Governors pile on Rubio in GOP debate
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Marco Rubio found himself under siege Saturday night, as three Republican governors battling him for the establishment vote took repeated shots at his lack of executive experience.
The three governors on stage – Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Kasich – repeatedly argued that personal responsibility and leadership for legislative issues is lost because a senator is just one of one-hundred.
{mosads}Here are some of the notable moments:
Foreign policy
During an exchange between Christie and Rubio, the New Jersey governor insulted what he called Rubio’s “truancy” and distance from decision-making.
“It does matter when the challenges don’t come on a list of a piece of paper of what to vote yes or no every day, but when the problems come in from the people that you serve,” Christie said, bashing Rubio for missing the vote on the Hezbollah Sanctions Act.
“[Rubio] a smart person and a good guy, but he simply does not have the experience to be president of the United States and make these decisions. We’ve watched it happen, everybody. For the last seven years, the people of New Hampshire are smart. Do not make the same mistake again.”
Immigration
During an exchange on Rubio’s record on immigration legislation, Christie again used the opportunity to point out that his executive experience qualifies him more than a member of Congress.
“This is the difference between being a governor who actually has to be responsible for problems and not answering a question. The question was, ‘Did he fight for his legislation?’ ” Christie shot at Rubio’s plan to enforce current immigration laws.
“It’s abundantly clear that he didn’t. It’s abundantly clear that he didn’t fight for the legislation.”
Christie used the example of a fight with the teachers unions over tenure reform. He said he personally fought the union and ended up winning.
“Not handicap it and say, well maybe since I can’t win this one, I’ll run. That’s not what leadership is. That’s what Congress is.”
Later in the night, during an exchange on the Department of Veterans Affairs, Christie brought the issue back to immigration in an attack on Rubio’s failed Gang of Eight bill in the Senate.
“He said his bill couldn’t pass on the Gang of Eight. He acted as if he was somehow disembodied from the bill. It was his bill,” Christie said.
“You can’t just act as if it happened out of nowhere. We have to take responsibility as executives. I take responsibility for my record in New Jersey. We’ve rebuilt the economy and rebuilt after the second-worst natural disaster in American history. I’m proud of my record.”
Infrastructure
As Bush argued to shift transportation dollars back to the states, he took an indirect shot at the senators on stage.
“I trust Kasich and Christie to build the roads and the infrastructure of their states than Washington, D.C.,” he said.
Rubio rebutted by saying experience is not necessary a positive thing.
“I will say, if politics becomes and the presidency becomes about electing people who have been Congress or in the Senate the longest, we should all rally around Joe Biden,” he replied.
“He’s been around 1,000 years. He’s passed hundreds of bills and I don’t think any of us believe Joe Biden should be president of the United States.
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