The decision whether or not to unseat Marco Rubio is up to Miami-Dade County voters; more accurately, Republican voters. More accurately still, Hispanic Republican voters.
There is naturally an inclination to vote for Rubio along the lines of ethnic affiliation. (The Miami Herald endorsed Patrick Murphy, Rubio's opponent. El Nuevo Herald, Rubio.)
The weight of evidence, however, is against Marco Rubio.
He has been an empty suit in Washington, DC and misrepresented to Floridians his interest in the Senate, mostly absent while chasing his dream to be the GOP nominee for president. Rubio's was a futile exercise that garnered only 15% of the Republican primary vote in Florida last March.
Florida Republicans rejected Rubio, then. Why should he do better now?
The bottom line: Marco Rubio delivers a good sound bite and stump speech, but he is loyal mainly to his ambition.
There is another calculation that Hispanic Republicans ought to weigh, as well.
Hillary Clinton will be the next president of the United States. Rubio, who stands by Donald Trump -- the man who belittled him -- will have no power in the Senate except to as a symbol for the same failures of leadership eroding the GOP. With another term in the Senate, what can Marco Rubio do for Floridians? Not much.
One would expect Rubio to run to the TV cameras, with little to say for Florida except bluster that ends where it begins: all sound and fury.
Patrick Murphy is the right choice to be Florida's next US Senator. Senator Rubio's part in this shambolic electoral cycle does not deserve the Miami-Dade vote.
Sunday Review
A Chance to Unseat Marco Rubio
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The New York Times
OCT. 22, 2016
Just months ago, Senator Marco Rubio was seen by the Republican establishment as one of its best hopes for taking back the White House. Now, Representative Patrick Murphy, a second-term congressman, is within striking distance of defeating Mr. Rubio in the senator’s race to keep his seat.
The race is the most consequential among several in Florida in which Republican incumbents find themselves in unexpectedly tough fights. The plight of Florida Republicans — who seem largely resigned to a Clinton victory, given Hillary Clinton’s four percentage point lead in the polls — is in large measure a result of the name at the top of the ballot. But Donald Trump’s candidacy has only accelerated trends that have changed Florida’s political landscape in ways that Democrats have been more adept at seizing.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the dean of Florida’s congressional delegation, is fighting more vigorously than she ever has to fend off a Democratic challenger, Scott Fuhrman, a businessman who has little name recognition and is campaigning against Ms. Ros-Lehtinen’s rigid defense of the Cuban embargo. President Obama won the district by a tiny margin in 2008 and by nearly seven percentage points in 2012. This year, Mrs. Clinton is leading Mr. Trump by 17 to 23 percentage points in the district, according to polling commissioned by Mr. Fuhrman.
The changing Latino electorate is the key factor, with Cuban-Americans, who once swung reliably Republican, increasingly up for grabs, particularly younger voters who are more socially liberal than their parents and less dogmatic about the Cuban embargo. Some 58 percent of Latino voters in Florida back Mrs. Clinton, while 28 percent support Mr. Trump, according to a recent poll commissioned by Univision.
This pains Rudy Fernández, one of the architects of the Republican Party’s efforts to earn Latino votes during the 2000 and 2004 campaigns, which were instrumental in George W. Bush’s Florida victories. “It was a very inclusive message, a positive message, Reaganesque,” Mr. Fernández said. In November, he said, he will unenthusiastically vote for Mrs. Clinton and hope that Mr. Trump’s defeat forces a reckoning that reboots the party’s approach toward Latinos.
What this has meant for Mr. Rubio is that he can no longer rely on Cuban-Americans as a stalwart base in a state where many voters have become alienated by his hard-line conservative positions on issues such as gay rights, reproductive rights, gun control and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and by his shifting stance on immigration reform. Of course, the Trump factor is substantial, too. Mr. Rubio, who once called Mr. Trump a “con artist” wholly unfit to be president, now backs him. Many former Rubio supporters find that galling and indefensible.
For these reasons, Florida voters should support Mr. Murphy. But defeating Mr. Rubio, who earned a reputation on Capitol Hill as a disengaged lawmaker who skipped scores of key votes and hearings, shouldn’t be the only motive.
Mr. Murphy’s positions on climate change — an issue that Mr. Rubio seems deeply ignorant about — gay rights, gun control and comprehensive immigration reform make him by far a superior representative for Floridians. Mr. Murphy has also challenged Mr. Rubio’s obstinate support for the failed embargo on Cuba, which puts him on the right side of history and, increasingly, public opinion in Florida.
Correction: October 22, 2016
An earlier version of this editorial misstated the number of terms Patrick Murphy has served in Congress. He is in his second term, not his first.
There is naturally an inclination to vote for Rubio along the lines of ethnic affiliation. (The Miami Herald endorsed Patrick Murphy, Rubio's opponent. El Nuevo Herald, Rubio.)
The weight of evidence, however, is against Marco Rubio.
He has been an empty suit in Washington, DC and misrepresented to Floridians his interest in the Senate, mostly absent while chasing his dream to be the GOP nominee for president. Rubio's was a futile exercise that garnered only 15% of the Republican primary vote in Florida last March.
Florida Republicans rejected Rubio, then. Why should he do better now?
The bottom line: Marco Rubio delivers a good sound bite and stump speech, but he is loyal mainly to his ambition.
There is another calculation that Hispanic Republicans ought to weigh, as well.
Hillary Clinton will be the next president of the United States. Rubio, who stands by Donald Trump -- the man who belittled him -- will have no power in the Senate except to as a symbol for the same failures of leadership eroding the GOP. With another term in the Senate, what can Marco Rubio do for Floridians? Not much.
One would expect Rubio to run to the TV cameras, with little to say for Florida except bluster that ends where it begins: all sound and fury.
Patrick Murphy is the right choice to be Florida's next US Senator. Senator Rubio's part in this shambolic electoral cycle does not deserve the Miami-Dade vote.
Sunday Review
A Chance to Unseat Marco Rubio
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The New York Times
OCT. 22, 2016
Just months ago, Senator Marco Rubio was seen by the Republican establishment as one of its best hopes for taking back the White House. Now, Representative Patrick Murphy, a second-term congressman, is within striking distance of defeating Mr. Rubio in the senator’s race to keep his seat.
The race is the most consequential among several in Florida in which Republican incumbents find themselves in unexpectedly tough fights. The plight of Florida Republicans — who seem largely resigned to a Clinton victory, given Hillary Clinton’s four percentage point lead in the polls — is in large measure a result of the name at the top of the ballot. But Donald Trump’s candidacy has only accelerated trends that have changed Florida’s political landscape in ways that Democrats have been more adept at seizing.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the dean of Florida’s congressional delegation, is fighting more vigorously than she ever has to fend off a Democratic challenger, Scott Fuhrman, a businessman who has little name recognition and is campaigning against Ms. Ros-Lehtinen’s rigid defense of the Cuban embargo. President Obama won the district by a tiny margin in 2008 and by nearly seven percentage points in 2012. This year, Mrs. Clinton is leading Mr. Trump by 17 to 23 percentage points in the district, according to polling commissioned by Mr. Fuhrman.
The changing Latino electorate is the key factor, with Cuban-Americans, who once swung reliably Republican, increasingly up for grabs, particularly younger voters who are more socially liberal than their parents and less dogmatic about the Cuban embargo. Some 58 percent of Latino voters in Florida back Mrs. Clinton, while 28 percent support Mr. Trump, according to a recent poll commissioned by Univision.
This pains Rudy Fernández, one of the architects of the Republican Party’s efforts to earn Latino votes during the 2000 and 2004 campaigns, which were instrumental in George W. Bush’s Florida victories. “It was a very inclusive message, a positive message, Reaganesque,” Mr. Fernández said. In November, he said, he will unenthusiastically vote for Mrs. Clinton and hope that Mr. Trump’s defeat forces a reckoning that reboots the party’s approach toward Latinos.
What this has meant for Mr. Rubio is that he can no longer rely on Cuban-Americans as a stalwart base in a state where many voters have become alienated by his hard-line conservative positions on issues such as gay rights, reproductive rights, gun control and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and by his shifting stance on immigration reform. Of course, the Trump factor is substantial, too. Mr. Rubio, who once called Mr. Trump a “con artist” wholly unfit to be president, now backs him. Many former Rubio supporters find that galling and indefensible.
For these reasons, Florida voters should support Mr. Murphy. But defeating Mr. Rubio, who earned a reputation on Capitol Hill as a disengaged lawmaker who skipped scores of key votes and hearings, shouldn’t be the only motive.
Mr. Murphy’s positions on climate change — an issue that Mr. Rubio seems deeply ignorant about — gay rights, gun control and comprehensive immigration reform make him by far a superior representative for Floridians. Mr. Murphy has also challenged Mr. Rubio’s obstinate support for the failed embargo on Cuba, which puts him on the right side of history and, increasingly, public opinion in Florida.
Correction: October 22, 2016
An earlier version of this editorial misstated the number of terms Patrick Murphy has served in Congress. He is in his second term, not his first.
11 comments:
Look, Obama wasn't there for most of his senate term either. Rubio has passed several good legislation and Murphy hasn't passed one single item in four years!
Waiting for politifact to weigh in............still waiting......and waiting.
http://shark-tank.com/2016/10/17/rubios-senate-opponent-patrick-murphy-gropes-a-womans-breast-picture/
Fact check.
Regarding the shark-tank link above.
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/patrick-murphy-this-is-a-picture-with-my-girlfriend-from-my-20s-a-college/2299056
More Rubio unverified b.s.:
http://www.politifact.com/florida/article/2016/aug/31/rubio-ad-claims-he-helped-constituents-daughter-ge/
No one can out lie Little Fascist Marco(Batista) Rubio!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arturo-lopez-levy/marco-rubio-cuba-family-story_b_7058486.html
Rubio won 27% of the primary vote in Florida, not 15%, get it right. Then in his Senate primary he took over 70% of the vote to a Trump-esque candidate. Sorry Charlie, looks like he''s getting reelected.
Don't want all your links summarize.
Besides Amendment 1 which hopefully everyone knows to vote against, have you decided about the other Amendments? If so, can you please post?
I read League of Voters rundown, but still a little confused about #5 Homestead Exemption.
And I wonder exactly what Marco has accomplished? Pretty much nothing if you really look into his history.
Sure, he was Speaker of the FL House. But remember, he was the first speaker after term limits were imposed. With term limits, the positions of Speaker and Senate President, became much less about true leadership and more about who will toe the party line.
Take for instance the recent battle between a very worthy Jack Latvala and Joe Negron. Latvala was the obvious choice. He has the ability to sort through the issues without being beholden to certain lobby groups. He also has the experience necessary to work through party lines. Negron won.
PRIOR TO THIS ELECTI9N Marco Rubio should announce his support for repeal of the racist, xenophobic and unjust Cuban Adjustment Act.
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