Posted on 04/26/2015 8:11:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Presidential hopefuls Marco Rubio and Scott Walker exchanged fire over foreign policy in Iowa on Saturday, hours before the two are scheduled to appear together at a Faith and Freedom Coalition summit outside of Des Moines.
Speaking to The Des Moines Register editorial board on Saturday morning, Rubio said his seat on the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees lends him a distinct advantage on “the most crucial obligation the president faces, as commander in chief.”
“Governors can certainly read about foreign policy, and take meetings and briefings with experts,” the Florida Republican said, “but there’s no way they’ll be ready on Day One to manage U.S. foreign policy.”
At an afternoon reception put on by Iowa Republican congressman David Young, the Wisconsin governor and prospective presidential candidate struck back.
“Sometimes people say, ‘How can a governor talk about foreign policy?” Walker told the crowd at the Machine Head restaurant in West Des Moines. “In my lifetime, the best president when it comes to foreign policy was a governor from California. In my lifetime, the worst president for foreign policy was a freshman senator from Illinois.”
When asked to respond specifically to Rubio’s remarks, Walker made the contrast between himself and the freshman Florida senator even more explicit.
“He’s questioning how Ronald Reagan was ready,” he told reporters. “I believe that Barack Obama shows that as a first-term senator, he isn’t prepared to lead — at least not in the case of Barack Obama.”
“Governors innately have the ability to lead,” Walker continued. “Every day we’re required to use our status to make decisions — not just give speeches, not just to travel to foreign places — but to ultimately make decisions.”
After a shaky start on foreign policy — he compared union protesters to Islamic State terrorists and called Reagan’s firing of air traffic controllers his “most significant foreign policy decision — the governor is reportedly studying up and focusing heavily on the issue.
That was on display this Saturday, when the governor gave an impassioned push for what he called “safety.”
“Some of you may call it national security,” he said. “National security is something you read about on page 6 or 7 in the newspaper. Safety is something you feel.”
Regardless of what you call it, Senator Rubio’s national security bona fides are tough to question. He’s made a muscular foreign policy the centerpiece of his federal career — opposing sequestration cuts to the defense budget, urging a tougher line against the Islamic State and Iran, and savaging the Obama administration over its detente with Cuba.
Still, most who attended Walker’s speech were impressed by his security strategy — and some expressed skepticism over Rubio’s dig against the governor.
“I think that’s a very unfair thing to say, that a governor could not handle foreign policy,” said Doyle Hutzell of Aredale, Iowa. “I know what I learned from Scott today. I think he could easily step in and do a better job than Obama is now.”
A man who has studied history and puts America first and foremost, is the ONLY preparation desired or required.
For Rubio TO SUGGEST TAKING BRIBES FROM LOBBYISTS is somehow superior preparation shows how far we have fallen.
What advantage?
All he's doing is keeping a seat warm, and voting for or against legislation for the Executive Branch.
Walker has met with foreign heads of state. He has promoted Wisconsin jobs and trade policies overseas.
Rubio is such a preening, elitist POS
They don't need to be attacking each other this early in the race.
/johnny
Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809 Virginia
James Monroe 1817-1825 Virginia
Martin Van Buren 1837-1841 New York
John Tyler 1841-1845 Virginia
James K. Polk 1845-1849 Tennessee
Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 Tennessee
Rutherford B. Hayes 1877-1881 Ohio
Grover Cleveland 1885-1889 New York
Grover Cleveland 1893-1897 New York
William McKinley 1897-1901 Ohio
Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 New York
Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921 New Jersey
Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929 Massachusetts
Franklin Roosevelt 1933-1945 New York
Jimmy Carter 1977-1981 Georgia
Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 California
Bill Clinton 1993-2001 Arkansas
George W. Bush 2001-2009
"Safety is something you feel."
Is this a primary/election and vetting for POTUS or a friggin' groups therapy session? What an idiot.
Okay, fine. That's what he said in English. What did he say in Spanish?
I’m not completely against Rubio but he’s dead wrong on this.
Specifically the one where these two goldfish are standing on their tails on the table outside their bowl while inside the bowl their castle is going up in flames.
One of the goldfish says to the other, "Whew! That was close." Then after a moment's reflection continues, "'Course, now we're equally screwed."
It was under Reagan that the USSR and its satellites collapsed. I don’t say that he did it himself (and I don’t say that he didn’t), but the fact that he was President when it happened is not irrelevant. He was a governor before winning the White House.
Rubio’s “national security bona fides”=”Gang Of 8” and amnesty.
Gang Of 8, Gang Of 8, Gang Of 8. If he considers that some kind of achievement, spare me his “bona fides”.
So we know that Walker will be for trade promotion authority. I thought we were against that fast track thing.
Rubio: “I can see Cuba from my porch.”
Walker: “I can see Canada from my porch.”
Marco Rubio is pond scum who supports open borders and being in the pockets of the Chamber of Commerce.
He is to Jeb Bush what Lindsey Graham is to John McCain.
We ought to keep reasonably open minds this go round. Rubio is not the ogre you are making him out to be. I think we all want the very best candidate we can nominate. Few of us want Jeb Bush because of the combination of disqualifying qualities and issues. He is yet another Bush. He brings the family baggage. He stubbornly supports Common Core. He praises Obama. He is up to his eyeballs in Chamber of Commerce $$$ and Wall Street $$$. For many, his immigration policy alone would disqualify him. All true but he is not Romney. I would reluctantly vote for Jeb but did not vote for Romney. In 2016, we need realism.
I would love to see Ted Cruz in the White House as would many here. I need proof that he can be nominated. Cruz has a compelling story which he told in his announcement at Liberty University. He has a far more distinguished resume than most Americans realize. He is fully qualified. No one terrifies the left more than Ted Cruz.
Rand Paul has so far done a reasonably good job of distinguishing himself from his Fruit Loops daddy. I would not mention him if he had not. That said, Rand Paul brings a number of issues and qualities to this race that command respect and attention. He has brought libertarianism into the public square without its obsession with drugs, weird sex, and prostitution. He paints his policies as necessary to the future of Americans who have fallen by the wayside. His ideas on urban education, outreach to blacks and Hispanics and even college radicals are impressive. More than any other senator he has championed individual liberties against Leviathan government. A Rand Paul presidency would be an interesting ride indeed. Not my candidate but an exciting force nonetheless at this point.
Dr. Carson has a role to play in public life but is far too inexperienced in politics to credibly run for POTUS. He can run and tell his very compelling story. He should then bow out early.
Rick Perry has long and successful executive experience but I just don't see America falling in passionate love with Perry.
Chris Christie? Not in my lifetime. Not in God's lifetime. He should be encouraged to run to dilute Jeb's support. Ditto Donald Trump.
Carly Fiorina serves a purpose in mercilessly zinging Hillary. She said the other day that she is more representative of American women than is Hillary in that Carly does her own laundry and her own shopping and her own driving and what not. Her actual POTUS credentials are thin and she should get her fifteen minutes of fame and plan an early exit.
Marco Rubio is a far more talented young man than many here give him credit for. He is charming, charismatic, and has a great back story. He can easily campaign to the Hispanic vote in Spanish, the language of his upbringing. He has engaged in big issues in his freshman term. Many here see him only as a member of the Gang of Eight trying to bring many more Hispanics across the border. I accept that he has learned his lesson. Better that he should not have made the mistake in the first place but it is what it is. His oratory as to making this century another American century and as to his generation taking up the task of making it happen is the most driving dream being expressed by any 2016 candidate. He is giving up the Senate seat. I believe he will be Walker's running mate.
The ideal race for the GOP POTUS nomination would feature a civilized but spirited contest on the issues exposing to the public all of the many good policy ideas and their differences from the policies of the Hildebeast. When the die is cast and the nomination has been secured by one of these candidates, the rest would ideally be committed to campaigning their backsides off to secure a victory for the nominated ticket. Then some would go into the cabinet and others become administration allies in other offices. We need this or the Republic is gone.
God bless you and yours.
I like the Far Side cartoon where there’s a suggestion box in Hell and the devils are laughing about it.
The interests of the US come first and foremost, and anyone who disagrees with that needs to GTFO!
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