Free Republic

The Bush-Rubio game of survival: It's been bubbling behind the scenes for weeks, and yesterday the fight between Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio broke out into the open. It's getting very prickly between the two Floridians, and here's the big reason why: Both have reason to be disappointed in their fundraising this past quarter, and they both need a boost fast. Bush's $13.4 million haul didn't impress a lot of observers, but he can claim that his total beat out Rubio's $5.7 million Team Rubio was quick to boast that their $11 million cash on hand number is more than...

Joe Scarborough swung a double-edged sword on today's Morning Joe, swiping simultaneously at his MSNBC colleague Chris Matthews and at radio host and debate panelist Hugh Hewitt. The subject was Marco Rubio, with Hewitt calling him "the most dynamic speaker the Republican party has seen ever, since Lincoln." "Since Lincoln," asked Scarborough incredulously—"do you have a tingle going up your leg?" Scarborough said that rather than recalling Lincoln, "when I see Marco speaking, I'm seeing a guy that's running for student government." View the video here.

RINO Hugh Hewitt put the big question to Marco Rubio that conservatives are voraciously debating at the moment – does he support efforts to repeal the Fourteenth Amendment as it’s been understood for decades? RINO Rubio follows many other GOP candidates’ response which is that if we simply enforce the laws as they stand now, we don’t need to change birthright citizenship. But repealing it by repeal or statute is a terribly popular idea among the conservative base, and his numbers are slipping, so it may be an existential question for him. And he answered in the negative.

Mystifying. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said Wednesday he would oppose a constitutional amendment allowing states to ban same-sex marriage after the Supreme legalized it nationwide, even though he disagrees with the landmark 5-4 decision.“I don’t support a constitutional amendment. I don’t believe the federal government should be in the marriage regulation business,” the Florida senator told reporters after a speech the Cedar Rapids Country Club in Iowa.“We can continue to disagree with it. Perhaps a future court will change that decision, in much the same way as it’s changed other decisions in the past. But my opinion is unchanged,...

Presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio told FOX News Sunday host Chris Wallace he still believe in comprehensive immigration reform, but the votes just aren't there. Rubio this is due to the 2014 border crisis and "unilateral actions the president took in his executive orders." Rubio acknowledged former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) "partially lost" the Republican primary in 2014 because of his support for comprehensive immigration reform. "The problem is the votes aren't there in the House," Rubio said Sunday. "And as you know, for example, the Majority Leader of the House partially lost his election on the perception...

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, issued the following statement regarding today’s announcement of the invitation for Mexico to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations: “Especially over the past decade, many Latin American nations have emerged as examples of the prosperity, security and opportunities that take root when free enterprise is embraced. By strengthening trade relationships with our partners in the Americas, we have helped strengthen democracies and created new consumers for U.S. products and services. “Mexico’s inclusion in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations is a welcome step that...

Senator and presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)argued US anti-terrorism policy should emulate Liam Neeson’s character in “Taken” during a speech in South Carolina on Saturday. Rubio called for a Middle Eastern policy of “working with out allies to confront Iran’s ambitions to dominate the region, and by standing firmly with the only pro-American, free enterprise democracy in the Middle East, the great state of Israel.” He added, “When people ask ‘what should our strategy be on global jihadists and terrorists?’ I refer them to the movie ‘Taken.’ Have you seen the movie ‘Taken,’ Liam Neeson? He has a line,...

The rapid growth of the GOP presidential field is causing major headaches for party bosses ahead of a primary debate season that begins this summer. The dilemma for Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman, is stark: If the declared field grows to 18 or 20 candidates, as now looks plausible, how can those numbers be winnowed in a way that seems fair and reasonable rather than arbitrary and undemocratic? “You’ve got to prevent it from becoming a ‘WWE SmackDown’ event on national television,” said GOP strategist Ford O’Connell. “You don’t want to bump everybody off the stage, but you...

Rubio follows fellow Republican nomination aspirants Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, both of whom signed the pledge last week. His move could put fellow Floridian mentor-turned-rival Jeb Bush in a difficult position in the brewing 2016 presidential contest.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has signed a pledge opposing all tax increases as he jockeys for the White House, the third presidential candidate to make the oath to the popular conservative group Americans for Tax Reform. “Senator Rubio is a longtime leader in the taxpayer movement. He signed and kept the Pledge as a Florida state House representative and as a United States Senator. By signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to the American people, Senator Rubio continues to protect American taxpayers against higher taxes,” Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said in a statement. “Senator Rubio understands that...

It’s been fascinating to watch the media “discover” Marco Rubio as the GOP’s new front-runner. He is suddenly leading the field in a Fox News poll with a less-than-overwhelming 13 percent, just a tick ahead of Scott Walker (12), Rand Paul (10), Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee (9), and Ted Cruz (8). Not bad for a freshman senator, until you realize that the poll’s margin of error is 5 percent. Meaning that, in theory, Cruz could be first and Rubio could be sixth. One of the most popular Rubio story lines involves the evolution and possible strain on the Jeb-and-Marco...

Full title:  Rubio raking in big bucks from rich pro-amnesty Republicans by touting his “immigration record” behind closed doors “Marco gives the same speech with donors that he does in public,” one Rubio advisor assured BuzzFeed. I’m sure he’s right. After all, when has Marco Rubio ever said different things to different audiences about his stance on immigration? I do think it’s safe to say that Rubio’s choosing his words carefully on this subject, even among friends in private settings. All it would take to blow him up for good on the right is a hidden smartphone recorder catching him crowing about amnesty,...

Marco Rubio leads the GOP field in a new national poll and runs best against Hillary Clinton, a big shot for his campaign that's just over a week into effect. Rubio takes 15 percent of the GOP primary vote, according to the Quinnipiac poll, with Jeb Bush earning 13 percent and Scott Walker 11 percent. No other candidate tops 9 percent and 14 percent remain undecided. Clinton naturally blows away any Democratic competition and other Republicans, except 43-year-old Rubio. In a general election matchup, Clinton gets 45 percent of American voters to 43 percent for Rubio. That's better than other...

Sen. Marco Rubio has emerged as the strongest candidate in the GOP presidential field, topping the rest of his announced and potential rivals for the nomination and running best against top Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll Thursday.