Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., questions Secretary of State John Kerry on Capitol Hill last month. In an interview with NPR, Rubio reiterated his opposition to President Obama's dealings with Iran and Cuba. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption
Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., questions Secretary of State John Kerry on Capitol Hill last month. In an interview with NPR, Rubio reiterated his opposition to President Obama's dealings with Iran and Cuba.
In 2012, Republicans unanimously made a vow. If their party captured the White House, they would repeal President Obama's signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act.
In 2016, they've added something else: the reversal of Obama's signature foreign policy achievements, his outreach to hostile nations.
In his second term, Obama has been working to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba for the first time in more than half a century. His administration has also been negotiating a deal to limit Iran's nuclear program.
A number of GOP presidential contenders have vowed a U-turn on both policies, no matter what may happen between now and the next Inauguration Day.
That's why Obama's foreign policy may shape up to be the Obamacare of 2016. Republicans pledge to erase the president's acts as soon as a Republican is again sitting behind the Oval Office desk.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is among those calling for a reversal. Rubio spoke with NPR on Monday, the day he announced his presidential campaign. Rubio, who is Cuban-American, made the announcement at Miami's Freedom Tower, where Cuban exiles fleeing Fidel Castro's regime once came to receive federal support. Rubio is a fierce critic of Cuba's government and of warming U.S. relations with it.
Would Rubio really re-break diplomatic relations with Cuba if elected?
"Absolutely," he says. He says he wants "free and fair elections" in Cuba and that U.S. policy can provide "major leverage."
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Republicans Are Making Foreign Policy The Obamacare Of The 2016 Election