VIDEOS – FULL SPEECHES FROM CPAC 2015
Saturday, February 28th, 2015
VIDEOS – FULL SPEECHES OF CPAC SPEAKERS 2015
VIDEOS – FULL SPEECHES OF CPAC SPEAKERS 2015
VIDIEO – GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL AND SENATOR MARCO RUBIO – FULL SPEECHES AT CPAC 2014
www.c-span.org/video/?318134-5/gov-jindal-rla-sen-rubio-rfl-address-cpac
Des Moines, Iowa — A week after the 2012 election, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida flew here to headline a birthday party for Republican governor Terry Branstad. The venue was packed and the speech was a success. Charming and warmly received, he netted the governor more than $600,000.
Since then, though, Rubio hasn’t been back, and his popularity among Iowa conservatives has dipped. A growing number of tea-party activists are irate about his efforts on immigration reform. Instead of being cheered at rubber-chicken dinners, he’s being slammed — and some Republicans say a run for the caucuses would be doomed.
“He has been seriously hobbled — we’re talking about long-term damage,” says Chuck Laudner, a veteran Iowa Republican who helped Rick Santorum win the 2012 caucuses. “Most conservatives feel burned, and he doesn’t have a lot of allies in the state defending him.”
Iowa’s talk-radio hosts have been particularly brutal. Steve Deace, an influential Christian conservative, has warned Rubio not to even show up, and has often taunted him during broadcasts. “Zip, zilch, nada — he’s got no support, he would be dead on arrival,” Deace tells me. “He may end up running for president, but he can’t win here.”
When I mention that Rubio could mount a comeback by pushing conservative initiatives on other issues, such as abortion, Deace is dismissive. “I don’t care how pro-life Rubio is,” Deace says. “If he’s pro-life, that’s great, but what he has done on immigration is unacceptable.” (more…)
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April 24, 2013
Not a single word in the 844-page “Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act” introduced by Senator Marco Rubio and the “Gang of Eight” addresses the controversial practice of “birthright citizenship.”
Birthright citizenship is the common description given to the automatic grant of U.S. citizenship to babies born in the U.S. regardless of the citizenship status of the parents. Many experts agree with the verdict of law professor Lino Graglia — that the practice generates “perhaps the greatest possible inducement to illegal entry.”
The failure of Congress to confront the subject is nothing new. The “four pillars” of the reform framework floated by Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham back in 2010 also avoided mention of the gaping “hole in the fence” created by the “magnet” of the birthright practice.
While Rubio touted the newest bipartisan proposal and appeared to “backtrack” on the border fence as illegals continue to climb over it, our government creates even more incentives for illegals to have children here. Besides potential ObamaCare benefits, many provisions in the Gang’s new package increase the allure and impact of the birthright magnet. (more…)
By: The Associated Press
The text of the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery by Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, and provided by the press office of the speaker of the House:
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Good evening. I’m Marco Rubio. I’m blessed to represent Florida in the United States Senate. Let me begin by congratulating President Obama on the start of his second term. Tonight, I have the honor of responding to his State of the Union address on behalf of my fellow Republicans. And I am especially honored to be addressing our brave men and women serving in the armed forces and in diplomatic posts around the world. You may be thousands of miles away, but you are always in our prayers.
The State of the Union address is always a reminder of how unique America is. For much of human history, most people were trapped in stagnant societies, where a tiny minority always stayed on top, and no one else even had a chance.
But America is exceptional because we believe that every life, at every stage, is precious, and that everyone everywhere has a God-given right to go as far as their talents and hard work will take them.
Like most Americans, for me this ideal is personal. My parents immigrated here in pursuit of the opportunity to improve their life and give their children the chance at an even better one. They made it to the middle class, my dad working as a bartender and my mother as a cashier and a maid. I didn’t inherit any money from them. But I inherited something far better – the real opportunity to accomplish my dreams.
This opportunity – to make it to the middle class or beyond no matter where you start out in life – it isn’t bestowed on us from Washington. It comes from a vibrant free economy where people can risk their own money to open a business. And when they succeed, they hire more people, who in turn invest or spend the money they make, helping others start a business and create jobs.
Presidents in both parties – from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan – have known that our free enterprise economy is the source of our middle-class prosperity.
But President Obama? He believes it’s the cause of our problems. That the economic downturn happened because our government didn’t tax enough, spend enough and control enough. And, therefore, as you heard tonight, his solution to virtually every problem we face is for Washington to tax more, borrow more and spend more.
This idea – that our problems were caused by a government that was too small – it’s just not true. In fact, a major cause of our recent downturn was a housing crisis created by reckless government policies.
And the idea that more taxes and more government spending is the best way to help hardworking middle-class taxpayers – that’s an old idea that’s failed every time it’s been tried.
More government isn’t going to help you get ahead. It’s going to hold you back.
More government isn’t going to create more opportunities. It’s going to limit them.
And more government isn’t going to inspire new ideas, new businesses and new private sector jobs. It’s going to create uncertainty. (more…)
Marco Rubio—41-year-old son of working-class Cuban exiles—has lived the upwardly mobile immigrant experience. In his fast rise, the Florida Republican has also experienced the politics of immigration. That story isn’t so inspirational.
During his successful Senate campaign two years ago, an attack leaflet picturing “the Real Rubio” alongside an image of Che Guevara was sent to GOP voters. The mailer noted that Mr. Rubio championed laws in the state legislature to give children of illegal immigrants in-state tuition and health benefits. After going to Washington, he was then criticized for not doing enough on immigration reform. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus branded him “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and a Miami-based Hispanic group called him “a Benedict Arnold.”
That may be mild compared to what’s coming. Florida’s junior senator and one of America’s most prominent Hispanic politicians wants to take the Republican lead on immigration reform. Getting out front of President Obama’s campaign pledge to overhaul the system in his second term, Mr. Rubio is laying out his ideas for possible legislation.
Whether Mr. Rubio is courageous or foolhardy, the outcome on Capitol Hill and the impact on his career will tell the story. Immigration has long been a profitable wedge issue for Democrats and Republicans. On Wednesday at the Biltmore Hotel near his home here, Mr. Rubio spells out a reform plan that charges up the middle.
His wholesale fix tries to square—triangulate, if you will—the liberal fringe that seeks broad amnesty for illegal immigrants and the hard right’s obsession with closing the door. Mr. Rubio would ease the way for skilled engineers and seasonal farm workers while strengthening border enforcement and immigration laws. As for the undocumented migrants in America today—eight to 12 million or so—he proposes to let them “earn” a working permit and, one day, citizenship.
Those proposals amount to a collection of third rails for any number of lobbies. Organized labor has torpedoed guest-worker programs before. Anything that hints of leniency for illegals may offend the talk-radio wing of the GOP.
Mr. Rubio burst onto the national stage with his 2010 upset win amid the tea party surge. His conservative bona fides come with an appreciation for the realities of legislative politics. He starts by stressing that “legal immigration has been, for our country, one of the things that makes us vibrant and exceptional.” But then, in a nod to GOP restrictionists: “Every country in the world has immigration laws and expects to enforce them and we should be no different.”
Any overhaul, he says, needs to “modernize” legal immigration. America caps the number of visas for skilled workers and favors the relatives of people already here. “I’m a big believer in family-based immigration,” he says. “But I don’t think that in the 21st century we can continue to have an immigration system where only 6.5% of people who come here, come here based on labor and skill. We have to move toward merit and skill-based immigration.” (more…)