WebProNews

Tag: Senator Marco Rubio

  • Rubio: Age of the Earth is 4.5 Billion Years

    When the shift in U.S. demographics became a major story after this year’s presidential election, Florida Senator Marco Rubio‘s name began to pop up as a possible Republican candidate for president in 2016. Rubio’s Cuban American background was highlighted as something that could help the GOP win back voters who aren’t white.

    Rubio ethnicity alone won’t win him the Republican nomination, however. As the Republican Party begins to shift itself toward a more moderate platform, possible presidential candidates will have to find a way to seem moderate enough for a general election while pleasing the party’s far-right base during the primaries.

    This week, Rubio drew a line in the sand with regards to science education and religious beliefs. During an interview with Politico, Rubio emphatically stated that the Earth is at least 4.5 billion years old. That may seem to be an inconsequential statement, and in scientific circles it undoubtedly is. For many of the fundamentalist religious protestants that make up the GOP’s base, though, that statement is akin to heresy. Many Christians, in the U.S. particularly, believe that the age of the Earth is determined by the Bible to be only 6,000 to 10,000 years old.

    “Now, for me, actually, when it comes to the age of the Earth, there is no conflict.” said Rubio. “I believe that in the beginning, god created the heavens and the Earth. And I think that scientific advances have given us insight into when he did it and how he did it; but I still believe god did it. That’s how I’ve been able to reconcile that, and I think that’s consistent with the teaching’s of my church.”

    It’s clear that Rubio is attempting to split the difference in what is sometimes perceived as his party’s dismissiveness toward science. He emphasized that children “have to know the science,” but also stated that parents should have the right to teach them their theology.

    Rubio’s comments come just one week after prominent Christian Pat Robertson also challenged what is known as young-Earth creationism. “If you fight science, you are going to lose your children, and I believe in telling them the way it was.” said Robertson on his 700 Club TV show.

  • Another Republican Senator Backs Away From PIPA Sponsorship

    When all of this anti-SOPA smoke clears, it appears as if the only government official who will be left standing on the side of the stop piracy acts will be Lamar “SOPA Will Never Die” Smith. While there’s plenty of flippancy on this writer’s part, truth be told, more government officials are backing off, or at least trying to delay any upcoming votes on the Protect-IP Act, otherwise known as PIPA.

    The latest Senator to abandon the Good Ship PIPA is Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida. In doing so, Rubio acknowledged the outspoken opposition to the oft-discussed piracy acts, which means at least on politician is actually listening to the experts. From Rubio’s statement:

    “We’ve heard legitimate concerns about the impact the bill could have on access to the Internet and about a potentially unreasonable expansion of the federal government’s power to impact the Internet.” Rubio announced, withdrawing his support for the bill, “Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences.”

    Rubio goes on to say that Senator Harry Reid should stop trying to push the PIPA bill through to the Senate floor. In order to inform his supporters about his plans to drop his support for PIPA, Senator Rubio posted his announcement at his Facebook page. Oh, the power of social media, which we’ve reprinted, in full:

    In recent weeks, we’ve heard from many Floridians about the anti-Internet piracy bills making their way through Congress. On the Senate side, I have been a co-sponsor of the PROTECT IP Act because I believe it’s important to protect American ingenuity, ideas and jobs from being stolen through Internet piracy, much of it occurring overseas through rogue websites in China. As a senator from Florida, a state with a large presence of artists, creators and businesses connected to the creation of intellectual property, I have a strong interest in stopping online piracy that costs Florida jobs.

    However, we must do this while simultaneously promoting an open, dynamic Internet environment that is ripe for innovation and promotes new technologies.

    Earlier this year, this bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously and without controversy. Since then, we’ve heard legitimate concerns about the impact the bill could have on access to the Internet and about a potentially unreasonable expansion of the federal government’s power to impact the Internet. Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences.

    Therefore, I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act. Furthermore, I encourage Senator Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor. Instead, we should take more time to address the concerns raised by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet.

    Over at The Washington Examiner, there is a convenient list of PIPA’s co-sponsors, which was acquired from a Library of Congress query. This list is as follows:

    Sen Alexander, Lamar [TN] – 5/25/2011
    Sen Ayotte, Kelly [NH] – 6/27/2011
    Sen Bennet, Michael F. [CO] – 7/25/2011
    Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] – 10/19/2011
    Sen Blumenthal, Richard [CT] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Blunt, Roy [MO] – 5/23/2011
    Sen Boozman, John [AR] – 6/15/2011
    Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] – 12/12/2011
    Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH] – 10/20/2011
    Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. [MD] – 7/13/2011
    Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA] – 9/7/2011
    Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] – 11/2/2011
    Sen Cochran, Thad [MS] – 6/23/2011
    Sen Coons, Christopher A. [DE] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Corker, Bob [TN] – 6/9/2011
    Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] – 6/30/2011
    Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY] – 9/7/2011
    Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Franken, Al [MN] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] – 5/26/2011
    Sen Graham, Lindsey [SC] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Grassley, Chuck [IA] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Hagan, Kay [NC] – 7/5/2011
    Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Isakson, Johnny [GA] – 11/2/2011
    Sen Johnson, Tim [SD] – 10/3/2011
    Sen Klobuchar, Amy [MN] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Kohl, Herb [WI] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Landrieu, Mary L. [LA] – 10/17/2011
    Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] – 7/7/2011
    Sen McCain, John [AZ] – 7/26/2011
    Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] – 10/31/2011
    Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] – 9/23/2011
    Sen Risch, James E. [ID] – 11/7/2011
    Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] – 5/12/2011
    Sen Shaheen, Jeanne [NH] – 6/30/2011
    Sen Udall, Tom [NM] – 7/7/2011
    Sen Vitter, David [LA] – 11/7/2011
    Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] – 5/12/2011

    It’s important to the know the face, or at least the name of your opposition.