Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Reflections on Marco Rubio's Disingenuous and Dishonest GOP Response

Marco Rubio is in the process of giving his GOP response to Barack Obama's State of the Union Address.  Besides being an out right liar, Rubio seems to suffer from either an extreme case of amnesia or some form of severe head trauma.  If Rubio is the supposed "savior" of the GOP, the party is in serious trouble.  The man makes Mitt Romney look authentic, concerned and compassionate in comparison.

He began by whining about the economic collapse first triggered by the housing market.  A collapse that he blames on failed government regulation of the mortgage market forgetting, of course, that it was the REPUBLICAN deregulated mortgage market and Wall Street.   

He also makes the false GOP claim that Obama has incurred more debt in 4 years that his predecessor - the clueless Chimperator George W. Bush - did in 8 years.  Apparently, Rubio is a product of the reality denying Christofascist private education that he believes should be supported by a  voucher system that would harm public education.   He can't read charts, do math or accept objective reality.

He also depicts government policy and regulation as the main obstacle to people rising through hard work to improve themselves and the finances of their families.  One can only assume that the rapacious and polluting Koch brothers drafted Rubio's talking points.  Per Rubio, the best fix for America is a return to the status of the Gilded Age.

And on gun control, don't even get me started other than  to say that Wayne LaPierre of the NRA must have loved it.

Think Progress was also sickened by the dishonesty of Rubio's respnse.  Here are some highlights:

Rubio argues stronger gun laws are 'unconstitutional' - Rubio argued that although “we must effectively deal with the rise of violence in our country,” he dismissed possible new gun laws as “unconstitutionally undermining the 2nd Amendment.”

Rubio omits path to citizenship' - When Rubio addressed immigration reform, he called for a “ responsible, permanent solution to the problem of those who are here illegally.” Some conservatives’ answer to immigration reform omits citizenship, which would create “a permanent underclass of workers.” Citizinship is essential to the economy, and would raise the nation’s gross domestic product by $1.5 trillion in the next decade, raise wages for everyone, and lead to between $4.5 and $5.4 billion in increased tax revenue. Meanwhile, his calls for more border security fall flat, since illegal crossings are down.

Rubio doesn't mention his 'no' vote on Violence Against Women Act today - Rubio was one of just 22 senators—all men and all Republicans—who voted against the Violence Against Women Act today.

Rubio doesn’t even believe climate change is real -In his rebuttal, Rubio attacked Obama for his push for clean energy. Rubio is out of touch on this; despite the horrible effects of extreme weather in his home state of Florida, he claims there’s “reasonable debate” over whether climate change is real.

Rubio did vote to undermine Medicare - Rubio claims that he never would have voted for a bill that undermined his mother’s Medicare coverage. But in supporting Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget, he did increase costs for current seniors in the program and significantly raised premiums for future retirees.

No, government didn't cause the Great Recession - Rubio repeats a long-debunked myth



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