Mediaboss Marketing

He also threatened to use the Senates budget powers to withhold the funds needed to fully reopen the embassy building in Havanas Plaza de la Revolucin.

I intend to use every tool at our disposal in the majority to unravel as many of these changes as possible, Mr Rubio said.

His call to fight Mr Obamas diplomatic initiative was echoed by Lindsey Graham, another Republican senator.

I will do all in my power to block the use of funds to open an embassy in Cuba. Normalising relations with Cuba is bad idea at a bad time, Mr Graham said.

The stand-off illustrates the political reality Mr Obama faces in his final two years in office with Republicans fully in control of Congress. While he retains vast powers over US foreign policy the Republicans also have a wide array of tools to try to thwart him.

Josh Earnest, Mr Obama's spokesman, said it was "odd" that Mr Rubio would oppose an embassy in Cuba when he had recently spoken about the importance of the US embassy in China.

"'Senator Rubio said, 'Our embassy [in China] should be viewed as an ally of those within the Chinese society that are looking to express their fundamental rights and to worship freely,'" he said. "We think the exact same thing can be said of the new American embassy in Cuba."

The US is currently represented in Havana by a special interests section that operates under the auspices of the Swiss embassy. The section is led by a senior US diplomat who would remain the acting envoy to the Castro regime if Republicans blocked the appointment of an ambassador.

Mr Obama will also need the cooperation of Republicans to lift the 54-year-old trade embargo that bans US companies from importing or exporting to Cuba.

The President called for an honest and serious debate about ending the embargo but few in Washington believe there is any chance the Republicans will agree before Mr Obama leaves office in early 2017.

The rest is here:
Republicans threaten to stop US embassy opening in Cuba

President Barack Obamas plan to normalize relations with Cuba has hit a familiar roadblock: Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Just hours after Obama announced that a prisoner swap with the Cuban government for two Americans was the start of a new relationship with the communist country, Republicans began informally kicking around ideas to stop any changes to the U.S.-Cuba relationship.

Story Continued Below

On the list: deny Obama funds to reopen an embassy in Havana, stall the nomination of a potential ambassador, vote down a bill to open up travel more widely and ignore requests from the White House to lift a decades-old embargo.

(Also on POLITICO: Obama's December surprise)

When Republicans control the Senate next year, the party would be in a good position to get some of their plans done. But even if they cant fully stop Obama, who has some authority to act without Congress, the dispute will provide another opportunity for the presidents Hill rivals, including 2016 likely hopefuls Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, to continue to question his use of executive action a theme Republicans had already planned to take on next year around Obamas moves on immigration and Obamacare.

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, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Twitter Wednesday.

In a White House address on Wednesday, Obama said he would direct Secretary of State John Kerry to reviews Cubas place on a list of state sponsors of terrorism, reestablish an embassy in Havana and ease travel restrictions. Obama also said the U.S. would increase remittance levels, expand commercial sales and exports.

(Also on POLITICO: GOP livid over Cuba)

We will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests, Obama said. Neither the American nor the Cuban people are well-served by a rigid policy that is rooted in events that took place before most of us were born.

Read the original here:
How Republicans could stop Obama's Cuba play

Republicans Blame Cruz for Year-end Confirmations
Unhappy Republicans say Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has given President Barack Obama a present this holiday season a gift certificate good for confirmation of 1...

By: WochitGeneralNews

Read the original:
Republicans Blame Cruz for Year-end Confirmations - Video

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who may run for president in 2016, is leading a Republican charge to do everything possible to block President Barack Obamas move to normalize relations with Cuba.

Yet even Rubio says there may be little the Republican-controlled Congress can do.

I would concede that many of the changes that have been made today, such as diplomatic relations, fall within the purview of the presidency, Rubio told reporters today in Washington.

Rubio, whose parents left Cuba in 1956, said Republican lawmakers will use every tool at our disposal in the majority to unravel as many of these changes as possible.

Blocking funds for an embassy in Cuba and refusing to confirm an ambassador to the island nation are steps Rubio and others in his party suggested Congress might be able to take.

Were going to have a very interesting couple of years discussing how youre going to get an ambassador nominated and how youre going to get an embassy funded, said Rubio, who is set to become chairman of a panel that oversees foreign relations in the Western Hemisphere.

The president announced today that the U.S. will open an embassy in Havana and loosen a half-century-old trade and travel embargo. Fully lifting the full trade embargo would require action by Congress, where both chambers will be led by Republicans starting in January.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters today that congressional appropriations may not be necessary to set up an embassy in Cuba because theres already a significant U.S. diplomatic presence there.

Obamas action, a day after Congress adjourned for the year, sets up another fight for early 2015 between the White House and Republican lawmakers as attention begins to turn to the 2016 presidential race. Rubio is among lawmakers considering a presidential run, as are fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The expiration of funding for Department of Homeland Security on Feb. 27 could provide an opportunity for Republicans to try to curb Obamas Cuba move. Republicans want to attach language to the measure to block Obamas orders easing deportation for undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

See the original post here:
Republicans Look for Ways to Block Obamas Cuba Policy in 2015

Im curious what has happened to the Republican Party? After all, these are the people who like to tell Americans they are the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and even to some extent, George H. W. Bush (the smarter Bush).

You remember those guys. They were conservative by philosophy but were always willing to work with the opposition when it was good for the country.

Generally, we knew where those presidents stood. They were fiscally conservative, believed in trickle-down economics, didnt mind being the worlds police, and felt a limited government was best for the country.

Philosophically (and based on legislation passed), those were the best of days for the Republicans but not so much anymore.

Actually, its easier to define todays Republicans, if not to understand them: If Obama is for it, they oppose it. Take the Affordable Care Act, the tragedy in Benghazi, immigration, and guns (and more guns). These have become more than political issues for Republicans: They are now obsessions that are redefining their once-great party.

Lets start with Obamacare. The House has voted six times to repeal the act and another 40 times to gut the law to the point that it could not continue to function. Republicans scream for repeal without a second thought of the devastating consequences it would have on tens of millions of Americans. They consider the pain it would cause these people to be merely collateral damage as long as the presidents reputation gets tarnished.

The obsession with Benghazi continues to amaze me and, quite frankly, most Americans. Recent surveys show that almost 70 percent of respondents feel Congress needs to move on. Heck, 39 percent dont even know where it is (6 percent thought it was in Cuba).

Certainly the tragic attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi (that would be in Libya) demanded an investigation. And there have been six of them, each chaired by a Republican and with Republicans holding a majority on the investigating committee.

All six absolved the CIA and the White House of any wrongdoing. The real kicker was a recent report from the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee. It found that the CIA and military acted properly in the 2012 attack in Libya. And then, with great pain, the committee concluded thered been no wrongdoing by Obama administration appointees either.

I laughed when I heard Chris Matthews on MSNBC say that All good witch hunts must come to an end. Great line, but unfortunately, not true with these guys. U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina is now heading a seventh investigation.

Go here to see the original:
Republicans, We Hardly Know Ye