Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign released a new ad set to air in Iowa that takes a subtle shot at Marco Rubio by criticizing the “Republican establishment’s Gang of Eight amnesty plan.”
Cruz and Rubio — an author of the gang of eight’s comprehensive immigration reform legislation — have argued for weeks about immigration, and the two repeatedly locked horns during Tuesday night’s presidential debate. With fewer than 50 days remaining until the Iowa caucuses, Cruz is looking to capitalize on his vote against the 2013 bill that cleared the Senate but never made it through the House
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“Securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration is a matter of national security,” Cruz is shown saying in the ad. “That’s why I fought so hard to defeat President Obama and the Republican establishment’s gang of eight amnesty plan. Their misguided plan would have given Obama the authority to admit Syrian refugees, including ISIS terrorists. That’s just wrong.”
When Cruz says the words “amnesty plan” a wide shot of Gang of Eight members — Rubio included — appears onscreen. The 30 second spot, titled “Win,” closes with a clip of Cruz at the Red State Gathering in Atlanta earlier this year arguing that when it comes to radical Islamic terrorism his strategy is, “we win, they lose.”
Cruz, who ranks first in the Washington Examiner‘s GOP presidential power rankings, was put on the defensive by Rubio during the debate about whether he ever supported “legalizing” illegal immigrants. Cruz stated that he “never supported a legalization,” but his previous comments to the Washington Examiner‘s Byron York indicate Cruz’s record is much more complicated than the senator has suggested.
