Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, both Republicans, have a new op-ed at CNN calling on the United States to punish Russia economically and to aid Ukraine militarily if Russia does not back down:
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LONDON
U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio prepares to answer questions after delivering his keynote speech entitled ‘American Leadership and the future of the Transatlantic Alliance’ at Chatham House in London December 3, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Toby Melville
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will keep its strong relationship with the United States even if it votes to leave the European Union in a planned referendum, a leading Republican senator tipped as a possible 2016 presidential contender said on Tuesday.
In a speech on Anglo-American ties in London, Marco Rubio, a first-term U.S. senator from Florida, said the United States must respect the wishes of the British electorate in any vote on its membership of the 28-nation bloc.
The comments from a politician seen as an early favorite for the Republican presidential nomination offer some support for Prime Minister David Cameron, accused by critics of risking Britain’s global standing with his pledge to hold an EU vote.
“Our alliance, our partnership and our affection for your nation will continue regardless of the road you choose,” Rubio said in a speech at the Chatham House think-tank.
The remarks contrast with an unusually strong warning from a senior member of Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration in January that Britain must avoid “turning inwards” over Europe.
Obama told Cameron in the same month that he wanted a “strong UK in a strong EU”, according to a summary of a phone call between the two released by the White House.
Cameron’s promise to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership before an in/out referendum by 2017 was welcomed by Eurosceptics in his ruling Conservative Party, who are trailing in the polls and face a threat at the 2015 election from the small UK Independence Party, which wants to leave the bloc.
But the pledge left him open to claims he had endangered Britain’s long-term interests for short-term political gains.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, leader of the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who share power with the Conservatives, has said the United States would not take Britain seriously if it were “isolated and irrelevant” in Europe.
Clegg said in October the “special relationship” with the United States – a notion successive British leaders have promoted since World War Two – was based partly on Britain “being valuable to our American friends”.
In a speech about the future of that relationship, Rubio said Washington needed a strong EU to help stabilize the continent and act as a global partner.
But the Cuban-American – who rose to prominence with the backing of the conservative Tea Party movement before positioning himself as an internationalist – said it was up to Britain to decide if it wanted to remain in the bloc.
“As for Britain’s role in Europe, that should be a matter for the British people to decide and for your American partners to respect whatever decision you make,” Rubio said.
(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
The drama continues in the custody battle between Paulina Rubio and her ex-husband. According to TMZ, Nicolas Vallejo-Najera has asked a judge to order Paulina to get a psych evaluation. According to Nicolas, the singer was previously ordered by the judge to get a psych evaluation, but failed to do so. Nicolas is claiming that Pau needs her head checked, because she’s crazy. Nic also claims that he dropped their son off at Paulina’s on August 3rd, and has not seen him since. This isn’t the first time the duo has made accusations against each other. Since their divorce after five years of marriage in 2012, each has accused the other of bad parenting. Earlier this year, Paulina even hired a P.I. to track Nic’s every move.
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By Scott Wong (swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)
A CRITICAL WEEK AHEAD: WHITE HOUSE BLITZES CAPITOL HILL, TV ON SYRIA – President Obama’s last best hope for Congress to authorize a military strike on Syria could lie with his own party, write POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown and Jonathan Allen: “With remarkably little to show for a week of intensive lobbying, the last bit of leverage that Democrats expect the White House to use is this: Barack Obama’s presidency depends on it. This isn’t what Americans will hear when Obama addresses the nation Tuesday night. Publicly, the argument is all about the evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons and the ramifications if the United States doesn’t retaliate. Senior White House officials are loath to make it a referendum on Obama, saying they remain confident that he can win by sticking to the merits of the case. ‘Politics is somebody else’s concern,’ White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said on “Fox News Sunday.” … ‘The president is interested in making sure that our national security is protected. That’s the question, first and foremost, for us.’
– “Proof and peril of the chemical weapons attack haven’t convinced Congress — at least not yet — and the politics point to defeat. So Obama’s last best hope is to convince conflicted Democrats, even if it’s just implicit in private conversations, that they can’t be the ones who cripple his presidency and his ability to deliver the party’s priorities, according to Democrats on Capitol Hill and close to the White House. But the grim reality for Obama is that his reservoir of personal capital on Capitol Hill is running dry. House Democrats are also well aware that former colleagues who lost their seats after taking tough votes for Obama — the stimulus and Obamacare among them — haven’t been taken care of by the White House. For every former Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.), who landed an assistant secretary job at the Homeland Security Department after losing reelection in 2010, there are dozens of Democrats whose loyalty was unrequited.” http://politi.co/1e7YpBQ
– @jonathanweisman: House leadership will meet with WH COS McDonough on Monday at 1:45 to plot a way to 218.
WHERE THEY STAND – A number of news outlets have compiled whip counts on where lawmakers line up on the question of striking Syria. Here’s the latest from the NYT’s interactive feature, including statements from each member: Senate: 25 support, 18 against, 57 undecided. House: 39 support, 154 against, 213 undecided, 27 unknown. http://nyti.ms/15Ce8G2
ASSAD TELLS CHARLIE ROSE: ‘EXPECT’ RETALIATION – CBS News reports: “President Bashar Assad warned Sunday that if President Obama decides to launch military strikes on Syria, the U.S. and its allies should ‘expect every action’ in retaliation. ‘You should expect everything. Not necessarily from the government,’ Assad told ‘CBS This Morning’ co-host Charlie Rose in his first television interview since Mr. Obama sought congressional approval for military action. In a clear reference to his allies in Iran and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah, Assad warned that his government is ‘not the only player in this region.’ ‘You have different parties, you have different factions, you have different ideology. You have everything in this region now,’ said Assad, who has been accused by the White House of killing 1,400 of his own people in an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack on the Damascus suburbs.
– “Asked by Rose whether any retaliation for U.S. strikes could include the use of chemical weapons, Assad — whose government has never confirmed officially that it even has chemical weapons — said it would depend ‘if the rebels or the terrorists in this region or any other group have it. It could happen, I don’t know. I am not fortune teller.’ Rose said Sunday on the ‘CBS Evening News’ that the Syrian dictator was ‘remarkably calm’ during the interview as he addressed the claims that he had gassed his own people.” http://cbsn.ws/17kczJJ
OBAMA MAKES PITCH TO SENATORS – POLITICO’s John Bresnahan reports: “President Barack Obama will travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to help sell his plan for U.S. military strikes on Syria, just hours before a scheduled national address from the Oval Office. Obama will meet with Senate Democrats as he tries to overcome skepticism — or outright opposition — from members of his own party as the Senate prepares to hold critical votes on the Syria use-of-force resolution. Right now, there are serious concerns among top Senate Democrats about whether they can pass the Syria resolution approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is likely to win a cloture vote on Wednesday, but it is unclear if the Senate will approve the resolution on a final vote after that, Senate insiders says. [The first Syria vote comes on the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.]
– “Vice President Joe Biden met with a number of Senate Republicans on Sunday night as part of the White House’s “all-hands” effort to pass the resolution. Obama unexpectedly joined the dinner, according to White House media pool reports. GOP Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.), John McCain (Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Dan Coats (Ind.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Susan Collins (Maine), and Deb Fischer (Neb.) were all in attendance.
– National Security Adviser Susan Rice will meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday at the White House. Rice will be joined by Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey will brief all 433 House members on Monday afternoon. Obama will also be sitting down for six TV interviews on Monday as part of the White House public-relations blitz.” http://politi.co/1cYkOxs
OBAMA GOES PRIME TIME – Our own Josh Gerstein has more on Obama’s address, set for 9 p.m. Tuesday: “During his nearly five years in office, Obama has gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid high-stakes, nighttime White House speeches. His advisers have repeatedly denigrated the value of Oval Office addresses, accusing promoters of such talks as being out of touch with modern media realities. Now the president is preparing to deliver precisely such a high-profile address Tuesday night, giving in to pressure from lawmakers demanding a no-holds-barred White House effort to sell the public on the wisdom of a military response to Syria’s alleged chemical weapons use. And so a president who surged into the White House in no small part on the strength of his communication skills will need to turn in a particularly effective performance in a format that’s never been among his most favored. …
– “If Obama does turn to the Oval Office for Tuesday night’s speech — and officials so far have said only that he will speak from somewhere in the White House — it will be a true rarity. As president, he has delivered only two addresses to the nation from his office, both in 2010: a speech about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and another about the end of combat in Iraq. ‘I personally have never loved the Oval,’ [former speechwriter Jon] Favreau added. ‘But I actually think it’s pretty right for this one.’” http://politi.co/18OFT96
MOVEON LAUNCHES SYRIA AD – MoveOn.org Political Action is out this morning with a 30-second TV ad urging Congress to reject authorizing action against Syria. The ad, called “Not Again,” runs this week on MSNBC with heavy rotation around the president’s address Tuesday night. Watch it here: http://youtu.be/_TVseYyddhc
HAWKISH GOP NOW DOVISH ON SYRIA – “Of all the unexpected turns in the Syria debate, one stands out most: The GOP, the party of a muscular national defense, has gone the way of the dove,” Alex Isenstadt and James Hohmann write for the hometown paper. “A decade after leading the country into Iraq and Afghanistan, Republicans have little appetite or energy for a strike aimed at punishing Bashar Assad for allegedly gassing his own people. To the contrary, many of the party’s lawmakers are lining up to sink President Barack Obama’s war authorization vote. Of the 279 Republicans currently in the House and Senate, 83 were also serving in October 2002. All of them voted to give George W. Bush authorization to invade Iraq. Now, just 10 of those 83 have come out in support of striking Syria. Most of the others have expressed serious reservations or are leaning against voting for the authorization.” http://politi.co/18Ik38F
** A message from the Reagan Presidential Foundation: Registration has opened for “The Reagan National Defense Forum: Building Peace Through Strength Through 2025.” Speakers include Secretary Chuck Hagel, General Martin Dempsey, Secretary John McHugh, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, SASC Chairman Carl Levin and HASC Chairman “Buck” McKeon.
GOOD MONDAY MORNING, September 9, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.
My new followers include @albertorlammers and @rajmathai.
TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate meets at 2 p.m. and at 5:30 p.m. votes on the nominations of Valerie E. Caproni and Vernon S. Broderick to be United States District Judges for the Southern District of New York. The House is also in at 2 p.m. with votes expected about 6:30 p.m. on the Global Investment in American Jobs Act and the Federal Communications Commission Consolidation Reporting Act.
AROUND THE HILL – A stakeout has been approved for a closed Joint House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees briefing on Syria at 3 p.m. in HVC 210. A closed all House member briefing on Syria will be held at 5 p.m. in the CVC Auditorium.
In Memphis today, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp make their fourth stop on their national tax reform tour. At 8 a.m. local time, they hold a kitchen table conversation at the Sullivan Family Farm, then tour the FedEx Express World Hub and hold a roundtable discussion with the company and customers from the small business community.
CORY BOOKER: THE DEMS’ MARCO RUBIO? – POLITICO’s Manu Raju caught up with the Senate Democratic nominee in Newark, N.J.: “Ambitious and Ivy League-educated, he’s a young African-American Democrat calling for a new era of post-partisanship in Washington. Sound familiar? But Cory Booker — who would be just the fourth popularly elected black senator if he wins — says he ‘would never want to be the next Barack Obama’ … The 44-year-old Newark mayor doesn’t want to follow in Obama’s footsteps — at least that’s what he claims. But as he appears poised to become the next New Jersey senator in the Oct. 16 special election, the two-term mayor may end up voting well to the left of the president — and become the biggest Democratic celebrity in town.
– “In a wide-ranging interview here, Booker said he’s opposed to trimming benefits on entitlement programs, even as the president has considered doing so as part of deficit talks. He said the bad actors from the 2008 financial crisis should ‘absolutely’ go to jail, even as the administration has yet to put shackles on top Wall Street executives. Booker ‘absolutely’ supports medical marijuana, even as the president is reluctant about legalizing it. And Booker added that he’s deeply skeptical about military engagement in Syria, even as Obama calls for strikes against the Bashar Assad regime. …
– “In some ways, Booker may end up being the Democrats’ version of Marco Rubio: an attractive, eloquent and press-savvy pol whose core beliefs are firmly in line with his base — but who may break from his party from time to time. While Booker’s style has irked some Democrats, he has only sparingly broken with the left , like on school vouchers and education reform. Asked to identify the issues in which he splits from his party in Washington, Booker couldn’t do it. ‘In some ways, you’re going to have to tell me that. I know where I’m passionate, and I don’t first ask, ‘Does my party agree with this or not?’’” http://politi.co/1fPPkcg
LAWMAKERS, LOBBYISTS HOOP IT UP TONITE – The 15th annual congressional charity basketball game tips off tonight at the Smith Center at George Washington University. Congressional staffers take on lobbyists at 6 p.m., followed by the lawmakers vs. lobbyists game at 7:30 p.m. The games raise money for the Hoops for Youth Foundation, which help at-risk youth in D.C.
Rosters for Game 1: Staffers vs. Lobbyists:
Team Staff: Wes McClelland (WHIP McCarthy), Andy Keiser (Rep. Mike Rogers), Steve Perrotta (Sen. Richard Burr), Keith Stern (Rep. Jim McGovern), Erik Olson (Rep. Ron Kind), Andrew Stoddard (Rep. Ben Lujan), Stephen Martinko (Rep. Bill Shuster), Kyle Oliver (Rep. Ralph Hall), James Robertson (House Oversight and Government Reform), Dustin Huffman (RGA), Kurt Bardella (Team Issa), Ben Branch (Rep. Greg Meeks) and Todd Mitchell (Rep. Leonard Lance).
Team Lobbyists: Paul Kanitra, Langston Emerson, David Morgan, Stoney Burke, Jess Peterson, Ryan Guthrie, Ben Brubeck, Casey Dinges, Jack Kelly, Brandan Heiner, Monte Ward, Will Jawando and Brian Reardon.
Rosters for Game 2: Members vs. Lobbyists:
Members of Congress: Rep. Steve Scalise, Rep. John Shimkus, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Jeff Flake, Rep. Pete Olson, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Jeff Denham, Rep. Rick Larsen, Rep. Cedric Richmond, Rep. David Valadao, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and Rep. Joe Crowley, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, Rep. Jared Huffman and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Team Lobbyists: Jim Martin (60 Plus Assn.), Paul Miller (Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies), Brian Pallasch (ASCE), Dan Cohen, Booth Jameson (American Chemistry Council), Brad Knox (AFLAC), Paxton Baker (BET Network), Brian Wagner (ATK), Danny Leonard (Open Market Energy), Michael Monroe (AFL-CIO), Kenny Hulshof (Posinelli Shughart), Nelson Perez (nationalgrid), Brad Schweer (CenturyLink) and Jim Brewer (Int’l Union of Painters & Allied Trades). Cloture Club has a flier with more info here: http://bit.ly/1cY5WPG
POLL: MOST HILL STAFFERS HAPPY DESPITE WORK ISSUES – Josh Hicks writes for the Washington Post: “Congressional employees are generally happy with their jobs, despite relatively poor pay, unpredictable hours and low public regard for their bosses, according to a report scheduled for release Monday. The Congressional Management Foundation, a nonpartisan group dedicated to improving legislative operations, found in a survey that 80 percent of Capitol Hill staffers are satisfied with their jobs. More than 1,400 employees rated the issues that mattered most to them as well as their level of contentment. Among the positive findings, 97 percent of respondents said they were confident that they can meet their work goals, and 83 percent said they enjoy taking on assignments beyond their normal duties. Although they said they were generally happy with their work, staffers also said they also faced frustrations.” http://wapo.st/183upnf
NYT, A1, “Immigration Reform Falls to the Back of the Line,” By Michael D. Shear and Julia Preston: “Congress is likely to postpone consideration of an immigration overhaul until the end of the year, if not longer, even as advocates are preparing for an all-out, urgent push this fall to win their longstanding goal of a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants here illegally. In Washington, the sudden debate over military action in Syria and a looming face-off with President Obama over the budget and the nation’s borrowing limit have shot to the top of the legislative agenda, while Republican angst about losing Hispanic voters in the 2012 presidential campaign has faded. In the House, where many Republicans view an overhaul bill passed by the Senate as a federal juggernaut that is too kind to immigrant lawbreakers, the legislative summer recess has done little to stoke enthusiasm for immediate action. Senior Republican aides in the House say immigration is at the back of the line, and unlikely to come up for months. The prospect of a delay is generating frustration among supporters of the legislation, who felt emboldened by a summer in which conservative opposition in House districts largely fizzled and immigrant groups seized the chance to lobby lawmakers on their home turf. “ http://nyti.ms/14xTFB8
– A bill to combat sexual assaults in the military also has taken a back seat to Syria, POLITICO’s Darren Samuelsohn writes: http://politi.co/13zMbLk
AT AFL-CIO MEETING, WARREN RIPS INTO SUPREME COURT – Alex Burns reports from Los Angeles: “Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka denounced the United States Supreme Court on Sunday as a right-wing panel that serves the interests of corporate America, previewing a theme that is likely to rise in prominence with the approach of the 2016 election. On the opening day of the AFL-CIO’s convention, Warren – the highest-profile national Democrat to address the gathering here – warned attendees of a ‘corporate capture of the federal courts.’ In a speech that voiced a range of widely held frustrations on the left, Warren assailed the Court as an instrument of the wealthy that regularly sides with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She cited an academic study that called the current Supreme Court’s five conservative-leaning justices among the ‘top 10 most pro-corporate justices in half a century.’ ‘You follow this pro-corporate trend to its logical conclusion, and sooner or later you’ll end up with a Supreme Court that functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of big business,’ Warren said, drawing murmurs from the crowd.” http://politi.co/18H66aW
BUSCHON MOURNS 32-YEAR-OLD STAFFER – Kenny Douglass reports for News14 in Evansville, Ind.: “A high ranking member of Congressman Larry Bucshon’s staff was found dead in an Evansville hotel room. Although he held numerous positions on Bucshon’s staff, 32-year-old Steven Reeves served most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff and District Director, based out of the Congressman’s Evansville District Office. Vanderburgh County Coroner Annie Groves says Reeves was found Wednesday in a room at the Fairfield Inn on Evansville’s east side. She says it appears Reeves died of natural causes. He was originally from Princeton. On Thursday night, Bucshon released a statement, calling Reeves a valued colleague and loyal friend, and a member of the family. … ‘Steven was truly a member of our family and will be greatly missed. Motivated by a genuine compassion for others, he worked to help eradicate AIDS in Africa before serving the 8th District in our office. He spent much of his life dedicated to serving his country, bettering his community, and improving the lives of others. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends through this difficult and private time.’” http://bit.ly/19ogdCt
FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Jeff Pudlo was first to correctly answer that President John F. Kennedy reportedly explored purchasing the Philadelphia Eagles until the Cuban missile crisis delayed a meeting between team owners and his brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Pudlo, who works for a D.C.-based advocacy nonprofit, says he found the answer in a 1991 article from the Newport News Daily Press reviewing a then recently published book, “The Pro Football Chronicle”. http://bit.ly/16eeWOT The story also appears in the Eagles Encyclopedia here: http://bit.ly/14F6HaJ
TODAY’S TRIVIA – Claude Marx has today’s question: What solicitor general had to resign his post when his father became chief justice of the U.S.? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.
GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/
** A message from the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library: The Reagan National Defense Forum on November 16, 2013 is bringing together leaders and key stakeholders in the defense community – including members of Congress, civilian officials and military leaders from the Defense Department and industry – to address the health of our national defense and to stimulate a discussion that promotes policies that strengthen the United States military into the future. Registrations is $ 499 per person. For more information and tickets, please visit www.ReaganFoundation.org/Defense.
The program includes a keynote address by General Dempsey, remarks by Secretary Hagel, and multiple panels including “Counterterrorism in 2025,” “Congress, Industry and the Pentagon” and “The Industrial Base After a Decade of War.”
“My husband would be so pleased to know that his ‘Peace Through Strength’ policies are being discussed again with a focus on today’s new technology and tomorrow’s needs.” – Former First Lady Nancy Reagan
JOHN GIBSON, FOX NEWS RADIO HOST: Do you think conservatives should turn their back on Marco Rubio?
SARAH PALIN: I think every politician should be held accountable for breaking their campaign promise. Kelly Ayotte, bless her heart, she said on her website as a candidate that her top immigration priority would be to secure the border. No excuses is her quote, no excuses. And she was absolutely against amnesty and yes, Kelly Ayotte and Marco Rubio and all the others who had said that border security must come first before any talk about immigration reform, they turned their back on the American public, so why should they not be held accountable?
GIBSON: in what way? Do you think they should be denied — voters should deny them the big spots on Republican tickets?
PALIN: I think that they should be challenged. I don’t have a problem with a heated debate and contested primaries where they have to answer to constituents regarding their flip-flopping on such a fundamental position as amnesty for illegal immigrants. I don’t have a problem at all with contested primaries. In fact, competition makes us all better and makes us be held accountable. So I’d like them to be held accountable and have to answer to why it is that they flip-flopped.
A large gathering of tea party supporters met outside of Capitol on Wednesday to express their frustrations over immigration legislation moving forward in Congress — including boos for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and other lawmakers working on the bill.
“Marco Rubio has not read his own bill!” said Robert Rector, a senior researcher for the Heritage Foundation.
“This bill is at its core amnesty,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who organized the event, told the sympathetic crowd. “We’re here to today… to take this debate outside the halls of Congress. If it’s not going to be good enough inside, we’ll take it outside!”
The gathering was a hybrid of a press conference and a town hall, and attendees were welcome to approach a microphone in front of the speakers’ podium to ask questions of the speakers and address the crowd. They also criticized Tuesday’s Congressional Budget Office report saying immigration reform would help cut the deficit.
“These are the same people that told you Obamacare wasn’t going to cost you anything,” Rector said. “You can always count on Washington to keep a promise, can’t you?”
“We don’t have to know, we’re CBO!” protesters chanted.
When a reporter asked why the speakers were rejecting the CBO’s estimate, the question was met with boos from the crowd.
“Lies!” shouted the crowd.
In a broader criticism of the Obama administration, Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) commented on the recent security leak detailing a classified National Security Agency metadata collection program.
“We finally have a president that listens to all Americans,” Weber quipped.
“Too bad he forgot!” someone shouted from the crowd.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): “Due to mistakes that were made — when I was in ninth grade, by the way — there are 11 million human beings living in the United States, most of them we have no idea who they are. They’ve been here longer than a decade. They’re having children that are U.S. citizens. They live among us. They’re probably going to be here for the rest of their lives, and leaving what we have in place is de facto amnesty.”
###
RUBIO: “So my goal here is not politics. I don’t believe that this is the salvation or the doom of the Republican Party. This is an issue that confronts our country, and it has to be solved because it’s bad for America. That’s why I’m involved in the issue.”
But there was another reason. “We need to register them as soon as possible, not just to keep the problem from getting worse, but we’re going to require them to pay a fine, and that’s the money that we are going to use to pay for the border security. If we don’t get that fine money from the people that have violated our immigration laws, then the American taxpayer is going to have to pay for border security.
The “conservative” senator Marco Rubio on Monday told a whopper to his Tea Party constituents, outright lying to them about the investigation into Obama’s forged birth certificate. Apparently, the RINO Rubio isn’t aware that Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse, after hundreds of hours of forensic analysis, two major press conferences, and dozens of conferences with local groups, announced that Barack Hussein Obama’s birth certificate is a computer-generated fraud.
Rubio said he was “aware of Sheriff Arpaio’s investigation” (as if it had not been completed) and “would be happy to look at the evidence” if Sheriff Arpaio presents it to the public.” Either Rubio is completely clueless and lives in a cave, or he outright lied. Either way, he’s not fit to be considered a “conservative,” let alone identified as aligned with the Tea Party.
In fact, if you remove the “R” after Rubio’s name, his big government policies align with none other than Big Government Barack Obama. His membership in the so-called Gang of Eight and their push for a “common sense” immigration plan is a sham. Not only will it bring amnesty to millions of illegals, but now they are actually pushing for giving them free healthcare. All the while, the United States is completely tapped out with unfunded government programs, pushing us towards the $ 20 trillion “magic number” of national debt, the point that many experts say is when where our economy will literally implode.
But surely, Rubio doesn’t want to collapse the economy, right? Except his “common sense” immigration bill is projected to cost several trillion dollars—and this doesn’t even include the cost of free healthcare for illegals!
Rubio, you’re no Republican. You’re no conservative. You’re no Tea Party politician. I doubt if you even care about this country.
The “conservative” senator Marco Rubio on Monday told a whopper to his Tea Party constituents, outright lying to them about the investigation into Obama’s forged birth certificate. Apparently, the RINO Rubio isn’t aware that Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse, after hundreds of hours of forensic analysis, two major press conferences, and dozens of conferences with local groups, announced that Barack Hussein Obama’s birth certificate is a computer-generated fraud.
Rubio said he was “aware of Sheriff Arpaio’s investigation” (as if it had not been completed) and “would be happy to look at the evidence” if Sheriff Arpaio presents it to the public.” Either Rubio is completely clueless and lives in a cave, or he outright lied. Either way, he’s not fit to be considered a “conservative,” let alone identified as aligned with the Tea Party.
In fact, if you remove the “R” after Rubio’s name, his big government policies align with none other than Big Government Barack Obama. His membership in the so-called Gang of Eight and their push for a “common sense” immigration plan is a sham. Not only will it bring amnesty to millions of illegals, but now they are actually pushing for giving them free healthcare. All the while, the United States is completely tapped out with unfunded government programs, pushing us towards the $ 20 trillion “magic number” of national debt, the point that many experts say is when where our economy will literally implode.
But surely, Rubio doesn’t want to collapse the economy, right? Except his “common sense” immigration bill is projected to cost several trillion dollars—and this doesn’t even include the cost of free healthcare for illegals!
Rubio, you’re no Republican. You’re no conservative. You’re no Tea Party politician. I doubt if you even care about this country.
Daniel Strauss
thehill.com
June 4, 2013
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Tuesday said the Senate’s immigration bill does not have 60 votes, contradicting Democrats who say it would pass the chamber in its current form.
Asked by Fox News if the bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee had 60 votes, Rubio replied: “No, and I think even the Democrats would concede that.”
Actually, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the opposite in an interview last week.
This article was posted: Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at 1:45 pm
Tags: domestic news, legislation
(swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)
RETURN OF THE CULTURE WARS? – Jonathan Allen writes for the hometown paper: “The culture wars are back, but this time with a significant twist: the left is picking the fights and, for the most part, enjoying being on the right side of public opinion. Five years after Barack Obama warned that anxious voters are just ‘clinging’ to guns and religion, wedge issues are cutting differently — more to the liking of Democrats. Gay marriage is the talk of capital city parties. Lawmakers are working across the aisle on immigration reform plans. And New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg just committed $ 12 million to pressure Congress to tighten gun control laws.
– “Activists say the three issues — gay rights, guns and immigration — climbed to national attention after surviving battle-tests in the states and enjoying a shift in public opinion. Now Washington is just playing catch up. On Tuesday, moderate Democrat Mark Warner, of Virginia, became the most recent in a line of public officials to back same-sex marriage. One the same day, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, called the Defense of Marriage Act ‘discriminatory,’ noting that he went through a ‘process’ to arrive at that conclusion. … They join Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a conservative Republican, who announced recently that he had converted to favor same-sex marriage because his son, Will, is gay.
– “The Supreme Court will hear arguments this week on the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, both of which ban same-sex matrimony. The cases might have been considered long shots even a few years ago, but now gay-rights activists are hopeful that the court will swing along with public opinion, which has moved unequivocally in favor of gay marriage.” http://politi.co/X64tlk
‘GAYS DESERVE EQUAL RIGHTS’ – Attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, who will argue in favor of gay marriage before the Supreme Court today, write in a Wall Street Journal op-ed: “The central question is whether a state may exclude gay and lesbian Americans from what the Supreme Court has called ‘the most important relation in life’—the institution of marriage. The answer is no. We represent two loving and committed couples. In many ways, our clients’ relationships are indistinguishable from our own: They have lives and homes together, they are raising children, they have jobs, they pay bills, they run errands. They experience together many of the joys and sorrows and laughter of life as a family in America. But California has locked them out of the institution of marriage because they are gay. …
– “Because of their sexual orientation—a characteristic with which they were born and which they cannot change—our clients and hundreds of thousands of gay men and lesbians in California and across the country are being excluded from one of life’s most precious relationships. … withholding marriage causes infinite and permanent stigma, pain and isolation. It denies gay men and lesbians their identity and their dignity; it labels their families as second-rate. That outcome cannot be squared with the principle of equality and the unalienable right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness that is the bedrock promise of America from the Declaration of Independence to the 14th Amendment, and the dream of all Americans. This badge of inequality must be extinguished.” http://on.wsj.com/14rRbTC
New York Times, “Cold, Wet Wait for Tickets to Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Cases,” By Jeremy W. Peters: “Being a witness to history can be messy business. And for those waiting outside the Supreme Court on Monday for one of the few coveted tickets to hear oral arguments in a pair of same-sex marriage cases this week, it was also cold, wet and tedious. … A spring snowstorm that blew through the capital on Monday seemed to do little to deter an eager few dozen people from huddling under soggy sleeping bags, plastic tarpaulins and oversize umbrellas as they counted down the final hours before the arguments began on Tuesday morning (the second case was scheduled for Wednesday morning). With about 20 hours to go, some had been there since Thursday night, moved by a sense of the moment and civic purpose. Others, like the Carters, had a less sentimental reason: They were being paid to wait for someone else. ‘It’s enough,’ Ms. Carter said, declining to say how much she would make.” http://nyti.ms/YR5etX
TEA PARTY SENATORS TO FILIBUSTER GUN-CONTROL BILL – Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz write in a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid: “‘We will oppose the motion to proceed to any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions,’ the three conservatives wrote in a copy of the signed letter obtained by POLITICO.” http://politi.co/X62hu8
– Wayne LaPierre may be the public face of the NRA, but Jim Baker is the group’s man in Washington, POLITICO’s Anna Palmer writes. “It’s a strategy that plays both the inside and outside games. LaPierre rallies the masses on cable news, Baker works the halls of Congress and behind it all is a grass-roots network of 5-million NRA supporters who mobilize fast. Many big interest groups have the same playbook, in which a fiery front man offers a public face, while a trusted inside-man works the halls of Congress where deals really get made — or blocked. Baker, known as a respected Second Amendment expert, built his power base over decades by working the halls of Congress, earning the trust of Democrats and Republicans — and putting real money behind his word and into the coffers of reelection campaigns.” http://politi.co/14qqzSY
TIM JOHNSON TO ANNOUNCE RETIREMENT TODAY – Reuters’ Margaret Chadbourn reports: “Senator Tim Johnson, the Democratic chairman of the powerful banking committee, does not plan to run for re-election when his current term ends in 2014, two sources familiar with the matter and a Capitol Hill staffer said on Monday. Johnson, 66, a three-term senator from South Dakota, has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday in his home state to discuss what his aides described as ‘his future plans.’ His retirement would leave a vacant seat in a conservative-leaning state that could be difficult for Democrats to defend as they try to protect their majority in the Senate. Political analysts expect Johnson’s son, Brendan Johnson, who is South Dakota’s U.S. attorney, to emerge as a potential Democratic candidate in the 2014 election. The younger Johnson has not announced any formal plans to seek the Senate seat. Former Democratic Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who lost a bid for reelection in 2010, is another leading choice to run if the incumbent senator retires, analysts said.” http://yhoo.it/10JcPQ3
–Johnson becomes the seventh senator who will not seek reelection in 2014. The others are: Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.).
RUBIO IN PAUL’S BACKYARD: WE CANNOT RETREAT FROM THE WORLD – POLITICO’s Manu Raju in Louisville, Ky.: “Florida Sen. Marco Rubio swung by Rand Paul’s home state here on Monday where he effectively made one thing clear: He’s no Rand Paul — particularly on foreign policy. In a soaring speech on the University of Louisville campus, Rubio made the case for American military might around the world, vowing that the U.S cannot ‘retreat’ from international conflicts, must encourage democracy and continue spending money overseas aimed at bolstering the country’s image. …Rubio’s remarks come just as Paul has been trying to clamp down on federal dollars spent on foreign aid and as the Kentucky freshman has been pushing for a “less aggressive” American role in the world — as the two prospective 2016 rivals continue to lay out competing visions of the GOP’s future.
– “‘We can’t solve every humanitarian crisis on the planet, we can’t be involved in every dispute, every civil war and every conflict,’ Rubio told a concert hall filled with young adults and middle-aged Kentucky voters. ‘But we also cannot retreat from the world. It’s not that America will continue to function as the world’s police officer. The problem is that like anything in the world: If you pull back from it, a vacuum will be created.’ Rubio added: ‘The alternative to U.S. [engagement] on the global stage is chaos.’” http://politi.co/109oQKS
– For the Senate GOP, the tail is wagging the dog, NYT columnist Frank Bruini writes in a piece titled “Rand Paul’s Loopy Ascent: “Rather than [Ted] Cruz, the junior senator from Texas, humbly taking cues from John Cornyn, the senior senator, Cornyn labors to match the supercilious upstart scowl for scowl, and even followed Cruz’s intemperate lead to cast one of only three Senate votes against John Kerry’s confirmation as secretary of state. And Mitch McConnell, who is not only Kentucky’s senior senator but also the Senate minority leader, seems to worry more about Paul, the state’s junior senator, than vice versa.” http://nyti.ms/13sEQz5
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GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 26, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.
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TODAY IN CONGRESS – The House and Senate are out for the two-week Passover and Easter recess.
VITTER OUTLASTS SCANDAL – Paul Kane reports in the Washington Post’s Style section: “Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is suddenly in high demand. His banishment is over, his rehabilitation almost complete. Several years after acknowledging his ‘very serious sin,’ he has successfully adopted a higher profile in the divided U. S. Senate. Vitter is teaming up with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the chamber’s leading environmental advocate, to shore up levees and beach fronts from flood risk. He is working with one of the financial industry’s biggest thorns, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), on the latest bill targeting mega-banks and their ‘too big to fail’ status. When he’s not working across party lines, Vitter is throwing his increased seniority around in stronger ways: Last week he vowed to block President Obama’s nominee for Labor secretary until the administration releases documents about voting rights issues in Louisiana. Now Vitter’s name is atop most lists of possible GOP gubernatorial nominees for Louisiana in 2015 when Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) reaches his term limit.” http://wapo.st/ZSYoaD
– “Some senior Democratic and Republican advisers point to Vitter as the latest example of how — if a senator can outlast a scandal and win reelection — the Senate is a forgiving shelter where ‘sin’ is not in small supply. Vitter was lucky that he had almost 3 ½ years after the revelation of his entanglement with an escort service before he had to face voters again— enough time to work town halls and local fairs.”
BACHMANN DENIES CAMPAIGN FINANCE VIOLATIONS – Jon Avlon reports for The Daily Beast: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) “is embroiled in a litany of legal proceedings related to her rolling disaster of a presidential campaign—including a Office of Congressional Ethics investigation into campaign improprieties that has not previously been reported. The Daily Beast has learned that federal investigators are now interviewing former Bachmann campaign staffers nationwide about alleged intentional campaign-finance violations. The investigators are working on behalf of the Office of Congressional Ethics, which probes reported improprieties by House members and their staffs and then can refer cases to the House Ethics Committee. … Two other former staffers confirmed the existence of the investigation this weekend, and on Monday Bachmann’s campaign counsel, William McGinley, of the high-powered firm Patton Boggs, confirmed that the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) was looking into the congresswoman’s presidential campaign last year. ‘There are no allegations that the Congresswoman engaged in any wrongdoing,’ McGinley said. ‘We are … confident that at the end of their Review the OCE Board will conclude that Congresswoman Bachmann did not do anything inappropriate.’” http://thebea.st/Yc8nZB
SHELBY SACKS SIX APPROPS STAFFERS – Austin Wright and Jonathan Allen reports for POLITICIO: “Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby has ousted five Senate Appropriations Committee aides with strong ties to Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, sources familiar with the purge tell POLITICO. One of the five aides, Rebecca Davies, had worked on Capitol Hill for decades. A sixth staffer, brought onto the committee by former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), was also let go, one of the sources said. Shelby succeeded Cochran as the top Republican on the spending panel at the beginning of the year.” http://politi.co/14qhRnM
– It’s not completely unprecedented for a new chairman or ranking member to replace staffers with their own people. When Sen. David Vitter took over as top Republican of the EPW Committee, he let go 12 staffers who had worked under his predecessor, Sen. Jim Inhofe. http://bit.ly/YBHU7f
SENATE DEMS LEAVE OBAMA HANGING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – Andrew Restuccia and Darren Goode report for POLITICO: “More than a dozen Senate Democrats have a message for President Barack Obama: If he wants to take dramatic action on climate change, he’s on his own. The latest evidence came from this weekend’s marathon series of budget votes, in which moderate and conservative Democrats sided with the GOP on the Keystone XL oil pipeline and against any prospects for a tax on carbon. In the two Keystone votes, the Democrats helped the Republicans prevail by filibuster-proof majorities — a clear sign that Obama will have little political cover from his party’s middle if he chooses to reject the Canada-to-Texas pipeline, as climate advocates are urging him to.” http://politi.co/14qmdLA
– National Journal’s Coral Davenport looks at five small pieces of energy legislation that could pass Congress, from energy efficiency and offshore drilling to ethanol reform. http://bit.ly/10eTRhC
DOG BELONGING TO GIFFORDS’ RELATIVE KILLS CALIF. SEA LION – Alisha Gomez reports for the L.A. Times: “A dog that belongs to a relative of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords attacked and killed a sea lion along the Laguna Beach shoreline, police said Monday. A video of the violent encounter shows Giffords’ stepdaughter and husband trying to pull the canine from the limp mammal as the surf rolls in. A copy of the video was sent to The Times. Laguna Beach police received a call at 2 p.m. Saturday and arrived to find that the 65-pound American bulldog mix had broken free from its 18-year-old owner and attacked a beached sea lion on a public beach near the exclusive Montage Laguna Beach, Capt. Jason Kravetz said in an email. The video taken by a local resident shows Giffords’ stepdaughter struggling to free the sea lion.
– “Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly, appears later in the video, running down and pulling the dog off the sea lion, both police and a senior advisor to Giffords confirmed. Kelly and Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, are vacationing in Laguna Beach.” http://lat.ms/X9jfsw
MONDAY’S TRIVIA – Wyeth Ruthven was first to correctly answer that Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois was the only U.S. senator to succeed and be succeeded by an African American senator. Fitzgerald beat Carol Moseley Braun and then retired and was succeeded by Barack Obama.
TODAY’S TRIVIA – David Heymsfeld has today’s question: Name two U.S. presidents who, four years before they were elected, lost a vote to become the vice presidential nominee of their party. First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.
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POLITICO – Top 10 – The Huddle
Sen. Marco Rubio’s inopportune case of cotton mouth during his State of the Union response may slow his rapidly rising stock, but will likely have no little lingering impact on his 2016 prospects, Republican operatives said Wednesday.
“The water moment did not bother me,” said Republican strategist Bruce Haynes, of Purple Strategies. “I thought it made him human. Washington types will snort and buzz about it but it probably made the average voter smile. And for Republicans, making voters smile is a welcome change of pace.”
(Also on POLITICO: Marco Rubio’s drinking problem)
Alex Castellanos, another Republican operative at Purple, said, “I think it was great first step for Marco Rubio and a great first step for the Republican party. I think he passed a very tough test… it’s like following Secretariat on the race track.”
Still, a number of operatives questioned the wisdom of Rubio giving the response in the first place, suggesting that while he showcased his political strengths, he also highlighted a weakness — that he is still young and relatively new to the national stage.
“Whatever they wanted out of it, I’m not sure they got,” said one Republican operative. He was among many who were privately calling the SOTU response the most over-hyped, and least rewarding, opportunity Republicans have (“It’s a hostage-tape,” said one).
(PHOTOS: Scenes from Obama State of the Union 2013)
“It’s kind of like the bad Clinton speech,” the operative said, referring to Bill Clinton’s Democratic National Convention bomb in 1988. “Do I think it’s lasting damage? No. Do I think it slowed down the Rubio hype a bit? Yes.”
To look at Twitter, Rubio’s parched performance and water-seeking squat were the biggest takeaways from a speech that focused otherwise on an aspirational, I’m-one-of-you message. GIFs popped up within minutes, showing Rubio taking a quick swig from a Poland Spring bottle, and allowing a seconds-long pause in his speech.
(PHOTOS: Marco Rubio’s career)
Among Democrats, comparisons quickly cropped up to another famous SOTU response during the Obama era, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s 2009 speech that prompted widespread mockery. (Jindal, on NBC News right after Rubio spoke, praised his potential 2016 rival’s performance.)
Rubio made the most of it on the morning shows. The Florida Senator brandished a water bottle and made light of his awkward moment, which his team hoped would counter the “weird” factor (a term that appeared mid-morning next to Rubio’s name on Yahoo).
Among Republicans, those who thought it was problematic mostly held their tongues. But there were plenty who defended him publicly – and cut him slack.
