Last week, I wrote how it would be a nightmare if Senator Ted Cruz of Texas became our 45th President of the United States of America. In the post, I admit, I came off a bit anti-Republican party—which I am not, I am anti-irrationality which has taken reign for some Republicans—so to address this for this post I will discuss who amongst the Republican party would be a better selection to become our next president.
And no, it is not Donald Trump.
The Republican candidate who could be an ideal fit as our next president is Senator Marco Rubio of Florida…unfortunately, that may not happen.
Last year, when Rubio announced he was running for the Republican party’s nomination he was the one candidate amongst his Republican counter-parts who was viewed by most political analysts as the one candidate who could pose as a real threat to Democratic candidate seeking the nomination for their party Hilary Clinton.
From a political viewpoint when it comes to American voters, Rubio and Clinton were close in who Latinos would show up to the polls and vote for considering both are favored among Latinos. And while Rubio still has some support amongst Latinos, his support is steadily declining (moreso outside of the Latino community) as November 2016 approaches and Cruz & Trump continues to stack up support from the Republican supporters.
Rubio’s love/hate relationship with his party began long before he made his announcement regarding his intention to become the next president.
Crowning himself as the “American Century” who is someone that is grounded by the lessons of America’s history but is also inspired with a thrive to aide America into the future, Rubio has always acknowledged that as the child of Cuban immigrants he is the product of the American dream; something that ideally connects well with most American and Latinos.
However, this very presentation along with Rubio’s original stance on immigration reform led to Rubio losing support from one very powerful group (a notion that is quite sad considering what they represent: uber social-political irrationality and conservative fanaticism): The Tea Party.
The Tea Party is one party that any candidate within the Republican party does not want to get on their “No Likey List,” because when you do you can find yourself in Rubio’s shoes right now: finding it hard to find significant backing from your party.
The relationship between the Tea Party and Rubio has been a rocky one—largely due to Rubio’s push for immigration reform which went against Tea Party’s own ideology on what that reform should be. To be more exact, it was Rubio’s connection with the Gang of Eight and their comprehensive immigration reform in 2013 that led to rift Rubio is facing today.
Back in 2013, Rubio was once a part of the now defunct Gang of Eight which has become a nickname for the bi-partisan group of eight United States Senators who wrote the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill. The group was made up of four Republican Senators (John McCain was a member along with Rubio) & four Democratic Senators (Chuck Schumer of New York was involved too).
Under the comprehensive immigration reform there are two policies of interest that disswayed the Tea Party from Rubio:
1. “citizenship path…in the United States contingent on certain border security and visa tracking improvements. The plan provides for permanent residence for illegal aliens only after legal immigrants waiting for a current priority date receive their permanent residence status and a different citizenship path for agricultural workers through an agricultural worker program,”
2. “business immigration system reforms, focusing on reducing current visa backlogs and fast tracking permanent residence for U.S. university immigrant graduates with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or math also known as the STEM fields.”
Now, it’s the pathway to citizenship of immigrants that dispelled the Tea Party in endorsing Rubio.
So, after Rubio pushed for the reform Tea Party rallies started popping up attacking Rubio labeling him and the reform bill as ”Rubio’s ‘Amensty’ Plan”. Now, aside from these name-calling being racist by playing on the fact that Rubio’s parentage is of immigrant backgrounds, the tea party displayed what they’ve always managed to show perfectly: an erratic response to any bill that may seem too progressive and “un-American.”
With supporters who once back him, Rubio ended up abandoning his efforts for immigration reform a few months after pushing for it.
And since then he has skirted his campaign in a manner that doesn’t outright upset the tea partiers or fellow Republicans. However, Rubio has still managed to show what most of his Republican counter-parts lack: a politician who holds a political viewpoint that’s not blinded by irrationality or based on the ideology of the majority within his party.
For example, when it comes to the recent climate in our country regarding the criminal justice system and the interaction between law enforcement and civilians Rubio stands out amongst other Republican candidates.
Back in August of last year, on two separate occasions, Rubio stated that: “We can’t ignore as a reality that in many communities in this country, the relationships between minority communities and the police and law enforcement are terrible,” and that “I do think it is incumbent upon local communities to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the community that they are there to serve and protect.”
Rather than blame the Obama administration for this intense atmosphere, Rubio addressed the real issue for it which is a lack of communication, understanding, and social responsibility between police and minority groups.
On other occasions, Rubio has presented his political viewpoint as a candidate who is not going to be motivated by his party’s ideology simply because it’ll help in attaining the presidency (Rubio eluded to this back when he stated he had some concerns about Obamacare yet wouldn’t downright argue against it simply because there are those in his party that do) and it’s because of this possible perception of him being a “wild card” or “rogue” candidate that Rubio is getting shafted by his party for the likes of Trump and Cruz.
Rubio doesn’t embody that “aggressive American” (which is really illogically anger and uninformed American) behavior his counterparts possess that he doesn’t. In other words, Rubio is the John Kerry of the Republican party.
Rubio may not have been an ideal candidate to win the 45th presidency, for some, but compared to the options we have left coming in from the right…he would have been a far more better choice.
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