Republican hopefuls up rhetoric as votes loom
MANCHESTER, N.H. — As the first primary contests approach, a rash of bickering has broken out among several Republican presidential candidates, marking the beginning of a more serious phase of the race.
With just 60 days until the Iowa caucuses and then the New Hampshire primary, the sparring reflects an urgent push among the second- and thirdtier Republican candidates to become the main alternative to resilient front-runner Donald Trump. From immigration to government surveillance, guns and terrorism, the rivals are increasingly willing to draw distinctions — and call each other by name — as they move to secure the loyalty of early-state voters just starting to pay attention to the race.
The feuding is particularly notable among New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who have shown signs of strength in recent weeks and are attempting to carve out distinct identities.
Christie pitches himself as a seasoned executive and former prosecutor with more experience than the two rookie senators. “I’m talking about anybody who doesn’t have the requisite experience to make the tough decisions they need to be president,” he said Tuesday on MSNBC.
Christie’s comments come as Rubio and Cruz are engaged in an increasingly bitter back-andforth over immigration, surveillance issues and national security — sparring that has become more intense after last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris.
Rubio has taken aim at Cruz’s support for legislation halting the mass collection of telephone records by the National Security Agency.
“There are Republicans, including Senator Cruz, that have voted to weaken those programs,” Rubio said Monday.
Cruz fired back by linking Rubio to the foreign policy of Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and Democratic front-runner.
Christie dived into the Cruz and Rubio dispute, saying that Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul, another Republican candidate, made America less safe by voting to limit the NSA surveillance program.
The change in tone from several candidates underscores the difficulties they have had distinguishing themselves from the pack as Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson have dominated the polls.
Cruz has accused Rubio of supporting “massive amnesty” as a co-sponsor of an ill-fated bipartisan Senate immigration bill, while Rubio has singled out Cruz’s surveillance vote. Rubio believes that he can draw a clear distinction with Cruz on national security; a recent ad from a pro-Rubio group said Cruz was weak on security issues — an allegation called “despicable” in a Cruz response ad.
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush criticizes Clinton and President Barack Obama rather than his Republican rivals.
As for Trump, many of the candidates are dismissing his chances once voting begins.
Trump noted that he has been monitoring the back-and-forth between his rivals closely.
“They seem to be attacking themselves very strongly because somebody wants to be standing to challenge me,” he said.