Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio now appears to be trying to distance himself from House Speaker John Boehner when it comes to the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations.
Rubio told Breitbart News’ Kerry Picket on Tuesday that while he empathizes with Boehner given the political position he’s currently in, he disagrees with the path the Speaker is taking.
“I understand the position [Boehner] is in in terms of trying to avoid us going off the fiscal cliff,” Rubio said in an interview on Capitol Hill. “I understand the position we’re all in. I just continue to believe that our number one priority should be to grow our economy as rapidly possible. It really is the only way to get out of the real fiscal cliff which is what faces our country. And I continue to know that raising taxes on anybody is not a good way to generate economic growth. I know what he’s doing and I’m not going to sit here and criticize what he’s trying to do to avoid the country going off the fiscal cliff, but by the same token I am deeply committed to the idea that economic growth is the only way forward for our country. And I think tax increases hurt economic growth.”
This week, Boehner offered up what he calls his fiscal cliff “plan B,” which would raise tax rates for those with incomes more than $1 million. It’s a plan nearly identical to one House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi backed in May. Boehner’s “plan B” is the latest instance of him caving on Republican Party principles. Its one saving grace is that it does not grant President Obama unilateral authority to raise the debt ceiling, which Obama had demanded for at least two years in his last proposal.
“In May, Pelosi sent Boehner a letter calling for the immediate passage of a middle class tax cuts up to that level, while President Barack Obama was on the campaign trail calling for taxes to rise on incomes over $250,000,” BuzzFeed reported on the similarities between Pelosi’s and Boehner’s plans.
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