Anecdotal addition to this story. I once had a good friend who was a very smooth and polished Democratic operative. Knew Rubio “personally” and “well” as he put it based on business and latino society connections between them. This old friend assured me that Marco was a politician and businessman, but not really much of a conservative, once you got past the talking points. Now, that old friend turned out to be fraud on other counts, but the very fact that him and ol Marco were buds has always made me question something there.
I’ve got some inside information about Marco, and I think that’s a fair assessment. That’s why he can AT BEST be a running mate. If he’s at the top of the ticket, there won’t be a truly conservative president.