The Conservative Case for Marco Rubio

[Valin]

Legal Insurrection:

Reviewing his solid conservative record and the two biggest criticisms

Sarah Rumpf

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

 

(Snip)

Misrepresentations about the bill

 

Without getting too far into the weeds regarding a bill that is dead, I’ll just add a reminder that some of these critics were egregiously dishonest about what the bill actually did. It’s easy to throw around the word “amnesty,” but there was never a version of the bill that granted citizenship without background checks, fines, waiting periods, and other security provisions, and any action that would have allowed those here illegally to obtain any form of legal status was contingent on first increasing border security funding. Rubio does not support amnesty.

 

Other critics were just flat-out dishonest about certain provisions of the bill, most notably regarding the “Marcophones.” There are vast areas of farm and ranch land near the Texas border that are very remote, and cell phone reception ranges from unreliable to nonexistent. The ongoing violence from Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers is a security risk for those farmers and ranchers. One of the provision of the Gang of Eight bill authorized funding for satellite phones in areas where cell phone reception was not reliable or not available.

 

There’s a valid debate to be had about whether the government should pay for satellite phones for these border farmers and ranchers. What’s not valid are the claims that this provision allowed the government to buy cell phones for illegal immigrants. The exact language of the bill said it was to allow grants for “satellite telephone communications systems and service,” for those who lived or worked along the border and were “at greater risk of border violence due to the lack of cellular service at his or her residence or business and his or her proximity to the Southern border.” Anyone telling you Rubio wrote a bill to buy iPhones for illegal immigrants is either ignorant or lying to you.

 

Over the past few years, there have been a number of people who have claimed that Rubio has said he supports amnesty in Spanish language interviews. I debunked this in a detailed article I wrote for Breitbart last year that I strongly encourage you to read, and I would offer the friendly reminder that Spanish is not some obscure language only spoken by a handful of villages in a remote corner of the Alps. Spanish is the second most popular language on Earth, and the most popular second language learned in the United States.

 

If Rubio were actually saying something different in Spanish, you would see quotes and video, and it would be easy to verify. I’ve been following this issue from the beginning and I’ve yet to see any of Rubio’s critics actually provide direct evidence of him saying something different in Spanish. Certainly none of them have done a line-by-line analysis like I did with the Univision transcript. Instead, what you will see is the critics just telling you that Rubio supports amnesty and adding on their own context without any original sources that prove their points.

 

The people spoke, and Rubio listened

(Snip)

[Oceander]

I would prefer Rubio, quite honestly. He's not the be-all end-all, but he does have good ideas, is somewhat of a pragmatist, and should appeal to independents and moderates who are center or slightly right/left of center.

[righteousmomma]

We have always liked Rubio too. He is still one of our now only 2 top favorites. When he was in Raleigh a couple weeks ago we went to see him. He is very articulate, informed and quite likeable.

I think if it were any other time he would probably be our favorite but these are not normal times and somehow he does not come across to me as tough enough to face what the next president is going to be overwhelmed by - imo.

[Valin]

We have always liked Rubio too. He is still one of our now only 2 top favorites. When he was in Raleigh a couple weeks ago we went to see him. He is very articulate, informed and quite likeable.

I think if it were any other time he would probably be our favorite but these are not normal times and somehow he does not come across to me as tough enough to face what the next president is going to be overwhelmed by - imo.

 

 

Christie?

[Oceander]

 

We have always liked Rubio too. He is still one of our now only 2 top favorites. When he was in Raleigh a couple weeks ago we went to see him. He is very articulate, informed and quite likeable.

I think if it were any other time he would probably be our favorite but these are not normal times and somehow he does not come across to me as tough enough to face what the next president is going to be overwhelmed by - imo.

 

 

Christie?

 

In my personal view, Christie is too liberal in certain ways. He talks a good game, and he can be combative when he wants to - i.e., a more controlled version of Trump - but he hails from an extremely liberal state - NJ - and his right-of-center status is largely relative to the rest of that state. Christie is not quite as liberal as, say, Bloomberg, but he most likely fits the mold of the so-called "Rockefeller Republicans".

[Valin]

@Oceander

 

I like The Big Guy. I'm glad he's in the race. I think he'd be a good President. But Its not gonna happen.

[righteousmomma]

I agree with both of you. I like Christie ok as a person but think he is too liberal in certain ways. Sometimes he surprises me - both in good ways and in bad ways- He would probably be ok as a president but it ain't gonna happen.

[Valin]

I agree with both of you. I like Christie ok as a person but think he is too liberal in certain ways. Sometimes he surprises me - both in good ways and in bad ways- He would probably be ok as a president but it ain't gonna happen.

 

A problem I have is the way some people define "Liberal"....ie. anything less than 100% adherence to the way I define "Conservative" = Liberal. Is he as far to the Right as I? No, but that doesn't make him a Liberal, it makes him to the Left of me.

 

This election cycle I've done something really...well weird. Instead of (or in addition to) reading what someone else says a candidate said, I've actually gone and watched the raw videos of what the candidates said. (prepare yourself for a shock ) there is very often a difference.

[Draggingtree]

2/21/2016

Marco Rubio Has Said Different Things About Amnesty in Spanish and English — Part Two

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 3:28 pm

I almost didn’t write this post, because Ace covers it so well here. But when I saw Rubio’s recent interview with Jake Tapper — once againfalsely accusing Ted Cruz of lying when Cruz is telling the gospel truth — I became so outraged that I felt compelled to do my own post, which mostly amplifies the points Ace has already made . . . but is worth doing because it shows how deceptive Rubio is when he talks to Tapper.

 

Here is the Tapper video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUqpFLZdno