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| Republican candidates accuse one another of policies that would help Isis | Republican candidates accuse one another of policies that would help Isis |
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| Republicans began the new year with a new rhetorical insult as candidates striving to stand out from the crowd focused on voters’ anxieties over immigration and national security. | |
| Republican hawks and isolationists have started to accuse one another of peddling policies that Isis jihadists would support. | |
| Marco Rubio, in particular, who has styled himself as the most hawkish and interventionist candidate in the Republican field, has been accused of weakness by rivals over his role as the co-author of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013. | |
| Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have both gone after Rubio by suggesting that his legislation – which passed the Senate but went nowhere in the Republican-led House of Representatives – would have allowed more Syrian refugees – and potentially terrorists – to flow across the US border. | Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have both gone after Rubio by suggesting that his legislation – which passed the Senate but went nowhere in the Republican-led House of Representatives – would have allowed more Syrian refugees – and potentially terrorists – to flow across the US border. |
| On Monday, the feud escalated when Rubio hit back at his opponents in a national security address in New Hampshire. Although he did not refer to either Cruz or Paul by name, the Florida senator decried “isolationist candidates” who voted to cut defense spending and end the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance methods. | On Monday, the feud escalated when Rubio hit back at his opponents in a national security address in New Hampshire. Although he did not refer to either Cruz or Paul by name, the Florida senator decried “isolationist candidates” who voted to cut defense spending and end the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance methods. |
| “If Isis had lobbyists in Washington, they would have spent millions to support the anti-intelligence law that was just passed with the help of some Republicans now running for president,” Rubio said. | “If Isis had lobbyists in Washington, they would have spent millions to support the anti-intelligence law that was just passed with the help of some Republicans now running for president,” Rubio said. |
| Paul responded in kind, telling a radio show that what Isis “really would have supported” was Rubio’s immigration bill. A spokeswoman for Cruz also chimed in a statement that accused Rubio of holding an immigration policy that would allow terrorists “to come to America unvetted”. | Paul responded in kind, telling a radio show that what Isis “really would have supported” was Rubio’s immigration bill. A spokeswoman for Cruz also chimed in a statement that accused Rubio of holding an immigration policy that would allow terrorists “to come to America unvetted”. |
| Rubio has long disavowed his immigration bill in favor of a step-by-step approach with an emphasis first on border security. But his opponents’ claim that his legislation would have enabled terrorists to pour across the border has been debunked in numerous fact-checks. | Rubio has long disavowed his immigration bill in favor of a step-by-step approach with an emphasis first on border security. But his opponents’ claim that his legislation would have enabled terrorists to pour across the border has been debunked in numerous fact-checks. |
| The immigration bill strengthened the president’s authority to designate certain groups of refugees as being persecuted as a whole – for example, religious minorities in Iraq – but maintained that every individual applicant must qualify for and pass security checks and remain within the confines of the annual limit on refugees that can be admitted into the US. | The immigration bill strengthened the president’s authority to designate certain groups of refugees as being persecuted as a whole – for example, religious minorities in Iraq – but maintained that every individual applicant must qualify for and pass security checks and remain within the confines of the annual limit on refugees that can be admitted into the US. |
| Behind the Cruz and Paul attacks on Rubio is nonetheless an effort to seize on Republican concerns over national security – at an even greater high in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino – and to play upon widespread frustration among conservatives over immigration. | Behind the Cruz and Paul attacks on Rubio is nonetheless an effort to seize on Republican concerns over national security – at an even greater high in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino – and to play upon widespread frustration among conservatives over immigration. |
| Almost the entire Republican field and many Democrats in Congress responded to the terrorist attacks in Paris with a tangential move to harden their opposition to the acceptance of any Syrian refugees - in spite of a vetting process for people fleeing the conflict which is the most rigorous in the world. | Almost the entire Republican field and many Democrats in Congress responded to the terrorist attacks in Paris with a tangential move to harden their opposition to the acceptance of any Syrian refugees - in spite of a vetting process for people fleeing the conflict which is the most rigorous in the world. |
| The latter was already a liability for Rubio coming into the race, given his prior involvement in the failed immigration overhaul – if Cruz, Paul and other Republicans can portray him as weak on border security, the perception could deal a fatal blow to Rubio’s campaign. | The latter was already a liability for Rubio coming into the race, given his prior involvement in the failed immigration overhaul – if Cruz, Paul and other Republicans can portray him as weak on border security, the perception could deal a fatal blow to Rubio’s campaign. |
| In an interview with Rubio in late November, the Guardian asked the senator for his response to suggestions by his opponents that his immigration bill would pose a risk to national security by making it easier for extremists to enter the country. | In an interview with Rubio in late November, the Guardian asked the senator for his response to suggestions by his opponents that his immigration bill would pose a risk to national security by making it easier for extremists to enter the country. |
| “There’s a lot of things wrong with the 2013 bill,” Rubio said. “Primarily, it didn’t have the confidence of the American people. | “There’s a lot of things wrong with the 2013 bill,” Rubio said. “Primarily, it didn’t have the confidence of the American people. |
| “But it did strengthen the refugee program. And I think we need to continue to strengthen it every time we learn something new. There was no Isis in 2013 when we considered that legislation. Every time a new factor emerges, we need to improve our programs. We now know that there is an organized group in the Middle East that is actively looking to take advantage of a very specific refugee crisis that did not exist in 2013.” | “But it did strengthen the refugee program. And I think we need to continue to strengthen it every time we learn something new. There was no Isis in 2013 when we considered that legislation. Every time a new factor emerges, we need to improve our programs. We now know that there is an organized group in the Middle East that is actively looking to take advantage of a very specific refugee crisis that did not exist in 2013.” |
| He added that Cruz and Paul were making the refugee argument “to distract from their own record on national security”, citing their votes in favor of reforming the NSA and to cut defense spending. Cruz, in 2013, voted for a budget proposal sponsored by Paul that appropriate defense spending at a lower level than requested by the Pentagon – although fact-checkers ruled it a mischaracterization for Rubio to call it a “cut”. | He added that Cruz and Paul were making the refugee argument “to distract from their own record on national security”, citing their votes in favor of reforming the NSA and to cut defense spending. Cruz, in 2013, voted for a budget proposal sponsored by Paul that appropriate defense spending at a lower level than requested by the Pentagon – although fact-checkers ruled it a mischaracterization for Rubio to call it a “cut”. |
| “They have weak records on national security, so they want to distract from that by focusing on an issue that, quite frankly, is not true,” Rubio said of Cruz and Paul. “But the national security of our country is the most important issue that the federal government deals with and our next commander-in-chief has to be someone with a strong record on national security.” | “They have weak records on national security, so they want to distract from that by focusing on an issue that, quite frankly, is not true,” Rubio said of Cruz and Paul. “But the national security of our country is the most important issue that the federal government deals with and our next commander-in-chief has to be someone with a strong record on national security.” |
| Although Paul is polling at less than 3% nationally, Rubio and Cruz are locked in a more heated battle behind the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. While Cruz has risen to the top of several polls in Iowa, where voters will caucus in 27 days, Rubio is polling at second place in New Hampshire, which will hold the nation’s first primary on 9 February. | Although Paul is polling at less than 3% nationally, Rubio and Cruz are locked in a more heated battle behind the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. While Cruz has risen to the top of several polls in Iowa, where voters will caucus in 27 days, Rubio is polling at second place in New Hampshire, which will hold the nation’s first primary on 9 February. |
| While campaigning in New Hampshire on Monday, Rubio bristled at the notion that he had a soft record on immigration. | While campaigning in New Hampshire on Monday, Rubio bristled at the notion that he had a soft record on immigration. |
| “It’s very easy to stand up and talk tough on immigration,” Rubio said. “It’s very easy for someone in Congress to say I’m against illegal immigration but offer no ideas. And that’s why for 30 years nothing has happened on this issue.” | “It’s very easy to stand up and talk tough on immigration,” Rubio said. “It’s very easy for someone in Congress to say I’m against illegal immigration but offer no ideas. And that’s why for 30 years nothing has happened on this issue.” |
| Vowing to enforce immigration laws as president and strip federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities”, Rubio said he had seen every aspect of the issue – “the good, the bad, and the ugly – in his south Florida community. | Vowing to enforce immigration laws as president and strip federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities”, Rubio said he had seen every aspect of the issue – “the good, the bad, and the ugly – in his south Florida community. |
| “I will do something about it, because I understand this issue personally. I see every aspect of it,” he added. “No one who has ever run for president understands this issue better than I do ... and no one running for president is better prepared to fix it than me.” | “I will do something about it, because I understand this issue personally. I see every aspect of it,” he added. “No one who has ever run for president understands this issue better than I do ... and no one running for president is better prepared to fix it than me.” |