On the heels of Pope Francis’ inaugural visit to the United States, GOP presidential hopefuls including Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum and Bobby Jindal will attend the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, an annual gathering to promote conservative values.
The contrast between the values His Holiness spoke about during his visit and those to be discussed at the Values Voter Summit is stark. These Republican hopefuls are expected to disagree with some of Pope Francis’ most emphasized values when it comes to the GOP’s positions on economic inequality, immigration reform, climate change and more. Perhaps Pope Francis should take the GOP back to Sunday School.
For more contrast in values between the Pope and Republican presidential hopefuls, see Correct The Record’s analysis below:
Economic Inequality
“I would encourage you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty. They too need to be given hope.”
– Pope Francis, 9/24/15
Donald Trump
Donald Trump opposed letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire. “In 2010, Trump opposed President Obama’s plan to let the Bush-era tax cuts on the wealthy expire and months later he signed anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist’s pledge to veto any new taxes.” [Huffington Post, 1/2/13]
Donald Trump supported replacing the income tax with “either a fair tax…a flat tax or certainly a simplified code” and proposed repealing the corporate income tax. “Trump overcame his moral objections to the flat tax. On April 15, he told Fox News that he’d like to replace the income tax with ‘either a fair tax’ (i.e., a national sales tax), ‘a flat tax or certainly a simplified code.’ He also proposes repealing the corporate income tax because, he wrote in his 2011 book, it would ‘create an unprecedented jobs boom.’” [Politico, 7/26/15]
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: Donald Trump’s policies “would disproportionately hurt lower-income Americans.” ”Billionaire businessman, television personality and now presidential candidate Donald Trump is the latest candidate to jump into the race. He has made a number of tax proposals. His more recent proposals, in contrast to ones he proposed back around the 2000 election, would likely sharply increase the national debt and make the U.S. tax system substantially more regressive by both cutting taxes for the rich and creating a massive new tax that would disproportionately hurt lower-income Americans.” [Institute On Taxation And Economic Policy, 6/22/15]
Donald Trump said he would not increase the minimum wage. “Trump said he would not increase the minimum wage, adding that the U.S. needs to bring back jobs from places like Mexico, China and India.” [Politico, 6/18/15]
Ben Carson
Ben Carson supported eliminating progressive aspects of the tax code in favor of one flat rate for all incomes. “Carson’s big idea is to remove much of the progressivity from the tax system, imposing a single rate of about 10 to 15 percent. ‘The one that I’ve advocated is based on tithing, because I think God is a pretty fair guy,’ Carson said during August’s debate in Cleveland. ‘And He said, you know, if you give me a tithe, it doesn’t matter how much you make.’ What the campaign hasn’t figured out yet, Rustici said, is whether it’s an income tax or a consumption tax and what deductions should vanish.” [Bloomberg, 9/8/15]
Fox News’s Chris Wallace: Ben Carson’s “flat tax” plan would raise income taxes on the poor while the wealthy “make like bandits.” “Dr. Ben Carson, now a Republican presidential candidate, has long proposed a ‘flat tax’ for the country, citing the Bible’s tithing as his inspiration. […] But on Sunday, host Chris Wallace confronted Carson with tax experts, who found that to raise the same amount of revenue the federal government currently takes in, the government would have to impose a 20 percent tax across the board. (The Tax Policy Center argues it would have to be at least 25 percent.) ‘Middle incomes would get a tax hike and wealthy families would get a tax cut,’ Wallace explained. Carson countered that he simply didn’t ‘agree with that assessment.’ […] Wallace followed up by asking about low-income families, who not only don’t pay taxes, but usually receive an earned income tax credit instead. ‘Now you’ll have them pay 10 to 15 percent of income they have — or 20 percent if my experts are right. A lot of independent studies say the people that make like bandits in this are the wealthy.’” [Think Progress, 5/10/15]
Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush’s presidential tax plan offered up a massive tax cut for the richest Americans. “Like Romney, Bush offers up a massive tax cut for the richest Americans, calling in his op-ed to slash the top tax rate from 39.6 percent to just 28 percent. In an effort to simplify what Bush calls the burdensome complexity of the tax code, he says he’d eliminate some current deductions, like the one that allows companies to write off the cost of borrowing.” [Huffington Post, 9/8/15]
- Huffington Post: Jeb Bush’s tax plan “appears to be subject to similar mathematical problems as those that plagued the tax plan offered in 2012 by then-GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.” “Bush’s plan is vague, but appears to be subject to similar mathematical problems as those that plagued the tax plan offered in 2012 by then-GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Economists at the time dinged Romney for promising big tax cuts for the wealthy that would have required tax increases on those less fortunate to avoid swelling the deficit.” [Huffington Post, 9/8/15]
- MSNBC: Jeb Bush’s tax package “appears to be one big, gift-wrapped present to the rich.” “Indeed, the whole package, based on the former governor’s description, appears to be one big, gift-wrapped present to the rich: Bush not only intends to slash rates, he wants to scrap the Estate Tax and cut the corporate tax rate.” [MSNBC, 9/9/15]
Jeb Bush called for an end to the federal minimum wage. “We need to leave it to the private sector. I think state minimum wages are fine. The federal government shouldn’t be doing this. This is one of those poll-driven deals. It polls well, I’m sure – I haven’t looked at the polling, but I’m sure on the surface without any conversation, without any digging into it people say, ‘Yea, everybody’s wages should be up.’ And in the case of Wal-Mart they have raised wages because of supply and demand and that’s good.” [MSNBC, 3/18/15]
Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio’s tax plan “includes a huge break that all-but bypasses the middle and greatly boosts the rich.” “If he wins his party’s nomination, though, Rubio will have to defend a tax plan that, while said to address the challenges of the middle class, includes a huge break that all-but bypasses the middle and greatly boosts the rich. It was a tax plan that was even too large for Romney himself to run on. The latest version of Rubio’s tax plan, which he released with fellow Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in March, shrinks the income tax down to two rates, lowering the top rate in the process, and includes new tax breaks for working families. It also eliminates all taxes on dividends and capital gains. That’s where rich taxpayers cash in. They are overwhelmingly the ones in the economy who draw income from capital, such as holdings and sales of stocks.” [Washington Post, 4/14/15]
Brookings Institution budget expert explained that Marco Rubio’s proposed tax credits would do nothing for low-income earners. “Critics, like Isabel Sawhill, a budget expert at the Brookings Institution, argue that the credit may help some middle- and upper-income families but it would do nothing for low-income earners. The credits are only refundable against income tax and payroll taxes. Low-income workers that already collect the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit typically already get breaks above and beyond the taxes they pay so the Rubio and Lee plan wouldn’t add anything to their refund. ‘It is a big increase in the child tax credit for middle-class families and above but doesn’t help anyone at the bottom,’ Sawhill said. ‘Low-income families don’t have enough payroll and income tax liability to make them eligible for it.’” [Politico, 3/3/15]
Marco Rubio sought to slash the corporate tax rate to 25%. “First, by consolidating the corporate tax system into a single layer and lowering the maximum rate to 25% on both corporate and pass-through entities, our plan eliminates double taxation of capital gains and dividends, and establishes parity among large and small businesses.” [Marco Rubio and Mike Lee, Wall Street Journal, 3/3/15]
Marco Rubio voted against legislation to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. In January 2013, Rubio voted against a deal permanently extending the 2001 and 2003 Bush income, capital gains and dividend tax cuts for the first $400,000 (or $450,000 for joint-filers) of income. Rates on income above those thresholds reverted back to their Clinton-era rates. The bill passed by a vote of 89 to 8; President Obama signed the bill the next day. This vote occurred on January 1, 2013, but is part of the 2012 session. [Senate Vote 251, 1/1/13; CQ Weekly, 1/05/13]
Marco Rubio opposed increasing the minimum wage. “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who gave the Republican response to the State of The Union Tuesday, came out in opposition to minimum wage laws Wednesday, following President Barack Obama’s proposal in Tuesday night’s address to raise the minimum wage to $9 per hour. ‘I support people making more than $9 an hour. I want people to make as much as they can,’ Rubio responded to Charlie Rose on CBS’ ‘This Morning.’ But he continued, ‘I don’t think a minimum wage law works.’ ‘I want people to make a lot more than $9,’ he said. ‘Nine dollars is not enough. The problem is that you can’t do that by mandating it in the minimum wage laws. Minimum wage laws have never worked in terms of helping the middle class attain more prosperity.’” [Huffington Post, 2/13/13]
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz: “Big picture, I’m a flat tax guy.” ”CRUZ: Big picture, I’m a flat tax guy. Low and simple. Now, that’s not easy to do. A lot of forces in Washington, a lot of lobbyists don’t want it.” [MSNBC’s Morning Joe, 3/17/15]
Wonkblog: Ted Cruz’s “flat tax” proposal was a “colossal giveaway to the rich.” “Imagine there’s no IRS. It isn’t hard to do. No Obamacare to pay for. And no budget deficits too. Imagine all the people, living with a flat tax. You may say Ted Cruz is a dreamer, but he’s not the only one. He hopes some day—especially if you live in Iowa—you’ll join him, and, well, he’ll be president. […] But reality is a lot tougher than some tax models. A flat tax would just be a colossal giveaway to the rich—and maybe even take away for the poor—and that doesn’t help the economy much.” [Washington Post, 3/24/15]
Ted Cruz opposed raising the minimum wage. According to CBS News, “Students asked Sen. Cruz for his thoughts on immigration reform, Russia, ways to get the GOP vote and minimum wage. On the subject of minimum wage Sen. Cruz says that he feels jobs would be eliminated by the minimum wage hike. He says he doesn’t think it’s a good idea.” [CBS News, 4/2/14]
Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina opposed raising the federal minimum wage. “Ms. Fiorina generally believes that reducing government regulations helps to spur the economy, and she opposed the 2009 federal stimulus program as a wasteful use of taxpayer money. She opposes raising the federal minimum wage, saying doing so ‘will hurt those who are looking for entry-level jobs.’” [New York Times, 5/4/15]
Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee: Trickle-down economics were “largely true.” “One often hears of ‘trickle-down economics,’ a popular conservative notion that when the economy for the top earners in our society gets better, the effect will ‘trickle down’ to the rest of the people. That’s largely true.” [God, Guns, Grits and Gravy, p. 145, 2015]
Mike Huckabee’s tax plan was criticized by economists for potentially raising rates on the poor. “Mike Huckabee has a counter offer to Jeb Bush’s promise to bring the economy back to 4% growth: 6%. ‘I believe we can get it to 6 or higher with a fair tax. I’m convinced,’ Huckabee told a crowd of potential caucus-goers at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday. ‘I guarantee you we will goose the economy if you bring $11 trillion of working capital back to this country.’ The former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate has argued for overhauling the tax code by abolishing the IRS, which he called on Sunday a ‘criminal enterprise,’ and establishing a single, flat sales tax across the board — a proposal that has drawn heat from some economists who say it would unfairly burden the poor, a claim Huckabee rejects.” [CNN, 8/13/15]
Mike Huckabee called the minimum wage “a government intrusion.” “Many of the Republican candidates for president have spoken out against raising the minimum wage… Mike Huckabee, considered something of an economic populist for his support of preserving entitlements, has come out against an increase, calling it a government intrusion.” [New York Times, 5/8/15]
Rand Paul
Rand Paul’s tax plan “would raise taxes on those at the bottom, unless they’re married with a couple of kids, and dramatically reduce taxes on the top.” “Paul would apply a 14.5% flat tax to everything: ‘personal income, including wages, salaries, dividends, capital gains, rents and interest,’ as well as corporations. It would do away entirely with the gift and estate taxes, all tariffs, and payroll taxes. On the plus side, he would exempt the first $50,000 in income for families of four and retain the earned-income tax credit. […] The plan would raise taxes on those at the bottom, unless they’re married with a couple of kids, and dramatically reduce taxes on the top. Yes, corporations and rich people use all sorts of loopholes and deductions to pay lower effective tax rates. But responsible tax reform proposals that lower rates while simplifying the tax code generally try to come up with a number in the middle. This one just brings the marginal rates all the way down to Mitt Romney’s effective tax rate, which was pretty clearly determined in the 2012 election to be too low.” [Salon, 6/18/15]
Rand Paul opposed increasing the minimum wage. “Senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio oppose the president’s plan to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 from the $7.25 it’s at now. But should the federal government set a minimum wage at all? […] The line drew big applause but didn’t answer the question—which Karl tried to call him on. So should there be any minimum wage? Paul said, ‘Minimum wage is only harmful when it’s above the market wage.’” [Bloomberg, 1/26/15]
John Kasich
John Kasich pushed an Ohio tax plan that a Republican lawmaker described as a “regressive” proposal that raised “taxes on the poor and middle class.” “Gov. John Kasich touted his budget plan in Dayton on Tuesday, saying that income tax cuts and exempting some small businesses from income taxes will drive innovation in Ohio and create jobs. […] Meanwhile, lawmakers in Columbus began taking aim at some of Kasich’s tax proposals, which calls for offsetting a huge income tax cut with increases in sales taxes, cigarette taxes, oil and gas drilling taxes and the Commercial Activities Tax on businesses’ gross receipts. Ohio House Rep. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, said much of Kasich’s plan is ‘laudable’ but he called the sales tax ‘regressive’ and said the severance tax increases could lead to job losses at oil companies already coping with declining oil revenue. Antani also said he is concerned about ‘tax shifting,’ where one tax goes down but others go up. ‘To pay for (a tax cut) we don’t raise taxes on the poor and the middle class,’ said Antani. ‘We do it by cutting spending.’” [Dayton Daily News, 2/3/15]
John Kasich pushed an Ohio budget plan that a Republican lawmaker described as a “regressive” proposal that raised “taxes on the poor and middle class.” “Gov. John Kasich touted his budget plan in Dayton on Tuesday, saying that income tax cuts and exempting some small businesses from income taxes will drive innovation in Ohio and create jobs. […] Meanwhile, lawmakers in Columbus began taking aim at some of Kasich’s tax proposals, which calls for offsetting a huge income tax cut with increases in sales taxes, cigarette taxes, oil and gas drilling taxes and the Commercial Activities Tax on businesses’ gross receipts. Ohio House Rep. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, said much of Kasich’s plan is ‘laudable’ but he called the sales tax ‘regressive’ and said the severance tax increases could lead to job losses at oil companies already coping with declining oil revenue. Antani also said he is concerned about ‘tax shifting,’ where one tax goes down but others go up. ‘To pay for (a tax cut) we don’t raise taxes on the poor and the middle class,’ said Antani. ‘We do it by cutting spending.’” [Dayton Daily News, 2/3/15]
John Kasich opposed raising the minimum wage. “KASICH: […] I am not personally in favor of raising the minimum wage for this reason: If you talk to business people, people who put a payroll together — I’ve never put a payroll together, that’s why I’m leaving politics, so I can do it — they say that if the minimum wage goes up they’re going to have to raise all other wages in their businesses, and the people it’s going to hurt the most are the poorest people, are the least skilled people that work for them.” [CNN, 9/2/00]
Chris Christie
Chris Christie pushed to cut the income tax rate for the wealthiest Americans by 11 percent and lower the corporate tax rate by 10 percent. “Christie suggested halving the number of income tax brackets down to three from six rates and lowering the top tax rate to 28% down from the current maximum rate of 39% for the wealthiest Americans. […] The New Jersey governor also proposed reducing the corporate tax rate to 25% from today’s 35% high, arguing that reducing the rate will attract businesses and incentivize companies to stay in the U.S.” [CNN, 5/12/15]
As governor, Chris Christie pushed tax cuts that “would largely benefit [New Jersey’s] wealthier residents.” “Gov. Chris Christie’s proposal to cut income taxes by 10 percent would provide only modest financial relief to middle-class families who are struggling more under the weight of their property taxes, according to analysis by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services. The governor’s plan would largely benefit the state’s wealthier residents, who pay a significantly higher rate under the state’s current progressive tax system, and so they would see greater savings, the analysis shows.” [Star-Ledger, 1/31/12]
Chris Christie said he was “tired of hearing about the minimum wage.” “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Tuesday that he’s ‘tired’ of hearing discussion on the minimum wage and seemed to suggest that a higher minimum wage isn’t something to ‘aspire to.’ ‘I gotta tell you the truth, I’m tired of hearing about the minimum wage, I really am,’ Christie said during an event at the Chamber of Commerce in Washington, according to a recording of his remarks by the liberal opposition research group American Bridge. ‘I don’t think there’s a mother or father sitting around a kitchen table tonight in America who are saying, ‘You know honey, if my son or daughter could just make a higher minimum wage, my God, all our dreams would be realized,’ he added. ‘Is that what parents aspire to for their children?’” [Talking Points Memo, 10/21/14]
Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum proposed a tax plan that cut taxes for the top one percent by an average of 13.6%, while the bottom 20 percent would only receive a 0.3% cut on average. “Under the Santorum plan, the richer you are, the more you save. Taxpayers in the lowest 20% of earners would receive an average tax cut of $255, a tax rate reduction of 0.3%. Meanwhile, individuals in the top 20% of earners would get a tax cut averaging more than $29,000, a rate reduction of almost 10%. And the 1%? They’d get an average cut of $263,000, or 13.6%.” [CNN Money, 1/18/12]
Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal opposed raising the minimum wage nationally and in Louisiana. “Jindal said he would not be in favor raising the minimum wage nationally or in Louisiana at this time because the country’s economy isn’t strong enough. Both the U.S. Congress and the Louisiana State Legislature are considering increases to the lowest possible wage this spring.” [Times-Picayune, 2/26/14]
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham said it was “stupid” to allow tax cuts for the wealthy to expire. “South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday said President Barack Obama’s plan to let tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire was ‘stupid.’ During an interview on CNN, host Candy Crowley asked Graham if he would be willing to raise taxes on the middle class if Democrats refused to extend tax cuts for people making over $250,000. ‘I’m not going to do a short-term thing that’s stupid,’ the South Carolina Republican remarked.” [Raw Story, 8/5/12]
Immigration
“As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families.”
– Pope Francis, 9/23/15
Donald Trump
Donald Trump opposed a pathway to citizenship. “Trump said Wednesday in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash that as president he would deport all undocumented immigrants and then allow the ‘good ones’ to reenter the country through an ‘expedited process’ and live in the U.S. legally, though not as citizens. ‘Legal status,’ Trump suggested. ‘We got to move ‘em out, we’re going to move ‘em back in if they’re really good people.’” [CNN, 7/30/15]
Donald Trump on undocumented immigrants: “They have to go.” “Donald Trump would reverse President Obama’s executive orders on immigration and deport all undocumented immigrants from the U.S. as president, he said in an exclusive interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd. ‘We’re going to keep the families together, but they have to go,’ he said in the interview, which aired in full on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday. Pressed on what he’d do if the immigrants in question had nowhere to return to, Trump reiterated: ‘They have to go.’ ‘We will work with them. They have to go. Chuck, we either have a country, or we don’t have a country,’ he said.” [NBC News, 8/16/15]
Donald Trump made ending birthright citizenship a pillar of his immigration plan, calling it “the biggest magnet for illegal immigration.” “End birthright citizenship. This remains the biggest magnet for illegal immigration. By a 2:1 margin, voters say it’s the wrong policy, including Harry Reid who said ‘no sane country’ would give automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants.” [“Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again,” accessed 8/20/15]
Donald Trump: “I’ll use the word anchor baby.” REPORTER: Anchor baby, that’s an offensive term, people find that hurtful TRUMP: You mean it’s not political correct and yet everybody uses it? REPORTER: Look it up in the dictionary, it’s offensive. TRUMP: Give me a different term, give me a different term. What else would you like to say. REPORTER: A child, an American born child of an undocumented immigrant. TRUMP: You want me to say that, okay, I use the word anchor baby. Excuse me, I’ll use the word anchor baby.” [ABC News, 8/19/15]
Ben Carson
Ben Carson opposed a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. “People already here illegally could apply for guest-worker status from outside of the country. This means they would have to leave first. They should in no way be rewarded for having broken our laws, but if they are wise, they will arrange with their employer before they leave to immediately offer them a legal job as soon as their application is received.” [Ben Carson, National Review, 11/12/14]
Ben Carson on the term “anchor babies” and birthright citizenship: “It doesn’t make any sense to me that people could come in here, have a baby and that baby becomes an American citizen.” “The neurosurgeon outlined his views on the topic at a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday. ‘I know the 14th Amendment has brought up recently, about anchor babies—and it doesn’t make any sense to me that people could come in here, have a baby and that baby becomes an American citizen. There are many countries in the world where they simply have recognized that and don’t allow that to occur,’ Carson said.” [Bloomberg, 8/19/15]
Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush, when asked if he supported a pathway to citizenship: “No.” “During an interview Wednesday with the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, Mr. Bush was asked whether he supported a pathway to full citizenship. He replied, ‘No.’ ‘What do we do with the 11 million people here? I think the answer is earned legal status,’ he said.” [Washington Times, 7/8/15]
Jeb Bush said Pres. Obama’s executive order stopping the deportation of DREAMers was “way beyond the purview of executive power.” “Bush also offered a stern rebuke to Obama on immigration, and accused him of playing politics. Earlier this summer, the president signed an executive order that stopped the deportation of certain young illegal immigrants. Bush said he saw Obama’s action as a way of undercutting Romney and winning good will from Hispanic voters, not as an effective piece of policy. ‘This is so cynical. And he – I mean, if you’re, if you, if the law says clearly that you have a case-by-case right to review cases, and you blanket say 800,000 people comply, that is way beyond the purview of executive power,’ Bush said.” [Washington Post, 8/30/12]
Jeb Bush called American citizens born to undocumented immigrants “anchor babies.” “Jeb Bush doesn’t want birthright citizenship to go away, but he is calling for stronger enforcement for people who abuse it. ‘If there’s abuse, if people are bringing — pregnant women are coming in to have babies simply because they can do it, then there ought to be greater enforcement,’ Bush said on Bill Bennett’s conservative radio show, ‘Morning in America’ Wednesday. ‘That’s [the] legitimate side of this. Better enforcement so that you don’t have these, you know, ‘anchor babies’, as they’re described, coming into the country.’ ‘Anchor babies’ is a derogatory term used to describe children who are born in the United States to undocumented parents.” [Politico, 8/19/15]
Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio flip flopped to oppose his own comprehensive immigration reform bill. “Back in April, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., stood before cameras with the bipartisan ‘Gang of Eight’ and joked he wasn’t quite sure he was ready to sign onto their comprehensive immigration reform plan. ‘Actually, I changed my mind,’ Rubio joked to laughter as he pretended to walk away from the podium. ‘No, I’m kidding.’ But fast forward four months after the bill he helped craft passed the Senate, and Rubio’s not joking anymore. Instead of advocating for the comprehensive bill he signed onto, Rubio’s now saying a piecemeal approach is more ‘realistic.’ As first reported by Breitbart News, a spokesman for Rubio said ‘a series of individual bills’ on immigration reform may be more practical than comprehensive immigration reform at this time.” [ABC News, 10/28/13]
Marco Rubio opposed the DREAM Act and said it went too far. “Senator Rubio went as far as to address the DREAM Act that protested him moments earlier. He even appeared, somewhat surprisingly, sympathetic to them. He said he understood their circumstances and agreed that something should be done to address the plight of those who came to this country as children and have excelled in either education or the military. This observer, was virtually holding his breath, as some might have expected Rubio to then proclaim his support for the DREAM Act, but alas, he did not. He stated that the current bills before Congress, i.e., the DREAM Act, went too far.” [The Huffington Post, Ediberto Roman, 1/27/12]
Marco Rubio said he was “open to exploring ways” to limit birthright citizenship in the United States. “Marco Rubio, who is running for president thanks to birthright citizenship, says he is open to the idea of ending it for children who were born in the United States to foreign parents. ‘I’m not in favor of repealing the 14th Amendment,’ Rubio said during a Tuesday news conference at the rain-soaked Iowa State Fair. ‘But I am open to exploring ways of not allowing people who are coming here deliberately for that purpose to acquire citizenship.’” [National Journal, 8/18/15]
Flip-flopped on a path to citizenship
2010: Marco Rubio said a path to citizenship was “code for amnesty.” “As in previous debates, Rubio differed with Crist and Meek on immigration. He said the ‘pathway to citizenship’ favored by Meek and ‘earned path’ favored by Crist are ‘basically code for amnesty.’ Rubio said he doesn’t favor mass deportations of people in the country illegally. He said that after the U.S. secures its borders it can set up a system, and then people without documents ‘will be able to leave this country, return to their homeland, and try to reenter through our system that now functions, a system that makes sense.” [Palm Beach Post, 10/25/10]
2013: Marco Rubio: “What I’ve never been for is a special pathway to citizenship.” “What I’ve never been for is a special pathway to citizenship. Let me just remind everybody there is no such thing as a path to citizenship. You can’t go from being an immigrant to a citizen. You have to go to get a green card first. […] That’s been my position. It’s not to have a special pathway to green card citizenship or anything else because it is unfair to the people that are doing the right way and it would incentivize illegal immigration in the future. That’s been my position all along. We’re not going do special pathways that discourage people from doing it the right way.” [The Lead with Jake Tapper, 3/19/13]
June 2015: Marco Rubio: “I do” support a pathway to citizenship. “Many conservatives — and, indeed, many people — have been confused about what, exactly, Marco Rubio’s position is on immigration now that he’s said he regrets his support for the failed Gang of Eight bill. In an interview with New Hampshire’s local ABC station on Friday, Rubio made clear that he remains a supporter of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. ‘I do,’ Rubio said, when asked if he supports a path to citizenship for those currently in the United States illegally. First, though, Rubio said lawmakers have to ‘prove to the American people that illegal immigration is under control,’ implement an e-verify system, and modernize our legal immigration system.” [National Review, 6/30/15]
September 2015: Marco Rubio ruled out a path to citizenship during his presidency. “Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio has effectively ruled out granting legal status to undocumented immigrants if he makes it to the White House, even for a second term. Pressed by conservative host Sean Hannity during a Monday night interview on Fox News, the Florida senator said he’s open to a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, but only a decade or more after passage of bills to secure the border and modernize the legal immigration system. ‘I don’t think it’s a decision you have to make on the front end. The first two things you have to do is stop illegal immigration, then second you have to modernize our legal immigration system, and then third you can have a debate about how to even legalize people to begin with,’ Rubio said. ‘And then ultimately in 10 or 12 years you could have a broader debate about how has this worked out and should we allow some of them to apply for green cards and eventually citizenship.’” [Bloomberg, 9/22/15]
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz opposed the DREAM Act. “Let’s start with how Cruz, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, stands on the cited act. We didn’t have to look far. In a transcribed interview with blogger Sonja Harris of Conservatives in Action that Cruz has on his campaign website, the candidate says: ‘I do not support the DREAM Act and categorically oppose amnesty. I categorically oppose amnesty, and I strongly support legal immigration for those that have followed the rules and come here to pursue the American dream.’” [PolitiFact, 2/21/12]
Ted Cruz: “I think a path to citizenship for those who are here illegally is profoundly unfair.” “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said Sunday that a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would be unfair to those who have legally immigrated to the United States. ‘I think a path to citizenship for those who are here illegally is profoundly unfair to the millions of legal immigrants who followed the rules,’ Cruz said during an interview for ABC’s ‘This Week.’ Cruz added that he does not think a bill with such a path can pass the Republican-controlled House.” [Washington Post, 7/21/13]
Ted Cruz opposed comprehensive immigration reform, saying it would be “kicking millions of Americans in the teeth.” “Speaking with Houston-based radio host Michael Berry, Cruz said he hopes that Speaker John Boehner will not take on immigration reform next year. Doing so, Cruz argued, would diminish the ‘incredible opportunity to retake the Senate in 2014.’ Cruz emphasized that he is focused on winning the Senate majority from Democrats, and said passing immigration reform legislation would be the ‘number one thing Republicans could do to mess that up.’ Cruz also said comprehensive immigration would amount to ‘kicking millions of Americans in the teeth.’” [The Nation, 12/23/13]
Ted Cruz said the Constitution should “absolutely” be changed to end birthright citizenship. “When the Texas senator was asked Wednesday on the Michael Medved show if the 14th Amendment should be changed, Cruz answered ‘absolutely.’ ‘We should end granting automatic birthright citizenship to the children of those who are here illegally,’ he said.” [Bloomberg, 8/19/15]
Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina opposed a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. “If Carly Fiorina becomes president, the immigrants currently in the country illegally would face an additional hurdle in their quest for U.S. citizenship. During a wide-ranging interview with Yahoo’s Katie Couric, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO was asked if she favored providing a path to citizenship for the roughly 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. ‘I do not. Not for those who came here illegally and who have stayed here illegally,’ said Fiorina, who announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination earlier in the day.” [Bloomberg, 5/4/15]
Carly Fiorina did not support comprehensive immigration reform. “But [Fiorina] also broke with members in both parties who believe a comprehensive immigration package is needed to address the problem. ‘So then Barbara Boxer, President Obama, say, ‘oh my gosh, we have to have comprehensive immigration reform.’ You don’t need comprehensive immigration reform to secure the border. And you don’t need comprehensive immigration reform to have a temporary worker program that works. Those are responsibilities of the federal government that they have today and they are failing at those responsibilities,’ she said.” [Politico, 5/1/10]
Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee said he was open to ending birthright citizenship. “Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said Friday that he was open to laws that would end the ‘birthright’ citizenship granted to children by the 14th Amendment, joining several other GOP candidates in endorsing the idea. The comments came in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who asked the question twice to be clear that Huckabee really would ‘abrogate’ that right. ‘I would,’ said Huckabee, ‘because I think that when we see advertisements in China, advertising essentially ‘birth tourism,’ where people are able to purchase packages so they fly to the U.S., have their baby in the U.S. so it has dual citizenship – these aren’t people who are impoverished, looking for a Medicaid payment. These are very wealthy people who are coming here so their child will in essence be put a foot down and say ‘I have American citizenship.’” [Washington Post, 8/28/15]
Mike Huckabee on immigration: “If you’re rewarding people who play outside the rules, and punish people who live within the rules, pretty soon nobody is going to play by the rules.” “In April, during the lead up to the launch of his presidential bid, Mike Huckabee’s political action committee released a web ad on immigration. The ad features a farmer from Texas, who warns that an open border has let in ‘the drug runners, the terrorists, the human traffickers.’ In the video, Huckabee says, ‘We’ve got to repeal Obama’s unconstitutional executive orders, oppose amnesty and secure the border. You don’t punish people for living by the rules. If you’re rewarding people who play outside the rules, and punish people who live within the rules, pretty soon nobody is going to play by the rules.’” [Buzzfeed, 7/28/15]
Rand Paul
Rand Paul supported legislation ending the President’s program to defer deportation for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in an interview published Thursday that he supports legislation ending the president’s program to defer deportation for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. Speaking to Breitbart News during a medical mission in Guatemala, Paul lent his backing to House Republican efforts to address the crisis of unaccompanied minors crossing the southern U.S. border. ‘I’m supportive of the House bill and I think it will go a long way to fixing the problem,’ Paul said. ‘But like everything else, nothing good has happened because Sen. Reid has decided that he’s not going to allow any votes on any bills this year because he’s protecting his members who are vulnerable in the election — he’s protecting them from any kind of votes. So I think there’s a very good chance the House bill could pass in the Senate, but it won’t ever pass if it doesn’t ever see the light of day.’” [Huffington Post, 8/21/14]
Rand Paul introduced an amendment to remove a pathway to citizenship from immigration reform legislation. “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced an amendment Thursday to the Senate immigration bill that would effectively strip the bill’s path to citizenship and require illegal immigrants to apply through regular channels. The ‘No New Pathway to Citizenship Act’ amendment would allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States as Registered Provisional Immigrants — a new work visa category — but force them to apply as though they were still in their home country.” [Washington Post, 6/20/13]
Rand Paul introduced legislation to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. “In 2011, the Kentucky senator joined forces with Louisiana Senator David Vitter to introduce a resolution to ensure ‘a person born in the United States to illegal aliens does not automatically gain citizenship.’ ‘Citizenship is a privilege, and only those who respect our immigration laws should be allowed to enjoy its benefits,’ Paul said at the time. ‘This legislation makes it necessary that everyone follow the rules, and goes through the same process to become a U.S. citizen.’” [Bloomberg, 8/19/15]
John Kasich
John Kasich was a longtime supporter of amending the constitution to end birthright citizenship for undocumented immigrants. “While Strickland and Kasich agree that Ohio should not enact an immigration law similar to Arizona’s, they clash on related issues. The governor would maintain birthright citizenship for children born here to illegal immigrants. Kasich, a former Fox News commentator, has been a longtime supporter of amending the Constitution to end the automatic right.” [Columbus Dispatch, 9/26/10]
Chris Christie
Chris Christie: “This path to citizenship stuff is garbage.” ”New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said on Tuesday the idea of granting undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship — one he supported in 2010 — ‘is garbage.’ Instead, the 2016 candidate said at a campaign stop in New Hampshire, cracking down on businesses that hire immigrants who are here illegally is the best way to solve the problem. ‘I met lots of undocumented folks in my state over the course of my time as governor, I can tell you not one of them has ever said to me that they had come here to vote. This path to citizenship stuff is garbage,’ Christie said. ‘That’s not why they’re coming. They’re coming to work and support their family.’” [Talking Points Memo, 8/4/15]
Chris Christie: Birthright citizenship “may have made sense at some point in our history, right now, we need to relook at all that.” “Christie, speaking on Aug. 12—about a week before Trump’s proposal —was asked about birthright citizenship during a radio appearance with conservative host Laura Ingraham and said the matter deserves another look. ‘I think all this stuff needs to be reexamined in light of the current circumstances,’ New Jersey’s governor said. ‘The fact is the American immigration system is not working right now, it’s not working for the American people, it’s not working for our economy, and all these things need to be reexamined in light of the current circumstances. And while [birthright citizenship] may have made sense at some point in our history, right now, we need to relook at all that. And it has to be relooked at in respect to the rule of law.’” [Bloomberg, 8/19/15]
Chris Christie pulled “support for a bill that would grant in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants” after he was re-elected. “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie denied Monday that he flip-flopped on his position before and after his landslide re-election victory on an important immigration issue in the state. The New Jersey Star-Ledger hit Christie in a scathing op-ed for pulling support for a bill that would grant in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, but Christie said he has not, instead it is just aspects of the legislation that he disagrees with. ‘I said the legislature should move in the lame duck session towards tuition equality in New Jersey. Period,’ Christie said at a news conference. ‘That’s what I said. I didn’t support any particular piece of legislation. And I still support tuition equality.” [ABC News, 12/2/13]
Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum opposed a path to citizenship. “Along with Cruz, Rick Santorum is a strident opponent of a general pathway to citizenship. ‘The idea that there are Republicans in Washington, D.C., who are going to say, ‘Well, the rule of law isn’t that important, the idea of people coming into this country who have done so illegally and we’re going to basically treat them the same as people who came here legally,’ is just not going to go over well in a Republican primary,’ Santorum told Fox’s Andrea Tantaros in 2013.” [National Journal, 2/23/15]
Rick Santorum: “Enticements to illegal immigration, such as birthright citizenship, should be ended.” “Other enticements to illegal immigration, such as birthright citizenship, should be ended. Only children born on American soil where at least one parent is a citizen or resident aliens is automatically a U.S. citizen. Of developed countries other than the United States, only Canada has birthright citizenship.” [Rick Santorum op-ed, Breitbart, 5/6/15]
Rick Santorum labeled immigration reform legislation as “amnesty.” “‘We don’t have to talk about immigration. If we do, you know what we should talk about? How immigration is suppressing their wages and keeping their wages down and not allowing them and their family the opportunity to rise in America,’ he added. He said the GOP doesn’t have to endorse ‘bringing in two and a half million people a year and give amnesty to 13 million people,’ alluding to the reforms of the comprehensive legislation that passed the Senate last year.” [The Hill, 7/14/14]
Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal supported ending birthright citizenship in the United States. “Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has joined front-running GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump in calling for an end to automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal immigrants. ‘We need to end birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants,’ Jindal tweeted Monday night, a day after Trump offered a tough plan to combat what he calls the negative economic consequences of illegal immigration. Jindal is also running for president, though he remains near the bottom of the 17-person GOP field.” [Times-Picayune, 8/18/15]
Bobby Jindal said he was “happy” to use the term “anchor baby” and that “folks today are too easily offended.” “HEMMER: But, you’ll use anchor baby, right, as a phrase? JINDAL: Yeah look, I think folks today are too easily offended. They are too politically correct. The real issue here is, yeah I’m happy to use the term, but the reality is, the real issue here is when you secure our border. The bigger frustration from the American people. It doesn’t seem to matter who is in charge in D.C. secure the borders. Stop illegal immigration.” [Fox News, 8/20/15]
Bobby Jindal said the U.S. did not need comprehensive immigration reform. “Jindal, making his third trip to Iowa in the past year, spent the majority of his speech focusing on the American dream, and linking it to his personal story. He drew laughs at several points during his remarks as he made jabs at President Barack Obama. ‘How many moms and dads have told their little children, ‘anybody can grow up to become President of the United States’? Now, unfortunately, we learned how true that was in 2012 and 2008,’ the Louisiana governor said. Jindal, who is from the South, also had harsh words about the ongoing immigration problem. ‘I have a very simple message for the president of the United States: We don’t need a comprehensive bill, we don’t need another thousand page bill. He simply needs to man up. He needs to secure the border; he needs to get it done today. No more excuses. No more delays,’ Jindal said.” [NBC News, 8/10/14]
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham: “I think it’s a bad practice to give citizenship based on birth.” “Graham, one of Trump’s most outspoken critics, took a more nuanced approach on Monday to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. ‘I don’t mind changing the law,’ the South Carolina senator said. ‘I think it’s a bad practice to give citizenship based on birth. We have evidence of people buying tourist visas for the express purpose of coming over here and having a child as birth tourism. I don’t think that’s a good idea. But that’s not going to happen until we fix a broken immigration system.’” [Bloomberg, 8/19/15]
Lindsay Graham: “We should change our Constitution and say if you come here illegally and you have a child, that child’s automatically not a citizen.” “Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says that the United States should end its policy of guaranteeing citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants as ensured by the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The South Carolina Senator defined his stance on the immigration issue on Wednesday in an interview with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren. ‘Birthright citizenship I think is a mistake,’ explained Graham. ‘We should change our Constitution and say if you come here illegally and you have a child, that child’s automatically not a citizen.’” [Huffington Post, 7/29/10]
Climate Change
“Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation.”
– Pope Francis, 9/23/ 15
Donald Trump
Donald Trump: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese.” “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” [@realDonaldTrump, 11/6/12, 2:25 p.m. EDT]
Ben Carson
Ben Carson: The Earth “may be warming” or “may be cooling.” “Carson, a retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, often talks about his medical background and science during his speeches. Pressed on the fact that the bulk of the scientific community believes the Earth is indeed warming, Carson pivoted. ‘You can ask it several different ways, but my answer is going to be the same,’ he said. ‘We may be warming. We may be cooling.’” [Bloomberg, 11/26/14]
Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush said he was “tired” of the idea that “science has decided” that climate change is manmade. “It is not unanimous among scientists that it is disproportionately manmade. What I get a little tired of on the left is this idea that somehow science has decided all this so you can’t have a view.” [Huffington Post, 8/24/11]
Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio denied that human activity was causing climate change. “Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a GOP star and possible 2016 presidential contender, does not believe human activity is causing climate change, he said Sunday. ‘I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it,’ Rubio said on ABC’s ‘This Week.’ ‘I do not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it, except it will destroy our economy,’ he added.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/11/14]
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz said people who believe global warming is real are “the equivalent of the flat-Earthers.” “Cruz, the red-meat Texas senator with an army of conservative followers, raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he told the Texas Tribune that people who believe global warming is real are ‘the equivalent of the flat-Earthers’. ‘It used to be it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier,’ Cruz said.” [Guardian, 3/27/15]
Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina: “Companies shouldn’t cave in to the demands of climate-change scientists.” “‘Companies shouldn’t cave in to the demands of climate-change scientists,’ says Fiorina, probably hoping that nobody will point out that she nearly destroyed the last company she led.” [The Stranger, 6/3/15]
Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee mocked the Obama Administration’s elevation of climate change as a critical issue. “Huckabee appeared before the Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday to deliver a biting assessment of President Barack Obama’s policies and make a pitch for his potential candidacy. He recently left a cable news show and is on a book tour. The former Arkansas governor mocked Obama’s elevation of climate change as a critical issue. Huckabee says a greater threat is violent radical elements stoking fear around the world. He says America hasn’t done enough to strike those terror groups.” [Associated Press, 1/25/15]
Rand Paul
Rand Paul claimed that the science behind climate change was “not conclusive.” “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in a recent interview that the science behind climate change is ‘not conclusive,’ calling people who tie extreme weather to a changing climate ignorant.” [The Hill, 4/23/14]
John Kasich
John Kasich said he was not “laying awake at night worrying” about climate change. “‘We are going to continue to work on cleaning coal, but I want to tell you, we are going to dig it, we are going to clean it, and we are going to burn it in Ohio, and we are not going to apologize for it,’ he said during wide-ranging remarks on energy at the conference. Ohio is a coal-producing state and home to American Electric Power, a major coal-burning utility. Asked in a subsequent interview if he was concerned about the GOP’s efforts to kill EPA rules, he said, ‘I believe there is something to [climate change], but to be unilaterally doing everything here while China and India are belching and putting us in a noncompetitive position isn’t good, but some of that is the presidential leadership,’ Kasich said. ‘I am just saying that I am concerned about it, but I am not laying awake at night worrying the sky is falling. I just have a concern about it,’ he added.” [The Hill, 5/2/12]
Chris Christie
Chris Christie refused “to rejoin a regional cap-and trade program to combat climate change.” “Gov. Chris Christie is coming under fire for refusing to rejoin a regional cap-and trade program to combat climate change that his state withdrew from three years ago. The move — highlighted last week by The New York Times — has opponents charging that the Republican governor doesn’t want to alienate conservatives in advance of a potential 2016 presidential bid. ‘It’s all because of a four letter word: K-O-C-H,’ said Democratic state Sen. Bob Smith, the chairman of the state’s Environment and Energy Committee, referring to the billionaire Koch brothers who bankroll many GOP campaigns, and who favor conservative stances on environmental issues. ‘They don’t want to see any candidates for president who have the slightest green tint to them. If the governor was green at all, he would lose their support.’” [MSNBC, 9/23/14]
Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum called the idea that humans are causing climate change “patently absurd.” “Appearing Wednesday on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, the former Pennsylvania GOP senator jumped at the chance to distinguish himself from his Massachusetts rival by displaying his climate skeptic credentials. ‘I believe the earth gets warmer and I also believe the earth gets cooler,’ Santorum said. ‘And I think history points out that it does that and that the idea that man, through the production of CO2 — which is a trace gas in the atmosphere, and the man-made part of that trace gas is itself a trace gas — is somehow responsible for climate change is, I think, just patently absurd when you consider all the other factors, El Niño, La Niña, sunspots, moisture in the air. There’s a variety of factors that contribute to the Earth warming and cooling.’” [Politico, 6/9/11]
Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal took positions “directly at odds with environmentalists” on climate change. “On climate change, Mr. Jindal takes positions directly at odds with environmentalists—and, likely, with whoever becomes the Democratic presidential nominee—by questioning the role humans play in global warming and calling on the U.S. to withdraw from climate talks led by the United Nations.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/15/14]
Cuba
“The efforts which were recently made to mend broken relationships and to open new doors to cooperation within our human family represent positive steps along the path of reconciliation, justice and freedom.”
– Pope Francis, 9/23/15
Ben Carson
Ben Carson said he would roll back Pres. Obama’s agreement to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. “Senator Rubio says he will block the confirmation of an ambassador to Cuba by the Senate. Both he and Governor Bush (along with fellow presidential candidates Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee who now also live in Florida), say that if they are elected president they will seek to roll back President Obama’s agreement with Cuba.” [Baltimore Sun, 8/23/15]
Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush said that normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba was “capitulating to our adversaries.” “Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is blasting the Obama administration’s decision to formally remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. ‘Neither continued repression at home nor Cuba’s destabilizing activities abroad appear sufficient to stop President Obama from making further concessions to the Communist regime in Havana,’ Bush said in a statement Friday. ‘Today’s news is further evidence that President Obama seems more interested in capitulating to our adversaries than in confronting them. Iran’s leaders are surely taking note.’ ‘The removal of Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List and the unilateral concessions to Havana, before it changes its authoritarian ways and stops denying the Cuban people their basic human rights, is a mistake,’ he added. ‘I call on Congress to keep pressure on Cuba and hold the Administration accountable.’” [Washington Post, 5/29/15]
Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio opposed the restoration of diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba. “The addition of Rubio to the Republican race would bring President Barack Obama’s ongoing thaw in relations to the center stage of American presidential politics. The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio is opposed to the restoration of diplomatic ties between Washington and Havana. It’s perhaps no accident that his announcement comes just days after Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro shook hands at the opening of the Summit of the Americas last Friday, an important symbolic gesture as the two sides try to normalize formal relations.” [Foreign Policy, 4/13/15]
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz opposed normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba. “Hours after his Senate colleague and fellow Cuban-American Marco Rubio criticized President Obama’s change in U.S. policy on Cuba, Ted Cruz broke his silence on the news with a bang, calling the decision ‘a tragic mistake.’ The Republican senator from Texas told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Wednesday afternoon that because of the American embargo and diplomatic freeze-out, Cuba had been ‘gasping for air.’ Now, though, Obama’s policy shift would have devastating effects. ‘Just like the administration did with Iran, right when the [Iranian] administration was feeling the maximum pain, [Obama] throws them an economic lifeline and continues the brutal repression and dictatorship of the Castro brothers,’ said Cruz, whose father emigrated from Cuba in 1957, four years before the U.S. imposed a strict trade embargo on the country. When Cavuto pointed out that more than five decades of the same policy hadn’t been very effective, Cruz demurred. ‘What it has wrought is limiting the impact and harm of Cuba,’ he said.” [National Journal, 12/17/14]
Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina opposed the agreement to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. “Fiorina also took time to jab President Obama on foreign policy, suggesting that he has continued to reward bad behavior in his nuclear negotiations with Iran and by removing Cuba from the terror watch list. She said Cuba hasn’t done anything to deserve this, adding that oppression and suppression have gotten worse.” [Breitbart, 4/20/15]
Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee opposed normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba. “GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee gave the Obama administration a kick in the pants over Cuba — and warned the Castro regime would do a lot worse. […] ‘I think we ought to quit pretending that Cuba is some wonderful nation with whom we can sit down and visit with. … They’re not,’ the former Arkansas governor declared.” [New York Daily News, 3/7/15]
Chris Christie
Chris Christie said that normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba was a “national disgrace.” “A day after the Obama administration recommended that the U.S. government reverse its long-standing policy designating Cuba a state sponsor of international terrorism, Chris Christie called the move a ‘national disgrace.’ In an appearance today at a town hall meeting in Londonberry, New Hampshire, Christie took aim at President Obama’s diplomatic warming with the Communist nation. ‘It is a national disgrace that the president is engaged in those conversations and even considering taking that country off the terrorist watch-list,’ Christie said.” [ABC News, 4/15/15]
Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal denounced the normalization of U.S.-Cuban relations and called on Congress to “do everything it can to stop” it. “With today’s announcement, the President is appeasing a Communist dictatorship headed by the Castro brothers that takes political prisoners and completely disregards basic human dignity. Taking steps to normalize relations with Cuba only serves to reward them, and it is a disservice to those in Cuba who wish to be free and who live in fear of a dictatorial regime. […] Congress should do everything it can to stop the President’s plan of appeasement toward Cuba. We must be willing to stand for freedom around the globe. The safety of the American people depends on it.” [Office of Governor Jindal Press Release, 12/18/14]
Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum opposed normalizing relations with Cuba, calling it “reckless and not in our nation’s best interest.” “Former Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, said he opposed normalizing trade with Cuba and was ‘extremely concerned with how his release was negotiated.’ He called the president’s foreign policy actions ‘reckless and not in our nation’s best interest.’” [CBS News, 12/18/14]
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham said he would roll back the agreement to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. “Graham also said he would roll back another of Obama’s major second-term foreign policy achievements: the normalization of diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba after nearly six decades of estrangement.” [Yahoo News, 7/15/15]
Lindsey Graham vowed to block funding for an embassy in Cuba. In a tweet, Senator Lindsey Graham wrote, “I will do all in my power to block the use of funds to open an embassy in Cuba. Normalizing relations with Cuba is bad idea at a bad time.” [12/17/14, 12:26 p.m. EDT]