Marco Rubio: La Ley de Ajuste cubano debe ser 'examinada'

Diario de Cuba

El senador cubanoamericano Marco Rubio opinó el martes ante un grupo de editores de periódicos que la Ley de Ajuste Cubano, que desde hace 47 años otorga a los inmigrantes de la Isla condiciones especiales para obtener la residencia en Estados Unidos, debe ser "reexaminada", informó el diario Tampa Bay Times.

No obstante, el proyecto de ley de inmigración, en cuya redacción ha participado Rubio y que probablemente sea aprobado por el Senado entre este jueves y el viernes, no incluye ninguna referencia a la Ley de Ajuste.

"Simplemente no se ha planteado en las conversaciones y en el conjunto de problemas que estamos enfrentando", ha dicho al respecto Rubio, republicano por Florida.

El tema resurgió el martes durante una sesión de preguntas y respuestas con integrantes de la Sociedad Americana de Editores de Noticias. Rubio consideró que algunos cubanos abusan del sistema.

"No critico a quien quiera ir a visitar a su madre, o su padre, o a un hermano o hermana que esté muriendo en Cuba", dijo. Pero "esto hace muy difícil justificar el estatus de exiliado o refugiado de alguien que un año y medio después de llegar a este país viaja a Cuba una y otra vez".

Más de un millón de cubanos han recibido la residencia estadounidense desde que la Ley de Ajuste fue aprobada, en 1966. Pero en los últimos años han crecido los cuestionamientos sobre si las razones por las cuales los cubanos abandonan la Isla son actualmente políticas o económicas y la Ley de Ajuste ha recibido críticas.

Grupos de derechos de los inmigrantes consideran injusto el estatus especial de los cubanos. Mientras, algunos cambios como la llamada "actualización" de la ley migratoria de la Isla, han facilitado que más cubanos viajen.

"No estoy seguro de que vayamos a ser capaces evitar, como parte de un enfoque global de la inmigración, una conversación sobre la Ley de Ajuste Cubano", dijo Rubio en enero pasado a reporteros, a medida que se calentaba el tema de la inmigración.

Este martes, no obstante, aseguró que no tienen ningún cambio específico en mente. "Es algo que tengo que estudiar con más cuidado", afirmó el senador.

Sen Rubio Discusses Borders & Benefits In Immigration Bill w/ Bill O'Reilly

SenatorMarcoRubio

Rubio: White House creating 'culture of intimidation'

Secret Emails: Cato, Norquist, Rubio Use Boston Terror Attacks to Push Immigration Reform

breitbart

By Matthew Boyle

Secret emails obtained exclusively by Breitbart News show the libertarian Cato Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) are colluding on immigration reform messaging in the wake of the Boston Marathon terror attack in order to push the “Gang of Eight” bill that was released this past week.

On Friday afternoon, political consultant Peggy Ellis of Ellis & Company, who is supporting the Gang of Eight immigration efforts, emailed “Talkers from Rubio” to the group of organizations supporting their efforts such as Cato and ATR. 

The email was headlined: “Rubio talking points re: Boston terrorists vis a vis immigration reform.” The message contained three talking points from Sen. Rubio, the first of which argued that the immigration bill would prevent people like the Boston Marathon terrorists from getting into or staying in the country.

“These terrorists came here under the existing system, the one opponents of reform want to leave in place,” Sen. Rubio wrote in his first talking point.

The second Rubio talking point argued that the terrorists “didn’t cross the border” to get into America.

In his third talking point, Rubio argued that authorities only know who the terrorists are because they came here legally to begin with.

“The reason we know who they are is because they were here legally,” Rubio wrote. “If they were here illegally, living in the shadows, it would have made them much harder to investigate. The fact is that today there are 11 million people already in this country and we don’t know who they are, why they’re here, and what they’re doing. That is not only an economic problem, it’s a huge national security problem as well.”

Ellis’s email was in response to an email conversation she had with Cato’s Alex Nowrasteh and ATR’s Josh Culling, among others, earlier in the day about the potential effects of the Boston terror attacks on immigration reform.

Nowrasteh is the Cato analyst who has attacked the forthcoming Heritage Foundation analysis that argues that the Gang of Eight bill will add multiple trillions to the entitlement rolls. He wrote to the group on Friday afternoon: “The Boston thing could derail this big time so I’m spending most of today on that,” Nowrasteh wrote, referring to the Gang of Eight bill. “Sorry, gotta run and focus on that.”

The brothers who allegedly carried out the Boston terror attack, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were granted asylum in the United States. This sparked Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to question the bill in the context of the Boston terror attacks during a Friday morning committee hearing. In response, and Gang of Eight member Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attacked Grassley's position while using the Boston terror attack to push the bill himself.

As the week ended with police killing one Tsarnaev brother and arresting the other, the Gang of Eight grew more nervous--and that is when Rubio, Cato, and ATR drafted the aforementioned talking points together.

After facing intense criticism over the past week or so, Rubio has backed off and kept a low profile this weekend. But Schumer and fellow Gang of Eight member Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) ended up using what appear to be the exact talking points Rubio, ATR, and Cato drafted during his appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.

As Breitbart News' Joel Pollak reported, host Candy Crowley asked Graham if he would consider amendments that improved the bill’s security so that people like the Tsarnaev brothers do not slip through the cracks of the system again. Graham responded that legalizing America’s illegal immigrants would enable better monitoring of immigrants.

“Now is the time to bring all of the eleven million out of the shadows and find out who they are,” Graham said.

Graham blamed the FBI and argued that the Gang of Eight bill would “fix” poor interior immigration law enforcement.

Appearing on the same program, Schumer agreed. “Keeping the status quo is not a good argument, given what happened," Schumer said. "Our law toughens things up."

Even though they say their bill helps fix interior immigration law enforcement problems, law enforcement experts disagree. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ union president Chris Crane, an ICE agent himself, said, according to Fox News, that “this legislation again does nothing to resolve that.”

None of the groups involved in crafting the emails, or talking points, responded to a request for comment from Breitbart News.

RUBIO: Jay-Z's Cuba Trip 'Hypocritical'

Rubio says immigration plan not amnesty

Fox News

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio dismissed arguments Sunday that the Senate immigration bill offers amnesty for illegal immigrants and said border security is not the only key issue -- amid increasing scrutiny from fellow conservatives and an immigration-enforcement union.  

Rubio told “Fox News Sunday” that anybody living illegally in the United States and attempting to get a visa would face a long list of qualifications, which includes paying taxes, a fine and an application fee as well as having a job and waiting for at least 10 years.

“That is not amnesty,” said Rubio, a Cuban-American considered a key member of the so-called bipartisan Gang of Eight. “Amnesty is the forgiveness of something.”

The Senate group has been working on comprehensive immigration reform since January and is expected to release the legislation Tuesday, ahead of a hearing later this week in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Rubio also argued Sunday that achieving citizenship through the new plan would be harder than under the existing plan.

 “It will be cheaper, faster and easier for people to go back home and wait 10 years than it will be to go through this process that I've outlined,” Rubio told Fox.

The Rubio-backed plan faces increasing scrutiny from such fellow Republican senators as Ted Cruz, of Texas, and Alabama's Jeff Sessions, as well as the National ICE Council, the union representing thousands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees.

“I know Sen. Rubio's heart is exactly right," Sessions told ABC’s “This Week.”  "And I really respect the work of the Gang of Eight. But they have produced legislation ... that will give amnesty now, legalize everyone that's here effectively today. And then there's a promise of enforcement in the future."

Union President Chris Crane said Friday an outline of the legislation shows legalization before border enforcement, which means Rubio has not followed through on his “commitment to the American people” and that he should leave the bipartisan group.

Rubio also said Sunday that tracking illegal immigrants in and out of the U.S. and improving the employee-verification system, known as E-Verify, are equally important.

“All three work together,” he told Fox. “All three have to happen.”

Though Rubio made clear that securing the border is only part of the plan, he said a 90 percent border-apprehension rate within the next five years is a “trigger” for permanent residence.

“The Department of Homeland Security will have five years to meet that goal,” said Rubio, who appeared on all five major Sunday talk shows to garner support for the legislation.

He was also booked on the Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision

If the agency fails to meet apprehension and surveillance goals, a commission, which includes officials from states along the U.S.-Mexico border, would intervene.

There are roughly 11 million illegal immigrants now living in the U.S.

The proposal is available only for those who arrived in the U.S. before Dec. 31, 2011. Anyone who came after that date would be subject to deportation.

As a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Rubio will be careful not to appear weak on border security or create political problems among the conservatives who have great sway in picking the party nominee.

Other lawmakers helping to write the legislation acknowledged the political challenges of the issue.

"A lot of my conservative colleagues have significant questions, and they're legitimate," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "This is the start of a process.”

Sessions and others are also concerned about the legislation’s long-term impact on taxpayers once illegal immigrants become eligible for major entitlements and low-income assistance programs.

“Please list all federal benefits and aid programs former illegal immigrants become eligible for once granted green cards or permanent residency,” Sessions, along with fellow Republican Sens. Pat Roberts and Chuck Grassley, said in an April 10 letter to the eight senators.

The measure to put millions on a path to citizenship also would allow tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers into the country with new visa programs.

The legislation also is expected to include a new emphasis on merit-based immigration over family ties.

"This is a very balanced bill," New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer told ABC. “The American people have told us to do two things: one, prevent future flows of illegal immigration. Then come up with a common-sense solution for legal immigration. And that's what our bill does."

Senator Rubio on Bey and Jay's Cuba Trip

capitolhillcubans

Statement from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) on American pop and hip-hop stars Beyonce and Jay-Z's trip to Cuba:

“U.S. law clearly bans tourism to Cuba by American citizens because it provides money to a cruel, repressive and murderous regime.  Since their inception, the Obama Administration’s 'people to people' cultural exchange programs have been abused by tourists who have no interest in the Cuban people’s freedom and either don’t realize or don’t care that they’re essentially funding the regime’s systematic trampling of people’s human rights.

According to recent news reports, Jay-Z and Beyonce’s Cuba trip, which the regime seized on for propaganda purposes, was fully licensed by the Treasury Department.  If true, the Obama Administration should explain exactly how trips like these comply with U.S. law and regulations governing travel to Cuba and it should disclose how many more of these trips they have licensed.”

Earlier today, Senator Rubio tweeted:

If interested in what life really like in #Cuba @s_c_should have visited persecuted rapper #AngelYunierRemon #99problems&dictatorsareone
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 8, 2013

For more information on Angel Yunier Remon, click here >>

Yoani se reune con los senadores Marco Rubio y Bob Menendez

TVMartiNoticias

Leer: 

Yoani Sánchez concluye visita a Washington

Yoani Sánchez se reúne con senadores cubano-americanos

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2013/03/20/1435451/yoani-sanchez-se-reune-con-senadores.html#storylink=cpy

Brookings Needs Five Minutes With Senator Rubio

capitolhillcubans

Last week, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) famously said regarding travelers to Cuba:

"Cuba is not a zoo where you pay an admission ticket and you go in and you get to watch people living in cages to see how they are suffering... You just went to Cuba and to fulfill your curiosity — which I could’ve told you about if you’d come seen me for five minutes — you’ve left thousands of dollars in the hands of a government that uses that money to control these people that you feel sorry for."

One traveler who could have used five minutes with Senator Rubio is Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott.

Talbott traveled to Cuba earlier this month, wined and dined with Castro regime officials, and left them thousands of dollars, while probably shunning courageous democracy activists (as his Brookings colleagues have done in the past in order not to "offend" their regime hosts).

Then, he made this amazing "discovery":

From Havana: much of Cuba's expanding tourist sector is controlled by military officers, active & retired.
— Strobe Talbott (@strobetalbott) March 2, 2013

Despite this, Talbott's subordinate at Brookings, Ted Piccone, who led some of the previous trips that shunned Cuba's courageous pro-democracy activists, argues this week that the U.S. should proceed to bail out the Castro regime -- by enhancing business ties with its monopolies (for Cubans are prohibited from engaging in foreign trade) -- in order to soften the blow from the prospective loss of billionaire subsidies from Venezuela.

(This was not a surprise, as in the past, Brooking's Cuba reports have completely glossed over human rights).

Piccone's column is entitled "Time to Bet on Cuba." However, unilaterally engaging the Castro regime and its business monopolies sounds more like "Time to Bet on Castro."

Ironically, this week, we have witnessed the extraordinarily talent and courage of Yoani Sanchez and Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo in New York and Washington D.C.; Berta Soler in Madrid and Rosa Maria Paya in Geneva. Not to mention the leadership of Antonio Rodiles, Jose Luis Garcia Perez "Antunez," Jose Daniel Ferrer, Guillermo Farinas and so many others back in Cuba.  

These outstanding individuals have shown the world that there is indeed a Cuban alternative to the Castro regime -- that there is a bright future ahead.

Brookings is clearly making the wrong bet.

Sen Rubio Promotes Syria Democratic Transition Act

SenatorMarcoRubio

Senator Rubio: Cuba is Not a Zoo

capitolhillcubans

In The Hill:

Rubio: Tourists, senators treat Cuba like a 'zoo' or 'field trip'

Sen. Marco Rubio on Friday blasted those who vacation in Cuba, accusing those who visit the homeland of his parents — including some of his Senate colleagues — of exploiting those who live under the Communist regime and misunderstanding the politics at play.

“Cuba is not a zoo where you pay an admission ticket and you go in and you get to watch people living in cages to see how they are suffering,” Rubio said at a luncheon for the Cuba-Democracy PAC, video of which was posted Monday by The Shark Tank. “Cuba is not a field trip. I don’t take that stuff lightly."

Rubio said visitors propped up the Castro regime by aiding the economy of the island nation, inadvertently aiding those who oppressed the Cuban people.

"You just went to Cuba and to fulfill your curiosity — which I could’ve told you about if you’d come seen me for five minutes — you’ve left thousands of dollars in the hands of a government that uses that money to control these people that you feel sorry for," Rubio said.

Rubio took particular exception to his colleagues in the Senate who visited Cuba or argued that the embargo against the country implemented during the Cold War should be repealed.

“The thing I really get a kick out of is every year without fail three or four of my colleagues in the Senate will travel to Cuba — they’ll have their yearly meeting with Raul Castro or whoever is there and then they come back with the same story,” Rubio said.

The Florida lawmaker proceeded to imitate his colleagues.

"'Oh, we really have our finger on the way to change policy toward Cuba. What we have today is a relic of the Cold War.' That’s what they say. It is a relic of the Cold War but our policy is not the relic. The relic is the Cuban government — that’s the relic," Rubio said.

Last month, a delegation of five senators and two House members took a three-day trip to Cuba. The group was led by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.); the only Republican traveling with the group was Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). In 2012, Leahy met with Cuban president Raul Castro and other Cuban officials.

Marco Rubio critica los viajes políticos de senadores de EEUU a Cuba

elpais

Marco Rubio no se ha mordido la lengua al criticar los viajes que regularmente hacen sus compañeros de profesión a Cuba, la isla en la que nacieron sus padres y de la que emigraron a Estados Unidos debido al régimen castrista. “El país no es un zoo donde vas a ver a la gente viviendo en jaulas”, declaró el senador por Florida durante un almuerzo en Miami con el comité de recaudación de fondos Cuba-Democracia, según un vídeo ofrecido por el blog político The Shark Tank.

Rubio criticaba así a sus colegas senadores y a los ciudadanos norteamericanos que visitan el país y a su regreson le comentan con pena: “Fui a Cuba, ¡que sitio tan preciso! Me siento mal por su gente…”. El senador republicano –posible aspirante a la carrera presidencial en 2016- prosigue con su elaboración de que Cuba no es un zoo “donde se paga entrada” y ves a la gente “sufriendo”. “No me tomo estas cosas a la ligera”, dice. “Van a Cuba para satisfacer una curiosidad pero a la vez están dejando miles de dólares en las manos de un Gobierno que usa ese dinero para contral a esa misma gente por la que dicen sentirse apenados”.

Continuar leyendo en  elpais >>

CNN: Was Rubio's Water-Sipping a 'Career-Ender'?

breitbart

By Ben Shapiro

According to CNN, on Tuesday night, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) committed a cardinal sin: he took a sip of water from a bottle during his response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. They actually ran a chyron reading: “CAREER-ENDER?”

CNN now claims they were joking; “It was a tease,” said CNN spokesperson Edie Emery to Politico. “Wolf [Blitzer] specifically said no one thinks this will be a career ender.” But the media’s insanity over Rubio sipping water wasn’t limited to CNN. It permeated television throughout the day. In the view of the mainstream media, leaving a drowned woman in your car at the bottom of a river shouldn’t end your career (Teddy Kennedy); ejaculating on an intern in the Oval Office shouldn’t end your career (Bill Clinton); allowing a male prostitution ring to run from your apartment shouldn’t end your career (Barney Frank); leaving Americans without security in Benghazi and quietly going to sleep as 4 Americans die there isn’t a career ender.

Sipping water – now that’s the end of the world. After all, when all Democrats walk on water, sipping it just seems sacrilegious.

Senator Rubio on FOX News, CBS & ABC

SenatorMarcoRubio

Sen Marco Rubio delivers Republican Address to the Nation [English & Spanish]

SenatorMarcoRubio

Marco Rubio: First Cuban-American on Time's Cover

capitolhillcubans

Sen. Rubio responded to the cover with this tweet:

 

There is only one savior, and it is not me. #Jesus
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) 7 de febrero de 2013

On the Record: Secretary Kerry on Cuba Policy-Sen. Rubio-Takes Gloves Off

capitolhillcubans

In the Congressional Record from then-U.S. Senator John Kerry's (D-Mass.) confirmation hearing for U.S. Secretary of State:

Question from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.):

Since December 2009, the Cuban government has been holding an American development worker, Alan Gross, hostage for helping the Jewish community in Cuba get uncensored internet access.  The UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions has held Gross's imprisonment to be arbitrary.  The U.S. should pressure the Cuban government to release Alan Gross. However, the Cuban government should not be rewarded with any unilateral concessions for Gross's imprisonment - whether before or after Gross's release - for this will only endanger American lives in the future and encourage further hostage taking.  If confirmed, would you commit not to reward the Cuban government for the arbitrary imprisonment of Americans?

Answer from U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) : 

If confirmed, I will do everything in my power to protect the safety and security of American citizens around the globe, including in Cuba.  Alan Gross is a 63-year-old husband, father, and dedicated professional with a long history of providing assistance and support to under-served communities in over 50 countries.  His incarceration is unjust and his release is a humanitarian issue.  If confirmed, I will continue to use all appropriate diplomatic means to secure Mr. Gross’ release.

Question:

The Agency for International Development's democracy programs are pivotal to helping Cuba's civil society gain access to new technologies, basic support for the marginalized families of political prisoners, training for independent journalists, labor activists and other targeted groups.  We have read reports regarding of previous efforts to halt the democracy programs, which are authorized by law.  If confirmed, would you continue to support the Cuban democracy programs?

Answer:

If confirmed, I will continue U.S. policies that promote democracy, freedom of expression and assembly, and human rights in Cuba.  It is the Administration’s view that we should help those who work for positive change in Cuba, including human rights and pro-democracy activists, independent journalists, and broader civil society.  The Cuban democracy programs are one element of the strategy to support these objectives.  If confirmed, I will seek ways to increase the independence of the Cuban people so that they may freely determine their own future.

Question:

While State and Treasury have worked with me to streamline procedures to make sure people-to-people programs are truly benefiting the Cuban people, reports of trips being hosted by the government and meeting with the neighborhood watch committees (CDRs), continue to take place.  The President's policy states that these programs were designed to foment the Cuban people's "independence" from the regime; but in fact, the itineraries are controlled by the regime on the island.

Would you work to uphold the Administration's original intent of these trips and ensure they are not being used for tourism purposes, which is against US law, or for the benefit of the Cuban government?

Answer:

If confirmed, I will continue to support the Administration’s desire to increase purposeful travel; support private enterprise and civil society in Cuba; enhance free flow of information to, from, and among the Cuban people; and help promote their independence from the Cuban state.  In May 2012, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended the “Comprehensive Guidelines for License Applications to Engage in Travel-Related Transactions Involving Cuba” to require additional information from people-to-people license applicants, including information on how their proposed travel would enhance contact with the Cuban people and/or support civil society in Cuba and/or help promote the Cuban people’s independence from Cuban authorities.  The Administration continues to assess implementing procedures to ensure that benefits to Cuban civil society of U.S. travel outweigh any potential benefits to the Cuban government.

If confirmed, I will ensure that the Department of State continues to work closely with the OFAC and refer to OFAC any potential violations of which the State Department becomes aware.

Rubio to deliver GOP response to State of the Union

washingtonpost

Marco Rubio’s selection to deliver the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union cements the Florida senator’s role as a first-among-equals when it comes to the future leaders of the party, and sets up an intriguing dynamic over the next few years between Rubio and the man he almost certainly wants to replace.

Marco Rubio. AFP/Getty Images

That Congressional Republicans chose Rubio to carry the party’s flag is, frankly, not at all surprising. It’s no secret that Rubio is the single most marketable product in the Republican party today;  he’s young (41 years old), Hispanic and conservative without being frightening to voters outside of the party base. He is also, without question, the most gifted communicator in the party — a natural ability that evokes, dare we write it, Barack Obama. (For more on Rubio’s abilities, check out the piece we wrote following his speech at the Republican National Convention speech.)

“He is the most natural communicator in put party since Reagan, and I’ve not said that of anyone before,” said Ed Gillespie, former chairman of the Republican National Convention of Rubio. “When he speaks it’s like someone tapped a tuning fork. He just hums.”

Rubio is, to be blunt, the obvious choice — particularly with his recent leadership on a compromise immigration reform measure, a piece of legislation that is of massive import to the GOP’s future political prospects.

The more intriguing narrative that unspools from the choice of Rubio is how Tuesday night’s speech likely kicks off a period in which the GOP puts the Florida senator forward as its de facto foil to President Obama.

The simple truth is that the national Republican party lacks a leader at the moment, someone who can effectively articulate a counter-message to the one Obama is delivering to the country.

For much of 2011 and 2012 that role was occupied by House Speaker John Boehner thanks to the GOP’s majority in that chamber. But Boehner was always a bad fit.

First, Boehner’s prime concern was, is and always will be the care and feeding of what has become an increasingly conservative Republican majority in the House. Boehner’s messaging, therefore, was always calibrated to the 200+ House Republicans, not the American public writ large.

Second, Boehner isn’t — and, to his credit, doesn’t claim to be — a communicator on the level of Obama. He is blunt and occasionally short-tempered, traits that are of value when leading a group like House Republicans but are less useful when trying to re-brand the GOP for moderate and independent voters across the country.

Third, Boehner’s failure late last year to round up votes for his so-called “Plan B” during the fiscal cliff debate — a proposal that would have exempted all but those making $1 million or more from a tax increase — proved that he lacks the sort of control over his caucus required to lead it, let alone the Republican Party.

The leadership vacuum caused by Boehner’s struggles has contributed in no small part to the seemingly catch-as-catch-can approach the party has taken to its political tactics and strategy over the last few months.

On the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling, the party backed down for fear of picking a fight it couldn’t win with Obama. On immigration, a handful of Senate Republicans (including Rubio) looks to be moving forward but with no signoff from the House majority on the idea of a path to citizenship for undocumented workers.

Enter (at least in theory) Rubio. In addition to his natural political skills, Rubio has also proven decidedly deft at navigating between the tea party and the GOP establishment during his brief time in the Senate. That decidedly rare skill — Boehner, Mitt Romney, John McCain and many others lack it — coupled with the sense that Rubio is the person best positioned to put a Republican back in the White House in 2016 — could well provide the momentum he needs to be the GOP’s answer, figuratively and literally, to President Obama.

Now, with all that said, it’s important not to overstate the import of the Republican State of the Union response. Most of these responses are forgotten almost as soon as they are delivered. And while the political world loves to cite Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s weak performance in 2009 as a sign of how much damage a poor speech can do, is there anyone who thinks Jindal’s prospects as a 2016 candidate have been materially affected by that speech?

What’s clear from Rubio’s selection as the State of the Union responder is that the national Republican Party both recognizes his ability and understands its own need to begin to elevate a national messenger to contend with President Obama over the next few years. Rubio has long been the expected inheritor of that role; his State of the Union response formalizes it.

Rubio: I Cannot Support Hagel's Confirmation

SEN. MARCO RUBIO ON FOX'S 'HAPPENING NOW: Well, let me begin by saying that Chuck Hagel’s service to our country, particularly in Vietnam is something all of us admire and I don’t think you will find any debate about that but he is being nominated for one of the most important cabinet positions in our country, the secretary of defense. And I’ve stated long ago I’ve been deeply disturbed by his previous comments and positions in regards to sanctions on Iran and in regards to direct negotiations with North Korea. Obviously, statements he’s made about Israel. These are not the kind of statements and kind of positions I want to see our secretary of defense have and these are big, big problems. And so, for those reasons I just don’t believe I will be able to support his nomination especially after his testimony in the last hour here, he’s really not said anything that addresses those concerns to my satisfaction.

Senator Rubio on Immigration Reform Proposal

SenatorMarcoRubio