CNN
By Tal Kopan
February 17, 2016
Sen.
Ted Cruz hit Sen. Marco Rubio on Tuesday in his latest ad, comparing
the Florida senator's comments on immigration to very similar statements
by President Barack
Obama.
"Rubio
got to Washington and wrote the bill giving amnesty to illegals using
Obama's talking points," a narrator says in the spot. "Marco Rubio
burned us once. He shouldn't
get the chance to sell us out again."
The
spot then alternates between clips of Rubio defending the 2013
immigration bill he worked on with the so-called "Gang of Eight" in the
Senate -- which would have created
a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. if
they met certain criteria and paid a tax penalty -- and Obama.
It
began airing in Greenville, South Carolina, on Tuesday evening,
according to CMAG/Kantar Media, a company that tracks political
advertising. It's the latest searing
attack from Cruz in the ongoing fight between the two senators as they
look for a strong showing in South Carolina.
Rubio
on Wednesday continued to attack Cruz for being dishonest and
politically calculating, saying the Texas Republican's behavior has been
"disturbing."
Speaking
to reporters in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on Wednesday, the
Florida senator continued to push a narrative that his senate colleague
does whatever is politically
expedient.
"I've
been saying for a while now that Ted unfortunately has proved that he
is willing to say or (do) anything to get elected," Rubio said. "What
we've seen in the last
couple weeks is disturbing. ... It's been apparent especially in the
last month."
Rubio
hit Cruz for shady tactics on a number of fronts, including bringing up
that the Texas senator's campaign told precinct captains in Iowa to
tell caucusgoers that
Ben Carson was suspending campaigning, as well as hitting him for robo
calls unfavorable to Rubio and Trump. The Cruz campaign has denied any
connection to doing the robo calls.
Rubio also said Cruz was mischaracterizing the Florida senator's record.
"I'm
just responding, you can't let these things stay out there because they
people think they are true," Rubio said. "They're not true."
The
two senators have been feuding in recent weeks as they have drawn close
in the polls in upcoming states, including South Carolina. Cruz has
attacked Rubio's record
on immigration, especially, and has brushed off accusations of lying.
"We
are not in grade school where you just get to say, 'liar, liar pants on
fire' and not respond to the substance," Cruz said in South Carolina on
Monday, adding on "Fox
and Friends" the same day, "I guess Marco's team has told him, 'Well,
if anyone brings up your actual record, the fact that over and over and
over again you've supported amnesty, just yell liar.'"
Rubio's
campaign has made a concerted effort to keep the issue in front of
voters, playing on Cruz's "TrusTED" slogan with puns like "BusTED" and
"CalculaTED." The campaign
sent a fundraising email to supporters Tuesday night using Cruz as a
focal point, saying Cruz and his super PACs were engaging in "slimy
smear tactics."
Both
candidates are positioned to do well in South Carolina but both need to
finish strong to keep their presidential hopes alive.
Cruz,
who won the Iowa caucuses, is looking to pick up momentum to challenge
front-runner Donald Trump. And Rubio, who stumbled in New Hampshire
after a strong third place
in Iowa, hopes to separate himself from the other candidates to
convince voters he is best positioned to challenge Cruz and Trump.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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