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The Trouble With Rubio
The Federalist ^
| 05/14/2014
| David Harsanyi
Posted on 05/14/2014 8:13:57 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
On Sunday, Marco Rubio informed Jonathan Karl on ABCs This Week that he was ready to be president. I think a president has to have a clear vision of where the country needs to go and clear ideas about how to get it there, he went on. And I think were very blessed in our party to have a number of people that fit that criteria. And, as the National Reviews Eliana Johnson reports, the one-time Tea Party favorite is also now a favorite of the establishment due mainly to his willingness to champion immigration reform and his ethnic background.
So, apparently, other people believe hes ready, as well.
Rubio seems a plausible option for Republicans in 2016. Falling somewhere between Jeb Bush-Chris Christie and the purportedly unelectable Rand Paul-Ted Cruz, Rubio is the sort of comfortable choice Republicans tend to decide on. As Johnson points out, experts see numerous advantageous aspects to a Rubio presidential candidacy: Hes a proven conservative with a moderate demeanor, hes comparatively youthful with a strong presence and he has the ability to engage in Hispanic outreach. Hailing from an important state doesnt hurt, either.
For me, at least, the promise of Rubio seldom corresponds with the reality. Whenever I listen to him these days, all I hear is Mitt Romney. If hes really imbued with all these formidable political skills, why do so many of his appearances feel stilted? If hes one of fresh faces of a new GOP, why are his speeches crammed with platitudes that may have packed a serious punch in 1984? Its not that he’s substantively wrong (though he offers so little in that regard), it’s not that he’s off-putting, its that he never really generates the sort of excitement or displays the sort of political acumen his reputation might have you believe he can, should or will.
When Rubio was christened the The Republican Savior by Time in 2013, it was immigration reform specifically his backing for a pathway to citizenship — that would be his first test of leadership; his chance, according to magazine, to show Republicans that hes not just geographically, demographically and ideologically correct. And did he pass? Agree with him or not, Rubios time with the Gang of Eight featured some impressive moments. He didnt shy away from critics. He went on talk radio and passionately argued his case. The base was mad, but likely forgive him. What should be more concerning, though, is the political naiveté he displayed allowing Democrats to use the issue and him to bludgeon the GOP. Rubio, in the end, was forced to step away from the entire mess, which makes it a failure on both a political and policy level.
And Rubios subsequent pandering was his way of letting everyone know he was severely conservative. His conservative voting record is first-rate according to American Conservative Union. But exactly how challenging is it for a Republican senator in the minority to oppose Barack Obama over the past five years? Not very. Others with comparable ACU grades include Mitch McConnell and about a dozen others. Theres nothing wrong with Rubios boilerplate anti-Obama positioning, but theres nothing especially unique about it, either.
Successful presidential candidates will often tap into the restive anxieties of American life Reagan with invasive government and Obama with the inequities of capitalism, to name two. Perhaps an issue will arise that Rubio can grab, but right now hes a bit out of step with his own partys evolution. It was amusing to see Rubio following Mike Lee and others, tepidly aiming his guns at corporate cronyism this week — big companies may not like big government, but they can afford to deal with it.” The issue seemed manufactured. He also unveiled a yawn-inducing policy agenda this week, which was overshadowed by his inability to handle some uncomplicated questions about climate change.
Rubio, it should be noted, saves his most potent rhetoric for foreign policy. According to a 2012 National Journal piece, Accepting the Neocon Torch: Marco Rubio,” when pushed for a more forceful U.S. response in confronting a dictator in Syria and autocrat in Nicaragua, Rubio said, he was thwarted mainly by Republicans. ‘Today in the Senate on foreign policy, the further you move to the right, the likelier you are to wind up on the left.’” Well, the idea that interventionism is an inherently right-wing position is false. More importantly, though, as conservatism moves towards a more balanced debate on the limits of foreign policy, Rubios hardline position will be less appealing to voters (unless, events change this reality, which can always happen).
So what exactly has Rubio done to merit his frontrunner status?
Rubios background, particularly his Cuban-American heritage, is a big part of the draw. Bob Wickers, a former aide to Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, says the partys establishment is simply enamored of Rubios background, adding also that Rubio is not a Cuban American like Ted Cruz is a Cuban American. Thats a sly acknowledgment that, in the wake of last years government shutdown, for which Cruz was the most public face, the Texas senator made few friends among the partys financial kingmakers.
Sly, indeed. The idea that being a Cuban American the right kind, even will play a hand in dramatically moving the Hispanic vote is a silly one. (In a poll of likely Latino voters taken last summer, Hillary was beating Rubio by a 66-28 margin.) About as silly as claiming someone is ready to president because youre enamored with his ethnicity.
Surely, there are Republicans in the Senate who can generate more enthusiasm among conservatives, and there are surely reform-minded governors out there who can offer more compelling ideas and boast of more accomplishments. Not all of them are as charismatic as Rubio but many of them are. Now, thats only my perception. Like with many things, I could be mistaken. Maybe America has another Ronald Reagan on its hands. After all, Ive been told that people are enthusiastic about the prospects of a Rubio candidacy. Ive just yet to meet one these people in real life.
TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: fl; florida; marcorubio
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To: SeekAndFind
Rubio backs amnesty—’Nuff said.
2
posted on
05/14/2014 8:15:50 AM PDT
by
Arm_Bears
(Shoot cops that shoot dogs.)
To: SeekAndFind
3
posted on
05/14/2014 8:19:40 AM PDT
by
Gaffer
To: SeekAndFind
The Amnesty Dough Boy’s dream of open borders somehow does not appeal to me.
4
posted on
05/14/2014 8:20:52 AM PDT
by
Dagnabitt
(Amnesty is Treason. Its agents are Traitors.)
To: All
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5
posted on
05/14/2014 8:21:57 AM PDT
by
trisham
(Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
To: Arm_Bears
Unfortunately, so do all the others.
And I, for one, will not be voiting for any candidate that supports making illegals, legal.
That includes Ted Cruz, though he tries to minimize his talk on his position for legalization, he would still grant permanent residency and legal status.
But he says it's not "Amnesty".
6
posted on
05/14/2014 8:23:29 AM PDT
by
Mariner
(War Criminal #18)
To: SeekAndFind
Rubio could have soared with a good performance with immigration. Instead, he crashed and burned. There is potential for a real center-right solution to the issue, but he went somewhere center-left or worse and than ruined a lot of good will lying about it and voting with Schumer on ALL of the right’s suggested changes.
7
posted on
05/14/2014 8:24:04 AM PDT
by
ilgipper
To: Arm_Bears
The problem with eliminating someone over a single issue is nobody will ever make the cut. Rubio isn’t my choice at this point. We could do better. That said, we could also do worse. The Virginia primary is fairly late in the process. If it is still competitive and comes down to Rubio and someone like Bush or Christie, I’d crawl through hat coals to vote for Marco and hold congress accountable in ensuring he never has an opportunity to sign an immigration bill.
To: wolfman23601
The problem with eliminating someone over a single issue is nobody will ever make the cut.Amnesty is a deal-breaker for conservatives. Period.
9
posted on
05/14/2014 8:34:02 AM PDT
by
Jeff Chandler
(Obamacare: You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.)
To: JulieRNR21; kinganamort; katherineisgreat; floriduh voter; summer; Goldwater Girl; windchime; ...
Florida Freeper
10
posted on
05/14/2014 8:34:39 AM PDT
by
Joe Brower
(The "American People" are no longer capable of self-governance.)
To: Dagnabitt
We could do a little better; we could do a lot worse:
Cruz (TX) - - 100% (Average) - 100% (Heritage) - 100% (CFG) - 100% (ACU) - 100% (FreedomWorks)
Lee (UT) - 2016 - 100% (Average) - 100% (Heritage) - 100% (CFG) - 100% (ACU) - 100% (FreedomWorks)
Paul (KY) - 2016 - 97% (Average) - 96% (Heritage) - 97% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 100% (FreedomWorks)
Rubio (FL) - 2016 - 92% (Average) - 87% (Heritage) - 91% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 95% (FreedomWorks)
Scott (SC) - 06/10/14 - 92% (Average) - 93% (Heritage) - 94% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 86% (FreedomWorks)
Risch (ID) - 05/20/14 - 91% (Average) - 86% (Heritage) - 94% (CFG) - 92% (ACU) - 95% (FreedomWorks)
Inhofe (OK) - 06/24/14 - 91% (Average) - 89% (Heritage) - 94% (CFG) - 92% (ACU) - 90% (FreedomWorks)
Crapo (ID) - 2016 - 89% (Average) - 79% (Heritage) - 92% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 95% (FreedomWorks)
Coburn (OK) - 2016 - 88% (Average) - 81% (Heritage) - 93% (CFG) - 100% (ACU) - 76% (FreedomWorks)
Cornyn (TX) - 03/04/14 - 88% (Average) - 86% (Heritage) - 93% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 76% (FreedomWorks)
Johnson (WI) - 2016 - 87% (Average) - 89% (Heritage) - 87% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 77% (FreedomWorks)
Roberts (KS) - 08/05/14 - 87% (Average) - 90% (Heritage) - 84% (CFG) - 84% (ACU) - 91% (FreedomWorks)
Grassley (IA) - 2016 - 86% (Average) - 82% (Heritage) - 86% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 86% (FreedomWorks)
Toomey (PA) - 2016 - 85% (Average) - 76% (Heritage) - 93% (CFG) - 80% (ACU) - 91% (FreedomWorks)
Enzi (WY) - 08/19/14 - 85% (Average) - 76% (Heritage) - 94% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 82% (FreedomWorks)
Sessions (AL) - 06/03/14 - 84% (Average) - 79% (Heritage) - 88% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 82% (FreedomWorks)
McConnell (KY) - 05/20/14 - 83% (Average) - 80% (Heritage) - 87% (CFG) - 92% (ACU) - 73% (FreedomWorks)
Heller (NV) - - 81% (Average) - 71% (Heritage) - 89% (CFG) - 83% (ACU) - 82% (FreedomWorks)
Vitter (LA) - 2016 - 81% (Average) - 75% (Heritage) - 78% (CFG) - 79% (ACU) - 91% (FreedomWorks)
Barrasso (WY) - - 79% (Average) - 76% (Heritage) - 85% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 68% (FreedomWorks)
Shelby (AL) - 2016 - 76% (Average) - 76% (Heritage) - 82% (CFG) - 76% (ACU) - 68% (FreedomWorks)
Flake (AZ) - - 75% (Average) - 58% (Heritage) - 84% (CFG) - 71% (ACU) - 85% (FreedomWorks)
Coats (IN) - 2016 - 73% (Average) - 70% (Heritage) - 75% (CFG) - 83% (ACU) - 65% (FreedomWorks)
Thune (SD) - 2016 - 73% (Average) - 65% (Heritage) - 80% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 59% (FreedomWorks)
Moran (KS) - 2016 - 72% (Average) - 66% (Heritage) - 75% (CFG) - 80% (ACU) - 67% (FreedomWorks)
Fischer (NE) - 2016 - 71% (Average) - 64% (Heritage) - 74% (CFG) - 76% (ACU) - 68% (FreedomWorks)
Burr (NC) - 2016 - 70% (Average) - 62% (Heritage) - 67% (CFG) - 84% (ACU) - 67% (FreedomWorks)
Hatch (UT) - - 70% (Average) - 60% (Heritage) - 76% (CFG) - 75% (ACU) - 70% (FreedomWorks)
Boozman (AR) - 2016 - 69% (Average) - 71% (Heritage) - 70% (CFG) - 80% (ACU) - 55% (FreedomWorks)
Ayotte (NH) - 2016 - 67% (Average) - 57% (Heritage) - 79% (CFG) - 68% (ACU) - 64% (FreedomWorks)
Portman (OH) - 2016 - 64% (Average) - 57% (Heritage) - 71% (CFG) - 64% (ACU) - 64% (FreedomWorks)
Johanns (NE) - 05/13/14 - 63% (Average) - 56% (Heritage) - 71% (CFG) - 71% (ACU) - 55% (FreedomWorks)
Corker (TN) - - 60% (Average) - 44% (Heritage) - 75% (CFG) - 64% (ACU) - 55% (FreedomWorks)
Blunt (MO) - 2016 - 59% (Average) - 57% (Heritage) - 67% (CFG) - 71% (ACU) - 41% (FreedomWorks)
Graham (SC) - 06/10/14 - 59% (Average) - 52% (Heritage) - 65% (CFG) - 68% (ACU) - 52% (FreedomWorks)
Chambilss (GA) - 05/20/14 - 57% (Average) - 57% (Heritage) - 61% (CFG) - 56% (ACU) - 52% (FreedomWorks)
Kirk (IL) - 2016 - 55% (Average) - 44% (Heritage) - 74% (CFG) - 44% (ACU) - 59% (FreedomWorks)
Alexander (TN) - 08/07/14 - 55% (Average) - 46% (Heritage) - 67% (CFG) - 60% (ACU) - 45% (FreedomWorks)
Isakson (GA) - 2016 - 54% (Average) - 54% (Heritage) - 59% (CFG) - 54% (ACU) - 50% (FreedomWorks)
McCain (AZ) - 2016 - 54% (Average) - 43% (Heritage) - 71% (CFG) - 52% (ACU) - 48% (FreedomWorks)
Wicker (MS) - - 54% (Average) - 46% (Heritage) - 68% (CFG) - 60% (ACU) - 41% (FreedomWorks)
Cochran (MS) - 06/03/14 - 54% (Average) - 57% (Heritage) - 56% (CFG) - 60% (ACU) - 41% (FreedomWorks)
Hoeven (ND) - 2016 - 51% (Average) - 44% (Heritage) - 58% (CFG) - 60% (ACU) - 41% (FreedomWorks)
Murkowski (AK) - 2016 - 41% (Average) - 36% (Heritage) - 52% (CFG) - 38% (ACU) - 36% (FreedomWorks)
Collins (ME) - 06/10/14 - 30% (Average) - 28% (Heritage) - 39% (CFG) - 28% (ACU) - 23% (FreedomWorks)
To: SeekAndFind
It's not just amnesty. It's that he is an ethnic grievance pimp just like Al Sharpton. His "in group" happens to be hispanics rather than blacks.
I won't support Rubio and I think there are a lot of folks who would agree.
To: Mariner
It really rubs me the wrong way, when they talk of being against amnesty, but it’s okay to Register the illegal aliens and let them Remain in Place.
That’s just a big fat lie.
If they stay, it’s amnesty pure and simple.
To: Jeff Chandler
Depends. He has already backtracked on it. As far as I can tell, he is more palatable than Bush, Christie, Clinton, or Biden and the record proves he is one of the more all around conservative senators. Not my first choice, but depending on how the campaign does, I might be willing to accept it if I have to. We made the mistake of trashing conservatives to pimp our preferred conservatives the last couple of times and wound up with McCain and Romney. All I am saying is we can and have done worse.
To: SeekAndFind
Sorry, Marco, but you stepped into the Gang of 8 and you will never get that stench off your shoes.
15
posted on
05/14/2014 8:47:41 AM PDT
by
TomGuy
To: turducken
I will say that aside from Cruz, everyone in the potential field has irked me in one way or another. If Cruz doesn’t run or isn’t effective, I’m going to have to vote in the primary for someone that has irked me. Aside from Paul, Rubio has the most all around conservative record of the non-Cruz bunch.
To: Arm_Bears
Rubio backs amnestyNuff said.Gotta ask the question: What do you think should be done? If the answer is to deport all the illegals, I agree that it should be done.
Is there anyone here that actually believes that it would ever happen? If there is, I want some of their mood supplements for my own personal use.
Barring a mass deportation, that ain't gonna happen, what could/should be done that actually has a snowball's chance of implementation?
Pipe dreams may make one feel good, but they're useless exercises in fantasy land. Until we are able to look reality in the eye without going into a pipe-dream-induced fantasy, we will not have anyone we can rally around. There are even some yo-yos claiming Cruz is now unclean for some perceived slight.
We mock the Left for not being in touch with reality, but they have a cohesive factor that ensures their on-going success in destroying Freedom. We have fantasies.
17
posted on
05/14/2014 8:48:52 AM PDT
by
trebb
(Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
To: SeekAndFind
The trouble with Rubio is that he puts his Tribe first, then America.
18
posted on
05/14/2014 8:52:37 AM PDT
by
Noamie
To: SeekAndFind
19
posted on
05/14/2014 8:56:41 AM PDT
by
TomGuy
To: SeekAndFind
I think a president has to have a clear vision of where the country needs to go and clear ideas about how to get it there, Wrong answer, Rubio. BHO had a clear vision and clear ideas on how to get there, and they are all WRONG. What our Nation needs is someone who has a clear vision of where the country needs to go, with an absolutely rock hard understanding of how and why this Nation was established and proceed in the same direction; one who capitalizes on the concept of rugged individualism married with the sense that we have greatness as a Nation and that we are a beacon to the rest of the world.
20
posted on
05/14/2014 9:01:18 AM PDT
by
rjsimmon
(The Tree of Liberty Thirsts)
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