Posted on 01/17/2016 3:38:58 PM PST by conservativejoy
If you ask most Republicans what they like about Marco Rubio, you usually hear some combination of admiration for his sunny outlook, charisma, and boyish good looks.
In the Fox Business GOP presidential debate last night, he showed off a new look: a down and dirty political smear artist.
In what Ted Cruz described as "dropping your oppo research folder on the debate stage," Rubio went on an extraordinarily misleading tirade of complaints about Cruz, hitting him for allegedly changing positions on immigration, ethanol subsidies, Edward Snowden, defense spending, and other issues.
Rubio's eagerness to go this route may surprise those who have always believed he's the nice guy in the race.
"That is not consistent conservatism," Rubio lectured. "That is political calculation."
And so Rubio joins the likes of Mike Huckabee in this consultant-hatched line of attack against Cruz.
Perhaps Rubio is still smarting from the brutal piece written by George Will, "Marco Rubio's Record of Bad Judgment," and lashing out, but this attack on Cruz was another example of bad judgment.
Rubio didn't learn his lesson when he previously accused Cruz of flip-flopping on immigration; he doubled down on it.
As I've noted in the past, Rubio is grossly mischaracterizing a series of amendments Cruz offered to expose the flaws of Rubio's own Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration bill to make it appear as though Cruz "flip flopped."
Rubio knows the truth, but he isn't telling it.
Who is he trying to impress by doing this? Illegal immigration is, arguably, the single-most important issue in the GOP primary. This issue is the sole reason for the rise of Donald J. Trump. Lying about Cruz's position isn't going to endear him to Cruz voters. It's meant to impress the establishment class, a lane Rubio would be foolish to box himself into.
Cruz's ethanol flip flop? Another lie invented by the ethanol lobby and Huckabee allies that earned them a few hours of anti-Cruz media before reporters saw how misleading they were being. Washington Examiner Columnist Tim Carney corrected his own column accusing Cruz of flip-flopping in a matter of hours. Rubio, however, isn't correcting anything on his end.
Did Cruz change his position regarding Edward Snowden? Only if you deliberately cherry-pick an interview he gave to The Blaze in 2013.
Rubio says Cruz said Snowden performed a "public service."
That sound byte had some "ifs" before it, though. Go to the transcript:
I don't know if what Mr. Snowden has said is true or false,' Cruz said during an event hosted by TheBlaze in Washington. 'We need to determine that. We need to determine what his motives were, whether he was telling the truth.' He continued, 'If it is the case that the federal government is seizing millions of personal records about law-abiding citizens, and if it is the case that there are minimal restrictions on accessing or reviewing those records, then I think Mr. Snowden has done a considerable public service by bringing it to light.
The list of lies perpetuated by the Rubio campaign goes on and shows no signs of stopping, either.
Are these kinds of dirty tactics expected in a presidential campaign? Of course. Were they expected from Rubio? Not so much.
Rubio's eagerness to go this route may surprise those who have always believed he's the nice guy in the race.
I don’t get the appeal of Marco Rubio. I’ve heard him and I’m not that impressed.
I wouldn't want to know him in real life.
Ruuubeeeoooh..............
...........brings ‘em in from Mehhickooooooo!!!
Rubio cannot build so he must destroy. I find it odd that a man who wants be known as a conservative goes after the conservative in second place instead of liberal in the lead.
I don’t either except he is young and speaks Spanish which is all I ever hear from his supporters. For some reason, what his is doing is working better then most others since he is in third place. But being in third place does not get you a win so this is risky. We have a long way to go until Trump is President of the United States.
Its sad to see how many here eagerly gobble up the crap spewed by Cruz’s critics.
Anyone that writes “comprehensive immigration” with Chuck Schumer will never be trusted by me!
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