Posted on 04/13/2015 2:45:56 PM PDT by ObamahatesPACoal
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took a shot at Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., when asked about the possibility of running simultaneously for re-election to the Senate and for the presidency in 2016.
"If someone decides to run for president of the United States, you run for president of the United States," Rubio said at the National Press Club. "I don't believe you can run effectively for an office of that magnitude while having some exit strategy in mind."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
I am sensing nomentum for Rubio. Accent on the “no.” What niche does he fill?
I don’t see Rubio getting very far. Certainly not for President, and probably at this point not for a VP slot.
I’m grateful that we have so many choices this time, compared to 2008 and 2012, but I can’t see Rubio making it out of the numbers game here. There are more experience candidates to choose from, there are more conservative candidates to choose from, and in this day and age of identity politics, we already have at least one candidate of Hispanic descent.
Rubio’s likely got a very bright future, but he’s probably best suited to stay where he is for now.
Paul is showing he will say anything and do anything to please his daddy
Not a fan of Rubio, but he’s correct on this. That being said, how would Rand run for both offices? They’ve been saying for months that KY state law does not allow a candidate to be on the ballot for two offices, and the KY legislature (thankfully) refuses to change the law no matter how much the Paulbots push for it.
Rubio would be a great cabinet officer. He’s a policy wonk, and we can’t discount his intelligence. As for presidential chances I agree with many of you that he has no shot. The minute he went with the Gang of Eight on immigration he blew his chance for the presidency. That said, I would offer a cabinet position to him. He’s wrong on immigration but he’s knowledgeable on so many other issues. He’s the second most intelligent person in the GOP field next to Ted Cruz. He would easily smoke Hillary, O’Malley, or Warren in a debate.
Rubio lost me when he joined the amnesty crowd as soon as he got into the senate. But I hate to see him leave the senate so soon. He probably has little chance of winning the Republican primary now and that Florida senate seat could well be lost to a Democrat.
Makes no sense unless he’s aiming for the VP slot, and it still makes little sense.
I am actually pissed Rubio is leaving the Senate for this race. We don’t get good Senators often. We have Nelson, and the Rubio seat has been a waste since Connie Mack retired. The odds of getting a conservative, independent minded Senator are slim. Yes, Rubio sucked on immigration, but he’s been pretty good otherwise. He would have been a near lock for reelection.
Republicans who want amnesty, but not as much amnesty as Jeb Bush wants
Republicans who want Chuck Shumer to have an inside path to the President
Hispanic republicans who want a republican with Cuban heritage, but not Mexican heritage.
The last one is of any importance. It sucks votes away from Cruz in Florida.
The problem for Marco is he is burning his bridges. When he fails in his run for President, he has no Senate seat to continue to build his creds. He will be a Once Run Has Been.
Trust me, Rubio........ you should have kept your day job.
The state party is gonna switch to Presidential caucus rather than a primary, sidestepping the problem for Rand.
For the primary ballot - however, that law applies both to the primary and general elections. Should Paul somehow get the GOP nomination for President and win the primary, he would either have to leave his name off the ballot for President, tossing away 8 electoral votes off the bat, or withdraw from the Senate race, awarding the Democrats an instant gain in the Senate as a replacement could not be named if he drops out.
Thus Rand Paul would not appear on the primary ballot for two offices. Instead, he would retain his Senate nomination by caucus and he hopes to win the Kentucky primary for POTUS.
Thus, if he lost the POTUS nomination nationally, he would likely retain his US Senate seat. I am no fan of the Paul family but, considering his overall record in the Senate and the unlikelihood of his getting the POTUS nomination, his remaining in the Senate is not a bad outcome. I wish something like that could be worked out for Marco Rubio who has proven to be a very valuable senator despite his old misstep on immigration.
I also hope (this is not personal towards you but applicable to all) that, as conservatives, we shall refrain from unnecessarily vitriolic comments at ANY of the essentially conservative candidates for the GOP POTUS nomination.
There are no Romneys and no McCains so far in this field. I felt free to attack Romney and should have felt free o attack McCain. If ever such a candidate is nominated by the GOP, I shall not vote for him/her. I shall freely attack such a candidate.
Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum and several other potentials are not our enemies. They are our friends. I despised Ron Paul but he is now out of politics. While Rand is, in some ways, a reflection of his father's libertarianism, he has clearly separated himself from his father, favoring strong national defense, firmly opposing abortion and also reaching out to other constituencies seldom engaged by Republicans. I am willing to give Rand Paul a fair hearing. I hope others will join me.
BTW, at the moment, I favor Scott Walker over the field, as a proven executive who has beaten the Left consistently like a drum. Ah, but this go round, we have an embarrassment of candidate riches to choose from. Hopefully, we shall make a collective choice very early on and not waste resources on intramural squabbling. All of the conservative candidates should agree to campaign their backsides off for the final nominee. Bring back Sarah Palin and a lot of those not running as well. The Demonrats have NO BENCH to advocate for Hillary other than the somewhat dangerous Elizabeth Fauxcahontas Warren. We have the deepest bench in history.
When, inevitably, Comrade George Stephanopoulas tries to attack GOP candidates for POTUS by demanding endlessly if they would support "discrimination" against "gay" "marriage," let the candidate ask Georgie boy whether Georgie's dad, a Greek Orthodox pastor in New York City is "discriminating" by refusing to preside over "gay" "marriages." What draconian government punishment would Georgie apply to his own dad? Ask him again and again and again until he shuts up and goes away.
‘It’s not good to run for 2 offices at the same time’ says the guy who will STAY a senator if he loses.
RESIGN NOW, and back up your words. If you can’t run for both offices how can you be an effective senator while you are running for president?
WORDS MEAN NOTHING, ACTIONS MATTER.
He’s not still a senator?
He will finish out his term, but since he is not seeking reelction in order to run for President, he will be out of the political scene after that.
I think you are all underestimating Rubio. He is as smart as Cruz with the ability to carry a large swing state. His initial stance on immigration not withstanding Rubio will gain wide support. Jmho.
If cats and dogs start living together and Rand Paul wins the GOP presidential nomination, he will drop out of the Senate race and permit the state GOP to name his replacement on the ballot. Rand is a Paultard, but he’s not actually retarded.
The reason for Rand’s hissy fit is because he wants to run for president while filing for reelection for when he loses (like his daddy used to do), and if KY had a presidential primary he would not be able to appear on that ballot while simultaneously appearing on the Senate primary ballot. This way, he can stay in the presidential race past late January (which is the filing deadline in KY), so that he can get a bunch of third-place finishes like his daddy used to do. But maybe Rand can “win” the USVI caucuses (with like 50 voters) like Ron Paul did in 2008.
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