Another charismatic, seemingly made-for-higher office Cuban American (cf. Alex Penelas) blows up in full national view. This one didn't require bloggers or muck rakers or anyone else. Marco did it all himself. According to the Washington Post, Rubio, a freshman lawmaker "widely considered a potential vice-presidential prospect in 2012, falsely portrays his parents as exiles driven from their native Cuba when Fidel Castro came to power. The Post cites Rubio's public statements and the official biography on his Senate Web site as evidence." Rubio went on the attack instantly, but the Rubio narrative is now spoiled by facts. New reports as a result of the controversy bring to light even more variations from the truth.
The key feature of the reports is that Rubio misplaced the date of his parents' immigration in order to capture the fury of exiles forced out of Cuba after Castro seized power. This may be less egregious for Miami Cuban Americans who proudly identify with Rubio as it is for other exiles. As a child immigrants, I can attest to the importance of family narrative. No one-- and I mean, no one-- willfully fudges the dates or the circumstances of their parents' immigration.
That Rubio turned this history to embellish his political credentials is what I would call a defining event in his political career, like Penelas taking a business trip to Spain during the presidential recount in 2000. Rubio-- the Jeb Bush stand-in--is being cultivated for a role on a GOP national ticket for 2012. There is about as much chance of that happening as there is of Michele Bachmann winning the New Hampshire primary.
11 comments:
"There is about as much chance of that happening as there is of Michele Bachmann winning the New Hampshire primary"
Okay, Gimlete, I just lost my coffee laughing so loud!
Gimleteye: Either you are losing it or your bias is showing.
The Washington Post was fishing for a story that just was not there. Made them look like what they are, an Obama enabler. Anyone with an ounce of sense can see right through it.
Go back to the drawing board in your effort to discredit and derail Rubio.
And when you are done, write us a story about the "honest" Democrats!
There have been many periods of "exile" in the entire history of Cuba. I understand, that my paternal grandmother was born in Costa Rica to Cuban parents who were in “exile” in that country in the 1800s. As a matter of fact, the Cuban War of Independence (or as Americans like to call it: the "Spanish American War") was helped along by Cubans who were in exile in the U.S. Nobody disputes the term as applied to Cubans who had left Cuba for political reasons. However, through the years, many Cubans left the island for the U.S. seeking a better life, a very valid and honorable reason to resettle in another country. That is an immigrant not an exile. Mr. and Mrs. Rubio were not involved in any political activism on either side of the issue when they decided to come to the U.S. with an immigrant visa in 1956. If they had been, their son would have already said WHY they had to "exile" themselves.
Politricks!!!
This Is What U. S. Politicians Do.
Status Quo!
American Politics.
Weapons of Mass Distraction.
So Marco Rubio is not born of Cuban exile parents; and Marc Sarnoff is not the grandson of RCA's General Sarnoff.
Why must these pieces of shit lie ????
TerrG suggests "the Rubio's parents were not involved in any political activism on either side of the issue." Maybe they were activists. They could have been supporting the insurgents against Batista in 1956, and felt compelled to exile themselves to regroup. The curious return of his mother and siblings in 1961, and subsequent hasty exit, raises issues of possible affiliation and disillusionment with the Castro regime. The distorted narrative told to the children (Marco) could have been to shield the family from being ostracized within the exile community. This story has legs...
What about Marc Caputo's statements that in an interview a month ago (prior to this controversy), Rubio said that his parents came over before the "Revolution"? So what if he couldn't remember precisely when they came over, I don't know the year in which my mother came over. I believe my father came over in 1960 or 1961. Their story is central to me identity but it's not uncommon for us not to know. Further complicating this non-story is the fact that Rubio's parents came and went several times with the last, definitive time being in 1961. So they came before the revolution and they came back after the revolution. They first came in 1956, so does that automatically prevent them from being considered exiles? Aboslutely not. There is no stolen valor here. Rubio didn't say that his parents fought against Castro or that his dad gave his first born to Batista. He only said that his parents and his family were victims of the revolution, as we all have been. Those who are not part of the Cuban community don't understand that we don't draw a distinction between people who came in 1956 or 59 or 61. There was a distinction with those who came in Mariel but even that has been blurred. His interview on NPR about his mother having to wait 9 months to leave Cuba is absolutely true. She was over there with his brother in 1961 while the father was in Miami. So now his parents are less exiled because they first came over in 1956? If they were so sure that they would never return to a free Cuba and if everything about their leaving was only a matter of money, why did they wait until the 1970s to become citizens?
During breakfast with a Cuban woman this morning I asked her when her family came to Florida. Her grandparents were the first to arrive, then her father, then she came with her mother and siblings. She knew the exact dates (month, day and year)for each of arrival. Marco's foggy awareness of this critical event in his family history doesn't wash.
This whole Cuban story is so boring already... I'm not Cuban, I was brought to this country when I was little... so my parents decided for me....
Ok so what's the big deal?
Move on people!!!!
Let's see Marco lied about the dates; Marc lied about his grandpappy and many other things. One a Cuban one an Anglo. Same shit.
Maybe it is a curse that comes with the name.
I can't wait until the national media gets its hands on RPOF AMEX debacle with Rubio. It will be quite interesting to see that the same man (Rubio) who has time and again advocated for fiscal responsibility use the party credit card as his own piggybank.
The only reason that this guy is actually being considered for this VP position is because of Florida's swing electoral votes.
End the ELECTORAL COLLEGE! POPULAR VOTE should be the way to go too.
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