio played to a packed neighborhood bar, and made his speech (mostly in Spanish) while unabashedly wiping the sweat from his face. He made a point to jab at Clinton, referencing the scandal surrounding her private server, and predicting that her vision for Puerto Rico would be limited to the same policies that have contributed to the country's current fiscal crisis. From the AP:
Rubio said the island faces multiple challenges, but remained firm that allowing its municipalities and agencies to declare bankruptcy is not the answer. "I don't believe Chapter 9 would solve Puerto Rico's problems," he said, adding that the island has spent more money than it had available. "Ultimately, if there is no other option left, Chapter 9 is a viable option at that point."

Marco Rubio made a campaign stop in New Hampshire today and dismissed Donald Trump's current front-runner status, saying that Trump will not be the Republican nominee for 2016. Sahil Kapur of Bloomberg reported:
Rubio Dismisses Trump in N.H.: He Won't Be 'Our Nominee' "Ultimately the Republican Party will reach out to all voters based on who our nominee is. And I don't believe Donald Trump will be our nominee," the Florida senator said after speaking to a small crowd outside a car service center in this town of Orford. "I think our nominee is going to be someone that embraces the future, that understands the opportunities before us, that's optimistic but realistic about the challenges before us." He acknowledged that "people are angry" and "they have a right to be," but insisted that "we should allow that anger to motivate us, but we shouldn't allow that anger to define us. We're not an angry nation. We are an optimistic nation who has every reason to be optimistic about the future."...

The Americans for Prosperity annual Defending the American Dream summit was held this weekend in Ohio, and hosted five of the 2016 Republican presidential candidates:  Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, and Bobby Jindal.  The clear favorite of those in attendance was Ted Cruz. Thomas Beaumont reports:
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was the hands-down favorite of the Americans for Prosperity annual summit in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend, if the number and volume of ovations during the speeches of five presidential candidates who addressed the annual convention of tea party activists was the measure. . . . .  Cruz, the tea party favorite since his 2010 election, sparked deafening cheers in the Columbus Convention Center auditorium even before he took the stage, entering to the 1980s power anthem "Eye of the Tiger." During his speech Saturday, he went on to promise to "repeal every word of Obamacare," and" rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal." Each of Cruz's lines was met with applause and cheers from the more than 3,000 activists.

We all know that Hillary Clinton is the first female frontrunner candidate of a major party. That is, she's long been the frontrunner, and remains the frontrunner, although who knows how long that will continue. I believe that the only thing that can stop Clinton is an indictment, or the entry of Elizabeth Warren into the race. That's how shallow the Democratic bench is and how much the public (especially Democrats) seems to thirst for another "first," as they did with Obama. The first woman president is the next logical step for them, and Hillary seems (or seemed until recently) to fit the bill. That's one of the reasons Carly Fiorina is an especially good foil for her. I don't doubt, however, that if Carly were to rise in the polls and become a strong possibility for first female president, the attacks on her as "not a real woman" would become the drumbeat of the opposition.

The U.S. reopened its embassy in Cuba yesterday, which also happened to be Fidel Castro's 89th birthday. Castro used the occasion to insist that the United States owes Cuba millions of dollars over the trade embargo. Yahoo News reported:
Fidel Castro to US: You owe us millions Fidel Castro marked his 89th birthday Thursday by insisting the United States owes Cuba "many millions of dollars" because of the half-century-old American trade embargo. Castro spoke out in an essay published in local media a day before US Secretary of State John Kerry makes a historic visit to Cuba to reopen the US embassy as part of the countries' restoration of diplomatic relations. The trade embargo that the United States slapped on communist Cuba in 1962, three years after Castro seized power by ousting a US-backed regime, remains in effect despite the thaw. President Barack Obama wants Congress to lift it, although US officials say this will take time and is not an automatic part of the restoration of ties, as it requires congressional action. Many Republicans, who control both chambers of the legislature, oppose the idea, insisting Cuba has to improve its human rights record and make other democratic reforms.