My Statement On The President's Impeachment Trial
— Voting to find the President guilty would not just be a condemnation
of his action. If I vote guilty, I will be voting to remove a
President from office for the first time in the 243-year history of our
Republic.
Showing posts with label Marco Rubio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marco Rubio. Show all posts
Rubio's ISIS strategy by Marco Rubio
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama—the leader of the most powerful nation on earth—has decided to maintain his strategy of weakness and neglect. He claims, falsely, that ISIL is geographically contained. He insists, foolishly, that using ground troops would be a mistake.
Obama hopes he can defer leadership long enough for ISIL to become the next president’s problem. Yet with every day that passes, the danger of an ISIL-inspired or ISIL-sponsored attack on the U.S. homeland grows. This is now more than a mere military battle; it is a civilizational struggle—one with the free peoples of the world on one side and those who believe everyone must convert to their perverted version of Islam or be killed on the other.
When I am president, what I will do to defeat ISIL is very simple: whatever it takes. Exactly what it will take will depend on how the situation on the ground changes over the next 15 months. If Obama begins acting with strength, the next president could face a more manageable crisis; but if he continues to fail the test of leadership, the next president will face a challenge of enormous proportions.
Here is what Obama must do—and what I would do if I were president today—to defeat ISIL and guarantee the safety of our people.
First, I would protect the homeland by immediately stopping the flow of Syrian refugees into the United States—not because refugees fleeing conflict are unwelcome, but because it is currently impossible to verify their identities or intentions. I would also strengthen the Visa Waiver Program’s security screening to ensure individuals coming to our country are not a threat. I would rescind limitations on overseas intelligence collection and restore the intelligence gathering authorities Congress drastically limited this year. We don’t want to wake up the day after an attack wishing we’d had these programs in place.
Next, I would reverse defense sequestration so we have the capabilities to go on the offense against ISIL. We will only be able to protect our people at home if we defeat ISIL abroad. I would build a multinational coalition of countries willing to send troops into Iraq and Syria to aid local forces on the ground. When I am president, I will tell my commanders that the mission is the total destruction of ISIL and will send them the forces necessary to succeed.
Furthermore, I understand the ideological conflict at the heart of this struggle and will apply the appropriate pressure to tip the scales in favor of peace and stability. As president, I would demand that Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government grant greater autonomy to Sunnis, and would provide direct military support to Sunnis and the Kurds if Baghdad fails to support them. I would back those demands with intense diplomatic pressure and the leverage of greater American military assistance to Iraq.
Cutting off oxygen to ISIL also requires defeating Assad in Syria. I would declare no-fly zones to ground Assad’s air force and coalition-controlled “safe zones” in the country to stop his military. These safe zones would stem the flow of refugees and provide a place to train and arm rebel fighters. I would oppose Russia and Iran in their fight to prolong Assad’s brutal regime.
All of this and more must be done immediately to defeat ISIL. Obama will likely refuse to take these actions. As a result, ISIL will continue its death march across the Middle East, Americans will remain at risk, and America’s next president will inherit an even larger challenge than the one we face today.
Hillary Clinton wants to be that next president, yet she continues to claim that ISIL cannot be America’s fight. Some of my Republican colleagues are also vying for the presidency, yet they have spent the last several years helping to gut our defense and eliminate key intelligence programs. All have failed to grasp the threat posed by disengagement from Syria and Iraq. I warned against it from the beginning.
Early in 2011, when a strain of isolationism seemed to be taking root in the Republican Party, I began to warn of the dangers of failing to lead on the growing challenge in Syria and Iraq. I predicted much of what has happened today. I have repeatedly laid out what must be done to defeat ISIL and have spoken of the need for American strength even when it wasn't popular.
The greatest job of America’s president is to keep our people safe. I will not tire in my efforts to do so. Evil will never relent, and when I am president, neither will America.
Marco Rubio's comprehensive immigration reform formula.
Understand that when he speaks of the “will of the people” or words to that affect, he is just kidding. The will of the people had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the passage of ObamaCare and, every survey since that debate was framed, has expressed a deep disappointment in what Obama calls “health care reform.” That negative attitude will only increase with the passage of time. The reason? The bill is full of taxes at all levels, including a heavy dose directed at the middle class. But before the taxes kick in, sometime during 2014 and before the coming midterms, there is the fact of rising healthcare costs. Since this bill’s passage, healthcare costs for those not on Medicare, have risen $2,500 per year, for a family of four. He promised a decrease of that exact amount, but that failing was not a central issue in the 2012 election cycle. Why? No one knows.
The
will of the people have nothing to do with his fetish for spending, and the number of concerned citizens on this
score, is around 70%. Yet,
nothing of substance from this man who would be King.
Because
this is his second term, he will have
more time to get things done, since he
will not have the excuse of running a campaign.
And, if the Socialist/One
Worlders, win back the House, he just
might get more accomplished.
Its
just that since he failed to get all
that much accomplished, in this first
two years, when the Republicans could
not stop anything he thought to do, one
wonders how much will be accomplished with or without a takeover of the House
by the Dems.
Editorial notes: understand that Marco Rubio came up with a "dream act" to deal with so-called "illegals," during the 2012 campaign cycle. B Hussein stole that idea, a week later, and put it into effect via an executive order. His campaign was full of co-oped ideas, cover -ups and dozens of promises initially made during his 2008 campaign.
News Update: a group of Senators including Senator Rubio, will hold a joint press conference on immigration reform, today (Jan 28th) at 11:30, pt. Some of Rubio's ideas, expressed below, may be a part of what comes from this bipartisan effort.
By MARCO RUBIO
SPECIAL TO THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: Jan. 27, 2013
| 2:11 a.m.
Updated: Jan. 27, 2013 | 9:35 p.m.
Updated: Jan. 27, 2013 | 9:35 p.m.
As
a nation of immigrants, Americans know how important immigration has been
throughout our history. It's an indispensable part of our future.
Sadly,
our immigration system is broken, and our dysfunctional Congress has been
unable to put in place a new legal immigration system that honors our heritage
as both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. To do this, we need to
address three key areas.
I
First,
we need a modern legal immigration system with an
application and compliance system that
relies on new technology to simplify the process of coming and staying
here legally.
We need an agricultural workers program that allows us to
bring in seasonal and long-term laborers to provide our agricultural industries
with the workers they need.
We need visa programs to attract and keep more entrepreneurs,
investors and highly skilled workers in science, technology, engineering and
math fields.
None of this should lead us to abandon or undermine family-based
immigration.
That is how my parents came to America legally, and how a great many new
Americans join our society every year. Family unification should remain a high
priority alongside the nation's economic interests.
II
A second key area is improving our law enforcement. Every nation
has a right to protect its sovereignty by enforcing its immigration laws. We must attain
operational control of our borders, create an effective workplace enforcement
mechanism, and make sure that visitors to our nation leave our country when
they're supposed to.
III
The third key area: addressing the undocumented immigrants
already here. Those
who have committed serious crimes in the United States should be found,
arrested and deported.
Most of those who are undocumented are not dangerous criminals.
But most are also not victims. They knowingly broke our immigration laws and do
not have a legal right to remain here. But they are also human beings who made
those choices in pursuit of a dream we recognize as the American dream. [ Understand that coming to this
country, “illegally,” is not a criminal offence, according to our courts. It’s restrictions are part of our civil
code, not our criminal code. -
editor ]
The
best thing for our country is to deal with this issue in a humane but
responsible way that ensures this never happens again - not because anyone has
a "right" to reside here illegally, but because, with or without
documents, most of them are here to stay.
We can't round up millions of people and deport them. But we
also can't fix our broken immigration system if we provide incentives for
people to come here illegally - precisely the signal a blanket amnesty would
send.
What to do with the
millions of “illegal’s” in our country, now.
1) Instead, the first step should be to require
those who have not committed any felonies and are assimilated into America, to
have the opportunity to apply for temporary non-immigrant status. To receive this status, they will have to come forward,
admit wrongdoing, undergo a background check and pay back taxes and a
meaningful fine for violating our laws.
To
keep this status, they must maintain clean criminal records. And
they will not be able to receive welfare, student aid or any other federal
public assistance.
2) It's not a good idea
to have millions of people permanently trapped in an immigration status that
keeps them forever at a distance from our society. Therefore, once our new
enforcement measures are certifiably in place, they should be allowed to apply for permanent status - not through a
special pathway, but through the new and modernized legal immigration process
we envision. They will have to wait behind everyone who applied before them
legally. And when their turn comes up, they will have to meet the conditions of
the visa they apply for.
3) In the past, efforts
to accommodate the undocumented have failed because the enforcement measures
were never implemented. That's why this option to apply for a green card and
get in the back of the line should not be made available until it is certified
that significant progress has been made on enforcement of our immigration laws.
Both
sides should want this kind of common-sense reform. To those concerned about
illegal immigration, what we have now is de facto amnesty. To those looking to
help the undocumented, families will continue being separated by deportations
as long as politicians keep bickering and trying to outdo each other.
I've
been encouraged by the support for these ideas I've found across the political
spectrum, and my hope is President Obama will use his voice and influence to
further this approach. However, if what he offers is a process for the
undocumented that is more lenient, faster and unfair to those waiting to come
legally, it won't bode well for reform.
I
hope he proves that he is as serious about solving the problem as I and many
colleagues are.
U.S.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is a former Las Vegas resident and the son of Cuban
immigrants.
Marco Rubio nails it at CPAC, today, the first day of the convention. Here on the speech notes.
I can't attend CPAC. It is
held in D.C. and I live in the Marxist state of California, seriously.
One of the blogs I have decided to follow (I have it bookmarked) is
Thurber's Thoughts. The blog owner recorded these notes of Marco Rubio's
speech, which I included in this post. You will want to read more of her
report on CPAC including a summation of Paul Ryan's comments. He will
present a full speech, apparently, tomorrow.
Marco Robio: speech notes by Thurber's Thoughts editor:
First speaker I've been able to report on: Sen. Marco Rubio. His comments are below with apologies for typos and the structure of the post:
- Hard to get a teleprompter in this town...
- Senate is an interesting place - told the greatest thing about it is that he could be there 30 years and still be the youngest member.
- was starstruck when he looked around and saw his fellow members...wondered 'how did I get here?' Six months later I looked around and wondered 'how did they get here?'
- fundamental choice our country has...these aren't just popularity contests, they're choices
- very clear choice before us
- where we are...
- State of the union, the president did not talk about his record because it's not very good - when he became president, we had high unemployment, bad economy. Had a Dem Congress...and everything got worse.
- he can't run on his record, so what can he do? He pits Americans against each other.
- Basic argument he's making is that some of us are not as well off, because others are. That the only way for less well-off to get better is to tear down those who are doing well.
- the only way for some people to better is for others to do worse: that's the though process of other counties - it's what people come here to get away from.
- it doesn't work.
- how do you know majority Americans are conservative? How many liberals ever actually admit they're liberal? They come up with a new term, progressives... I thought that was an insurance company.
- Conservatives fight over who is more like Ronald Reagan. Do liberals ever fight over who is more like Jimmy Carter?
- If you're an appellate lawyer, better brush up on your S. African law (reference to Justice Ruth Bader Gingsburg's comments on the U.S. Constitution)
- the way prosperity is created is when people have the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams.
- families are being fed, people will cash paychecks because others had a dream and the freedom to pursue it.
- What does government do to encourage this process? First it has a simple tax code - simple and easy to understand. Tax codes should not be an impediment to jobs and opportunity.
- regulations are needed, but cannot exist just to justify the existence of an agency.
- Conservatism is about tax reform and regulatory reform - but with common sense.
- America doesn't have an energy policy - it has energy politics.
_ America is an energy-rich nation. Why would we tie our own hands behind our back when we're competing with everyone else in the world. Conservatism says that if you're an energy-rich country, you need to use the energy that God has blessed your country with.
- Debt - unsustainable to spend more money than you take in. Europe is our future if we don't act. We know the drivers of our debt: Medicare is going bankrupt - anyone who is in favor of leaving it the way it is now is in favor of bankrupting Medicare.
- What is the President's plan? He doesn't have one. He waits for someone like Paul Ryan to present one and then attack him.
- He's been in office 3 years and dealt with none of the issues.
- Strength of nation means we must be strong economically and from a national defense perspective.
- Strong economically, militarily and your people must be strong. Our greatness does not derive from our laws, our president and certainly not from our Congress - it derives from our people.
- government shouldn't be telling our religious institutions what to do or how to operate. (reference to the Catholic Church's objection to HHS rulings on providing contraception to employees). The First Amendment still applies - it's not about contraception - it's about the Constitution.
The federal government does not have the authority to force religious organizations to pay for things that that organization believes is wrong.
- This matters because this is the country we are going to give our children.
- with all the problems we have around the world, let's not forget that it is the impact and influence of this country that has made the world better.
- Nazis and Imperial Japan would have won had it not been for the resolve and determination of the American people.
- world is a lot better because we are the strongest nation in the world.
- the rise of democracy and free enterprise has happened because of the U.S. and contributed to the rise of the middle class across the world.
- Democracy spread because American spoke out about these things - led and spread the idea.
- our political system, as messy as it is, has protected our rights better than any other system in the world.
- People around the world know that here, there are people doing things that they cannot within their own country. Whether they agree on various issues or not, they've seen what the American example can accomplish and they want that for themselves.
- if we diminish? We'll leave a space that will be filled by someone else. Who? The only nations capable of filling that void are totalitarian nations like Russia and China.
- why do they not condemn Syria? Because they reserve the right to do the same things to their own people if faced with the same situation.
- the greatest thing we can do for the world is be America. That is what is at stake - what we have to choose - what November is about.
- President looks like a he's a good father and good husband, but he's a terrible president. At the core is what kind of nation do we want to be and leave to our children and the world.
- Our greatness is derived from our blessedness - God has given us much: resources, best and brightest people, prosperity on our own continent, peace,
- my parents were good people, but they didn't have what I have.
- I was born with the privilege and honor of being a citizen of the greatest nation in history. Being an American is a blessing and a responsibility.
- shining city on a hill - America is a light. What you have done in your lives every single day who doesn't wait for the government to tell them what to do.
- the light of everyday people who will never be famous, but make a real difference in the lives of others - you shine for the world.
- When America sends their sons and daughters to die overseas, they do so for other people's freedom and liberty. What other nation in the world has ever done that?
- This is who we've been and who we are and now we must decide if we are going to continue. That is the choice: choice between someone who has failed over the past 3 years and is asking for 4 more, or a new direction.
- historic opportunity. We should be grateful that God has placed us here at this point - Through our example, we can change the world for the better.
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