Rubio’s…
…hat is in the ring:
Rubio, however, is the original Tea Party candidate. His candidacy united the grassroots against the leadership and he won. The Washington crowd convinced themselves he could not win, but the grassroots proved they could pick a winner. Rubio was the first…
Monday in Miami, Marco Rubio will declare his candidacy for the presidency and of the three conservative Senators to run, he is most likely the Goldilocks of the bunch. He is not too tied to the grassroots to antagonize the establishment. He is not too tied to the civil libertarians to antagonize the conservatives. And he has not gone out of his way to reject the base of grassroots supporters who got him elected in order to curry favor with the leadership.
A lot of conservatives are still hopping mad at Rubio for his immigration stance a while back:
Rubio was part of the “Gang of Eight,” a bipartisan group of senators who authored a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013.
That bill included a legal pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, something hardline conservatives stringently oppose. Rubio’s support of the bill lost him a lot of favor in the tea party.
“People are furious about this,” activist David Caulkett told WPTV.
The measure passed the Senate but ultimately stalled in the House, and Rubio quickly began backtracking.
Last year, he told a group of immigration protesters, “You don’t have a right to illegally immigrate to the United States.”
Now, with the GOP nomination for president on the line, Rubio’s immigration rhetoric focuses more and more on border security.
Rubio told CPAC this year, “What I’ve learned, is that you can’t even have a conversation about that until people believe and know – not just believe, but it is proven to them – that future illegal immigration will be controlled.”
I don’t know if his history on this issue will hurt Rubio enough to make it impossible for him to be nominated. There are also quite a few other attractive candidates in the Republican field this year. But Rubio has a lot going for him: young, telegenic, intelligent, Hispanic, energetic, not afraid to criticize Obama, and with an inspiring and universally appealing biography.
The contrast with Hillary would be marked. And if he were to be nominated, it would be interesting if he were to choose Carly Fiorina as a running mate.
I suppose I’m getting ahead of myself.
The large and viable Republican field is going to cause the MSM some problems- too many targets to focus on for destruction.
Yancey Ward:
Oh, I think the MSM is up to the task. They will methodically move from one to the other and back again.
Neo:
But will the Republican candidates, this time around, be able to focus their sniping on the MSM and on the Democrats, instead of on each other?
I doubt it’ll work — they don’t call it The Stupid Party for nothing. But if the Republican candidates for President could quietly adopt a strategy of showing the American people — “we’re ALL strong candidates, and you’d be better off with ANY of us”, instead of trying to destroy each other — I think it’d go a long way.
Seriously, I’d love to see each of the candidates, each in his or her own way, say something like this at a debate: “You know, I feel I’d be a better President than [other Republican]. If I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t be running. But I’d vote for him/her in a heartbeat, with joy in my heart, rather than vote for Hillary — and you should too!”
He’s running for Vice-president.
Rubio won the “Koch primary” back in January. That’ll mean a lot of money coming his way.
Daniel in Brookline,
That’s not how primaries work. The Dems routinely grapple each other in sewer mud in their primaries.
The difference is the rest of the political environment, ie, the larger activist game that surrounds and subsumes electoral politics and resets the arena for the switch from Dem v Dem to Dem v GOP.
Left activists take care of their end. Rather than ask elected politicians in the GOP not to do what elected politicians normally do within the normal bounds of electoral political competition, ask Right activists to wrest control of the political environment that surrounds and subsumes electoral politics. Right activists need to take care of their end rather than place it on the GOP.
On the Neil Cavuto show today a Republican fundraiser (can’t recall his name) predicted a Walker/Rubio ticket in 2016.
Sounds good to me. But then I would vote for a ham sandwich as opposed to Hillary Clinton or ANY other democrat.
So far my favorites are Ted Cruse and Marco Rubio. I’m angry at him about the gang of 8 immigration embroglio but he has regained some of my trust since them. Walker is a good man but the Hispanic candidates both seem to have the charisma this time.
Count me among those conservatives “still hopping mad at Rubio for his immigration stance a while back”.
IMO his active participation in that cabal is proof positive of him being a political opportunist whose core principal is strictly to the advancement of Marco Rubio’s political fortunes. That Rubio is “the original Tea Party candidate”, which above all stands for Constitutional principles, makes his betrayal especially egregious.
As blert states, his goal is the VP nomination. He’s a RINO and a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s proven that his only loyalty is to himself.
I am also one who will not forget his immigration stance very quickly.
Then there is the “one term Senator” thing. What in the world makes these guys think that they are qualified to be President? Well, monumental egos, of course.
The Dems and the Establishment Republicans are trying to write off Walker,early, but he will be around for a long time.
I will be very happy with Walker and Fiorina, Cruz, or Rubio.
“I am also one who will not forget his immigration stance very quickly. – I will be very happy with Walker and Fiorina, Cruz, or Rubio.” Oldflyer
I’m sorry but you appear to have forgotten in but a few sentences.
How exactly would 4-8 years under a Pres. Walker change ‘a snake in the grass’? How would it instill principled integrity in a man who has proven himself, by his own actions, to utterly lack that virtue?
Walker/Sessions is my ticket. The steadfast, fresh faced manager and the old DC pro with staunch principles.
I’m a big fan of Sessions and if Walker can get clear eyed on illegal immigration (not just pander) I’d fully support that ticket.
Ditto on the not forgetting.