Marco Rubio | Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion - Part 5
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Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 26, 2016 37 Comments
I noted last night that Marco Rubio had done to Donald Trump what Trump successfully did to Jeb Bush:
.... Marco Rubio was the first person in any of the debates to successfully take on Trump on a range of issues. Rubio mocked and belittled Trump in the humorous, mocking and highly effective manner that Trump used to make Jeb look small.
Mockery can be a very effective tactic against bullies, because it takes their strength and turns it into their weakness. Rubio is on the stump today continuing the mockery, suggesting that Trump was panicking and may even have been worried he wet his pants, via Politico:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 25, 2016 101 Comments
The biggest take away from the CNN Republican Debate is that contrary to prior promises, Donald Trump says he will not release his income tax returns because he is being audited. There is no law, that I'm aware of, prohibiting such release. It sounded like a massive dodge, since IRS audits can go on for years. Trump even said his last 4-5 years of returns are being audited. Trump was his usual, petty self, gratuitously insulting Hugh Hewitt for supposedly having low ratings, even when Hewitt hadn't asked hostile question at the time, but reminded Trump of the prior promise to release the returns. I guess Trump supporters will see such conduct as "tough" and being a "fighter," but it was childish. Perhaps more important, Marco Rubio was the first person in any of the debates to successfully take on Trump on a range of issues.  Rubio mocked and belittled Trump in the humorous, mocking and highly effective manner that Trump used to make Jeb look small.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 21, 2016 81 Comments
About a month ago, when Donald Trump was claiming that Ted Cruz probably was not eligible to be president, Trump was questioned by Jake Tapper about whether Marco Rubio was eligible. Trump exhibited some legal understanding of the issue, citing an op-ed written by Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe. Trump's conclusion was that he had no doubts Rubio was eligible:
"It's a different [than Ted Cruz], very different thing because he was born here. He was born on the land."
As the attacks on Cruz's eligibility rose in intensity and Trump threatened suit, I predicted that Trump would have a hard time holding that line if Rubio rose in the polls and became Trump's main challenger:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 20, 2016 18 Comments
It's something of a sideshow, but nonetheless interesting. Breitbart.com has been all over Marco Rubio for months over the Gang of 8 and immigration in general. I don't think Rubio has responded directly before, or if he did, it was the usual type of campaign responses to media. But last night, on the eve of the South Carolina primary, Breitbart ran a headline story about ICE officers calling out Rubio for dishonesty and betrayal. It got a Drudge Banner link (image via Jim Hoft):

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 17, 2016 25 Comments
In this edition of Today in Political Attack Ads, no one is handling the mudslinging too well.

Cruz campaign asks stations to stop airing anti-Cruz attack ad

Oh, boo hoo. Politics is a blood sport. Time for everyone to put their big boy pants on and stop whining about attack ads. Politico reports:
Ted Cruz's campaign sent a letter to TV stations across South Carolina and Georgia on Tuesday, demanding that they stop airing what it calls "a false attack ad" from the conservative super PAC American Future Fund that goes after the Texas senator on national security. "The ad falsely claims 'Cruz proposed mass legalization of illegal immigrants.' Ted Cruz has never introduced, outlined, or supported any policy that would give legal status to illegal immigrants," wrote Eric Brown, general counsel to the campaign, in the letter shared with the media. "Indeed, quite the opposite, Ted Cruz led the fight in Congress against legislation written by Senator Rubio, among others, that created legal permanent status for millions of people in the country unlawfully. At least two fact-checks have evaluated this claim and determined it to be false, and others found no evidence to support it.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 11, 2016 12 Comments
We're pleased to present what will be a reoccurring election feature here at Legal Insurrection -- Today in Political Attack Ads. As long as the mud is flying, you'll find it here. Political attack ads are as old and colorful as America. To our cultural credit, negative ads are far less personal these days. "John Adams is a hideous hermaphroditicly character with neither the force or firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman," claimed Thomas Jefferson (one of my personal favorites). "Do you want to see your dwelling in flames?! Female chastity violated?! Children writhing on a pike!! Well that's what will happen if you vote for Thomas Jefferson!" warned John Adams. Back in 2010, Reason put together a video chronicling some of the best campaign rhetoric from the election of 1800.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 08, 2016 9 Comments
During Saturday night's NH GOP debate, Marco Rubio was asked how he planned to tackle social issues with millennial voters, in particular issues of life and marriage. Rubio discussed abortion as a two-fold issue -- one dealing with women's rights and the other with the right to life. "I've chosen to err on the side of life," he said. Hillary Clinton's stance on abortion was pulled into his answer as Rubio called her views "extreme."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 07, 2016 41 Comments
It's pretty clear what the most talked-about segment of the GOP New Hampshire debate was. When Chris Christie treated Marco Rubio like an accused murderer on the witness stand, alternatively badgering and mocking the witness's alibi for where he was the night of the crime. The witness, though, would not be shaken from his story. It's his story, and he's sticking to it.
Needless to say, Chris Christie is trying to portray this as a game changer in the trial known as the Republican primaries:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 05, 2016 95 Comments
Did you hear the latest? Yesterday in Trumpernoia: Fox News is out to get Donald Trump, after giving him so much airtime people previously had accused Fox News of being in the tank for Trump. Now, the fix it in for Marco Rubio. It's an Open Borders billionaire conspiracy. Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes' strings are being pulled by a Saudi Prince who was photographed with Megyn Kelly. The daughter of Fox News Executive VIP Bill Sammon works for Rubio. But it goes even deeper, really deep. Someone who used to work for Dana Perino now is Rubio's press secretary. It's just rumor for now, but Jasper may be in on the conspiracy, but he's not talking. And don't trust the vote count, it's being done by a Rubio donor. Today in Trumpernoia: Frank Luntz did consulting for Marco Rubio almost a decade ago to help shape Rubio's political image. But Luntz doesn't disclose that decade-old consulting when he talks about Rubio, so all the Luntz panels on Fox News are biased against Trump and favoring Rubio. The spark for this bias claim was this Luntz focus group after the last GOP debate, and Rubio's recent rise in the polls:

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 05, 2016 45 Comments
Marco Rubio may have received the third-most votes in Iowa this week, but he won big. The Iowa caucus was Monday.  Even as votes were being counted, news emerged confirming long-standing rumor that South Carolina Senator Tim Scott would endorse Rubio. Scott is the first African-American Senator from South Carolina since Reconstruction and his endorsement could swing the state.  According to the Washington Times:

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 03, 2016 22 Comments
Frank Luntz appeared on the Kelly File last night and offered a scathing rebuke of Right to Rise, the Super Pac supporting the candidacy of Jeb Bush which typically attacks Marco Rubio. Luntz said that when all is said and done they will have spent $100 million dollars and that it was wasted. He even said if he was a donor to the organization, he would demand his money back with interest, calling their ads "crap."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 02, 2016 66 Comments
The death of the Tea Party movement has been widely reported, by people who reported that death before the 2010 surge election in which the movement played a critical role, and every few months thereafter for several years. It is true that the Tea Party monied-groups have mostly disappeared. To me, that's a good thing because some of them merely fed off the movement. I've always distinguished between the movement and the groups. I'm proud that Legal Insurrection was part of the movement from the start, and equally glad that we steered clear of the groups. But the movement itself has not died. This chart from Gallup through last fall tracks Tea Party support trends. Both support and opposition have fallen. A majority have no opinion or are neutral. http://www.gallup.com/poll/147635/tea-party-movement.aspx

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 02, 2016 13 Comments
He's appeared at campaign events with Sen. Rubio in South Carolina, but today Sen. Tim Scott made his endorsement official. Rumors of the endorsement began last night amid the Iowa excitement. This morning, Sen. Rubio's presidential campaign released the following video:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 29, 2016 134 Comments
There is lots of buzz that Marco Rubio is inching up in Iowa. There also seems to be a loose consensus that Rubio had the better of the debate last night. So Ted Cruz is turning his attention to Rubio with a negative ad campaign that previously was focused on Trump. The NY Times reports:
Senator Ted Cruz, scrambling to put down a growing threat in Iowa from Senator Marco Rubio, is shifting nearly all of his negative advertising from Donald J. Trump to Mr. Rubio for the final three days of the caucuses. Mr. Cruz intends to direct his firepower at his Senate colleague after days of seeing Mr. Rubio inch up both in public polling and his own private surveys, according to two advisers to Mr. Cruz who spoke on the condition of anonymity. After leading in the polls in Iowa for much of the last month, Mr. Cruz has slipped into second behind Mr. Trump in most public surveys.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 26, 2016 14 Comments
The same minds that brought you Ted Cruz's machine gun bacon, Lindsey Graham experimenting with the best ways to destroy a cell phone after Donald Trump gave his phone number to a raucous crowd, and Ann Romney's tips for on being a freakin' awesome grandma, bring you "How To Get Revenge with a Football" by Marco Rubio. Cameos include Sen. Cory Gardner, CNN Commentator S.E. Cupp, Rep. Trey Gowdy, Dr. Ben Carson, WMAL's Larry O'Connor, and more.