Fireworks: Rubio and Christie Battle over Winter Storm and Senate Voting Record

Senator Rubio. I want to stay on the issue of readiness to be president and experience and questions about you being a first-term senator. Governor Christie warning voters here in New Hampshire against voting for another first-term senator as America did with Barack Obama in 2008. Arguing that you are, quote, not ready to be president of the United States. And senator Santorum, who we all know, dropped out of the race and endorsed you, had a hard time when asked on national television, listing your accomplishments as senator. Tonight, what are your accomplishments in the Senate that demonstrate you are ready to be president of the united States?
>> From protecting the people of Florida, to bringing accountability to the V.A., to the girl’s count act, to sanctioning groups, I’m proud of my work. I will say, if politics becomes and the presidency becomes about electing people that have been in the Senate the longest, we should all rally around Joe Biden. He’s been around 1,000 years. I don’t think any of us believe Joe Biden should be president of the United States. And let’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing. Barack Obama is undertaking an effort to change this country, to make America more like the rest of the world. That’s why he passed Obama care and the stimulus and the deal with Iran. It is an effort to change America. When I’m president of the united States, we are going to re-embrace all the things that made America the greatest nation in the world, and we are going to leave our children with what they deserve, the single greatest nation in the history of the world.
>> Senator Rubio, thank you. I do want to ask governor Christie, you said, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. You heard senator Rubio make the case that he has the experience. Your response?
>> Sure. First, let’s remember something. Every morning when a united States senator wakes up, they think about what kind of speech can I give, or what kind of bill can I drop? Every morning, when I wake up, I think about, what kind of problem do I need to solve for the people who actually elected me? It’s a different experience. It’s a much different experience. And the fact is, Marco, you shouldn’t compare yourself to Joe Biden. And you shouldn’t say that’s what we’re doing. Here is exactly what we’re doing. You have not be involved in a consequential decision where you had to be held accountable. You just simply haven’t. And the fact is — when you talk about Hezbollah sanctions act that you list as one of your accomplishments, you weren’t even there to vote for it. That’s not leadership. That’s truancy. The fact is that what we need to do, what we need to do in this country is not to make the same mistake we made eight years ago. It does matter when the challenges don’t come on a list of a piece of paper of what to vote yes or no every day. When the problems come in from the people that you serve, I like Marco Rubio and he’s a smart person and a good guy, but he simply does not have the experience to be president of the United States and make these decisions. We’ve watched it happen, everybody. For the last seven years, the people of New Hampshire are smart. Do not make the same mistake again.
>> Thank you.
>> Senator Rubio?
>> I think the experience is not just what you did, but how it worked out. Under Chris Christie’s governorship of New Jersey, they have been downgraded nine times in their credit rating. This country already has a debt problem. We don’t need to add to it. But I would add this. Let’s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He is trying to change this country. He wants America to become more like the rest of the world. We don’t want to be like the rest of the world. We want to be the United States of America. And when I’m elected president, this will become once again, the single greatest nation in the history of the world, not the disaster Barack Obama has imposed upon us.
>> Senator Rubio, thank you. I want to bring in governor bush on this.
>> Excuse me —
>> If you would —
>> He mentioned my record in there. I get a chance to respond. You see, everybody, I want the people at home to think about this. This is what Washington, D.C. Does. The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him. See Marco — Marco, the thing is this. When you’re president of the United States, when you are a governor of a state, that memorized speech doesn’t solve one problem for one person. They expect you to plow the snow. They expect you to get the schools open. And when the worst natural disaster in your state’s history hits you, they expect you to rebuild their state, which is what I’ve done. None of that stuff happens on the floor of the United States Senate. It’s a fine job, I’m glad you ran for it, but it does not prepare you for president of the United States.
>> Senator Rubio?
>> Chris — Chris, your state got hit by a massive snowstorm two weeks ago. You didn’t even want to go back. They had to shake you into going back. You stayed there for 36 hours and then he left and came back to campaign. Here’s the bottom line. This notion that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing —
>> There it is. There it is. The memorized 25-second speech.
>> That’s the reason why this campaign is so important. Because I think this notion — I think this is an important point. We have to understand what we’re going through here. We are not facing a president that doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows what he is doing. That’s why he’s done the things he’s done. That’s why we have a president that passed Obama care and the stimulus, all this damage that he’s done to America is deliberate. This is a president that’s trying to redefine this country. That’s why this election is truly a referendum on our identity as a nation, as a people. Our future is at stake. This election is not about the past. It is about what kind of country this is going to be in the 21st century and if we exelelect someone like Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, our childrens are going to be the first to inherit a diminishes country —
>> You know what the shame is, mar Marco? The shame is that you would actually criticize somebody for showing up to work, plowing the streets, getting the trains running back on time when you are never been responsible for that in your entire life.
>> He didn’t want to go back.
>> And the fact is, I went back, it got done and here’s —
>> You didn’t want to go back, Chris.
>> Oh, so — wait a second. One of the skills you get as a United States senator esp also? I don’t think it is.
>> You said you weren’t going to go back. He told everyone he wasn’t going to go back. They had to shame him into going back. And when he decided to go back, he criticized the young lady, S saying, what am I supposed to do, clean it up with a mop?
>> It gets very unruly when he gets off his talking points.
>> Thank you, governor.
>> It’s your record. It’s not a talking point.