Just How Furious Are GOP Lawmakers With Obama’s Decision To Normalize Relations With Cuba?

It is quite possible Republicans have never been angrier at President Barack Obama than they are today.

 

That’s just a taste of how apoplectic Republicans have been today, but one Republican Senator with 2016 White House hopes takes the cake.

Here are just a few of Marco Rubio’s comments today on President Obama’s announcement he will establish full diplomatic relations with Cuba.

MSNBC:

“At minimum, Barack Obama is the worst negotiator that we’ve had as president since at least Jimmy Carter, and maybe in the modern history of the country.”

And he even attacked the Pope.

“My understanding is that the influence that His Holiness had was on the release of Mr. [Alan] Gross, which I’ve not criticized. As I said, I’m happy that he’s with the Cuban people [sic]. I would also ask His Holiness to take up the cause of freedom and democracy, which is critical for a free people — for a people to truly be free.”

The Hill:

“It is a victory for the repressive Cuban government and a serious setback for the repressed Cuban people…The White House has conceded everything and gained little.”

“This president has proven today that his foreign policy is more than just naive. It is willfully ignorant of the way the world truly works.”

Meanwhile, in a lengthy statement on his website, Rubio called today’s news “just the latest in a long line of failed attempts by President Obama to appease rogue regimes at all cost.”

“While business interests seeking to line their pockets, aided by the editorial page of The New York Times, have begun a significant campaign to paper over the facts about the regime in Havana, the reality is clear. Cuba, like Syria, Iran, and Sudan, remains a state sponsor of terrorism…That is why even more than just putting U.S. national security at risk, President Obama is letting down the Cuban people, who still yearn to be free.”

Note that CNN reported today the people of Cuba were literally dancing in the streets upon hearing the news.

“I intend to use my role as incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Western Hemisphere subcommittee to make every effort to block this dangerous and desperate attempt by the President to burnish his legacy at the Cuban people’s expense. …America will be less safe as a result of the President’s change in policy. When America is unwilling to advocate for individual liberty and freedom of political expression 90 miles from our shores, it represents a terrible setback for the hopes of all oppressed people around the globe.”

UPDATE – CNBC:

“I don’t care if the polls say 99 percent of people in Florida want to lift the embargo. I would still be for (keeping) it,” Rubio said.

 

Image by Jamelle Bouie via Flickr