The super PAC Right to Rise, which has raised more than $100 million backing Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, has released a provocative video against his rival Sen. Marco Rubio over his stance on abortion,
The New York Times reports.
As Rubio has started to climb in the polls, the group's chief strategist has boasted that they are willing to spend as much as $20 million to show Rubio as unelectable and prop up Bush's candidacy.
However, working against Bush are his own statements. In 2012 when the two candidates were allies, and not political rivals, Bush said in a television interview that Rubio had "the intellectual acumen and the fortitude to be a good president."
And, in the coming weeks, Rubio's campaign has announced that they plan on sifting through hours of footage to find phrases such as this one, which counteract Bush's current statements.
"At the end of the day, wisdom dictates that an internecine fight between the two is unnecessary, and potentially damaging to both," said Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier and Bush fundraiser.
Scaramucci is not the only Bush supporter who finds the feud between the two unnecessary.
"Given their closeness while governing, I find the whole thing baffling," said Republican strategist Stuart Stevens.
"I seem not to be alone," Stevens added. "I don't see any evidence that it's working."
However, in defense of the attacks against Rubio, Mike Murphy, the top strategist for Right to Rise, said "part of running for president is you have to put your big boy pants on and get vetted on the issues, so we know we don't have a dud candidate running against Hillary Clinton."
And while many are skeptical of the relentless attacks, others such as Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr., a Republican state senator in New Jersey and Bush supporter said, "I think it's fair game to point out Marco's record, or lack thereof."
"It's not below the belt," Kyrillos added.
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