Archive for December, 2014

Obama surprises Mass. governor on radio, gets called out on parking tickets (+video)

Washington Governor, this is Barack Obama, formerly of Somerville. I've got a few complaints about service in and around the neighborhood, but I've moved down south since that time..."

With that, President Obama caught his friend Deval Patrick off guard Thursday afternoon with a phone call in to the outgoing Massachusetts governors final monthly appearance on Ask the Governor on WGBH public radio.

At first, Governor Patrick thought he was being punked. But as Mr. Obama spoke, it became clear it was the president. Obama lived in Somerville, Mass., and Cambridge during his time at Harvard Law School, between 1988 and 1991. And apparently he racked up a pile of parking tickets during that time 17 in Cambridge alone, according to The Boston Globe.

Just before the call ended, host Jim Braude jumped in and asked the president whether he had paid off his parking tickets in Somerville.

You know, I think I had to before I took office, otherwise I wouldnt have been able to step into the Commonwealth without being arrested, Obama replied.

In 2007, right after Obama announced his presidential campaign, the Globe looked into the parking tickets, and learned that he had paid off only two to Cambridge while he was a student and paid them late. The rest were eventually paid, including late fees.

Obama had also previously owed Somerville money for parking in a bus stop and in a street-sweeping zone. Those fines were also paid off early in the campaign.

On Thursday, Obama spent time on the radio praising Patricks two terms as governor and took some razzing from Patrick.

Barack Obama: "I want to find out how it is that you got Massachusetts so strong and moving in the right direction."

Deval Patrick: "Mr. President, you know I love you, but you still have trouble saying Massachusetts. You know that don't you?"

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Obama surprises Mass. governor on radio, gets called out on parking tickets (+video)

Rand Paul and Ron Paul Together on CNN – Video


Rand Paul and Ron Paul Together on CNN
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Rand Paul and Ron Paul Together on CNN - Video

Senator Rand Paul & Former Congressman Ron Paul at the 2011 Ames Straw Pole – Video


Senator Rand Paul Former Congressman Ron Paul at the 2011 Ames Straw Pole
Senator Rand Paul and Former Congressman Ron Paul at the 2011 Ames straw pole in Ames, Iowa. Please Note: The appearance/absence of any political candidate on this site/channel does not ...

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Senator Rand Paul & Former Congressman Ron Paul at the 2011 Ames Straw Pole - Video

Rubio says Paul 'has no idea what he's talking about' on Cuba

By Alexandra Jaffe, CNN

updated 9:00 AM EST, Fri December 19, 2014

(CNN) -- Sen. Marco Rubio lashed out at Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday night for his support for the Obama administration's move to normalize relations with Cuba.

"Like many people that have been opining, he has no idea what he's talking about," Rubio said on Fox News' "The Kelly File."

Paul became a rare figure on the Right speaking out in support of the move, which Obama announced Wednesday, to relax the decades-long embargo on Cuba and open up an embassy there.

"The 50-year embargo with Cuba just hasn't worked," Paul said in an interview with West Virginia radio station WVHU. "If the goal is regime change, it sure doesn't seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship."

RELATED: Rand Paul backs Obama on Cuba

And he was the only potential GOP presidential contender to express support. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas have both come out opposed, and Rubio's been one of the president's fiercest critics on the right.

Paul's support for ending the embargo comes as little surprise, however, as it aligns with his libertarian beliefs. Indeed, his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, introduced a bill to lift the embargo during his time in Congress.

But it highlights one of the first major policy divides confronting the developing GOP presidential field, and Rubio's response hints at more infighting to come exactly the outcome many in the party have feared would arise from a wide-open and protracted primary fight.

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Rubio says Paul 'has no idea what he's talking about' on Cuba

Rand Paul Breaks with Other 2016 Candidates on Cuba

TIME Politics 2016 Election Rand Paul en. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowanGetty Images

The announcement from the White House Wednesday that the U.S. will move to re-establish full diplomatic ties with Cuba sparked a wave of condemnation from the likely Republican presidential candidates with one exception: Sen. Rand Paul.

The Kentucky Republican broke with the rest of the 2016 pack today when he said that President Obamas decision was a good idea.

That fits with Pauls broader effort to attract younger voters and expand the Republican Party, since younger Cuban-Americans are not as supportive of the trade and travel restrictions as their parents, though it could risk turning off some older Republican voters, especially in the crucial battleground of Florida.

It put him on the same side as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the leading contender on the Democratic side, who has argued that the trade embargo was counterproductive.

Heres a look at what the major Republican contenders had to say about the change in U.S. policy toward Cuba.

Sen. Rand Paul: Supportive

What he said: If the goal is regime change, it sure doesnt seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship. In the end, I think opening up Cuba is probably a good idea. (WVHU)

What it meant: The libertarian-leaning son of former Rep. Ron Paula longtime critic of Americas Cuba policyPaul is the rare Republican to come out in support of reestablishing diplomatic relations.

Sen. Marco Rubio: Opposed

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Rand Paul Breaks with Other 2016 Candidates on Cuba