Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio: the GOP roller derby begins … by gimleteye

It is fascinating to listen to the mainstream media on Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. For the most part, the descriptions of what, exactly, these two conservatives represent is sketched in sound bites cribbed from the candidates' press releases.

Why aren't journalists scouring the Rubio record for signs of either political accomplishment or capability?

Marco Rubio's only accomplishment as a state legislative leader from Miami-Dade was to help Jeb Bush's agenda during the governor's terms in Tallahassee. He wasn't an innovator. He was a facilitator who took orders well.

In the mainstream media he is being portrayed as at the same stage of his career as Barack Obama was in 2008: a state senator and one-term US senator. Come on.

Forget about rungs of a political ladder: how can their credential be compared?

Barack Obama attended Harvard Law School, where he was elected president of the law review, supervising a staff of 80 editors. Marco Rubio attended the University of Miami law school without distinction. The issue of capacity for leadership isn't a trivial pursuit.

Marco Rubio responds to the questions about global warming by saying he is "not a scientist", but that's not all: he won't even meet with scientists in his own state, the most vulnerable to sea level rise in the nation.

In the money ball game of presidential politics, Rubio's calculation is that his candidacy gets him onto the national stage. The money is going to Jeb Bush. All the mainstream media talk of tension between the Rubio and Bush camps, particularly among Florida big money GOP contributors, is fluffing for the microphones.

In the jockeying for position among GOP candidates, there is no Herman Cain or Rick Santorum or Donald Trump yet, but there will be. Marco Rubio will help manage the GOP roller derby train so, at the right moment in the train, Jeb Bush will be pulled through the primary. For that he will be rewarded.

One can imagine how Jeb would reward Marco Rubio for soldiering on his behalf: Marco Rubio represents a new generation of Republicans who want to turn the clock back to a simpler time, when American Exceptionalism was as easy to promote with voters as pasting political ads on bus stop benches in West Miami.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rubio: the emptiest of the GOP empty suits.

Anonymous said...

Did Marco Rubio benefit from affirmative action as well as President Obama while in college? If you are comparing and you are then all factors have to be considered.

Anonymous said...

Billionaire sugar baron and Everglades destroyer Julio Fanjul was hugging Marco Rubio at his announcement speech yesterday, caught by TV. So there you have it. Thanks to EOM for pointing out that Rubio's political career is entirely due to his willingness to carry the water for Big Sugar especially in 2003 when Big Sugar needed to change water quality law in Florida. Corrupt.

RealTruthofMiami said...

Obama and Rubio have exactly the same qualifications going in, which is to say next to NONE as an administrator(s) or chief executive(s) of anything other than campaigns. Please do not delude yourself otherwise. Oh, and I'm not saying Jeb is the answer either. This election should be titled "Sophie's Choice".

Anonymous said...

This is all a smokescreen for a Jeb Bush/Marco Rubio GOP ticket. Stay tuned.

Anonymous said...

Silly poster: there will never be a ticket with both President and VP from the same state.
(Oh how I wish people would educate themselves before writing foolishness!)

Anonymous said...

And where did you think Dick Cheney was from? He lived and worked in Houston when he found himself to be GW's VP. Later he found a fishing lodge (or was it a duck blind?) he owned that he claimed to be his residence in Wyoming.

Those two were definitely from the same state.

Anonymous said...

The last anon is on target. People can win or lose from any state, even the same state. Al Gore couldn't win his home state, so nothing is a lock.

The issue is ideology, not one's residence. The bigger obstacle to win is if running mates are from the same wing of the party.

Rick said...

Bush and Rubio are from the RINO amnesty wing of the Republican Party. If they ran together, every conservative in America would stay home on election day.

Anonymous said...

some moonbats in these forums believe that rino bush and rino rubio are too conservative. lol!

Anonymous said...

You are so right. This is from the Herald story on Jeb this morning: "Bush went on to say that he’s “not good at playing like I’m something I’m not,” and that he wouldn’t think of going negative against Rubio in a campaign. “I am his friend, and he’s mine, and I’m never going to disparage him,” Bush added.

For his part, Rubio has been equally kind to his prospective rival.

“Jeb is my friend. He is still my friend. He will continue to be,” Rubio told ABC News on Monday. “We'll continue to be friends. I have tremendous admiration for him. I’m not running against Jeb Bush and I hope he’s not running against me. We are competing for the same job.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/elections-2016/jeb-bush/article18562004.html#storylink=cpy

They are on the same roller derby team, and just watch how that works out. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, anyone?

Anonymous said...

Jeb/Romney will be the ticket