Here’s a profile of Marco Rubio posted by Rachel Alexander at The Stream.
She writes:
On Monday night, Florida Senator Marco Rubio became the third major Republican candidate to announce he was officially running for president, after Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. He made the announcement from the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, considered the Ellis Island of Florida, where Cuban refugees seeking political asylum from Castro’s communist regime were processed by the federal government in the ’60s and early ’70s. It made a powerful statement, that the son of refugees is now running for president.
Rubio’s parents came to America before the Castro regime, and took menial jobs. He told the cheering crowd, “My father stood behind a small portable bar in the back of a room so that tonight I could stand behind this podium in front of this room.”
Rubio has been an outspoken critic of Obama’s efforts to relax relations with Cuba, and takes a hawkish approach to foreign policy. Earlier this year, he published the book American Dreams, which lays out how to rise to success economically in the U.S.
The youngest candidate in the race, Rubio reached out to younger voters in his speech, saying, “This election is not just about what laws we will pass, it is a generational choice about what kind of country we will be.”
He has lots of experience and a track record we can analyze:
A lawyer, Rubio worked his way up through the political system, serving in the Florida House from 2000 to 2008 and eventually becoming Speaker. While there he developed a reputation for pursuing innovative policy ideas and while Speaker of the Florida House, he wrote a book, 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future, which contained many ideas he implemented while Speaker.
He went on to defeat liberal Republican turned Democrat Charlie Crist in a surprising underdog campaign to become U.S. Senator in 2010, making him an instant Tea Party favorite. The New York Times magazine declared him the “first Senator from the Tea Party.”
His most exciting policy is his tax policy:
On the fiscal side of the conservative equation, Rubio’s new tax reform proposal is raising some eyebrows. Introduced with conservative stalwart Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the plan would consolidate income tax rates into just two, 15 percent and 35 percent, eliminate capital gains taxes on investment income for individuals, combine all corporate tax rates to 25 percent, and resuscitate the child tax credit, which had shrunk under the Obama administration. However, individuals making as little as $75,000 would be subject to the 35 percent rate. Many conservatives prefer the more radical flat tax option advocated by Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.
Mike Lee is my favorite conservative in the Senate.
Rubio is a solid conservative in terms of voting:
He has a 98.67 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, higher than most other Republican Senators.The Pulse 2016, a new site tracking the presidential election, gave Rubio an A grade on handling the Indiana religious freedom law controversy. The site noted that during an appearance on The Five, Rubio spoke “intelligently, knowledgeably, and at length about the need to protect the rights of Christians to follow their religious convictions.”
But he doesn’t have the executive accomplishments of a Scott Walker or a Bobby Jindal, since he isn’t a governor.
This is his biggest flaw:
Since taking office, Rubio has disappointed the Tea Party once, in 2013, when he joined a bipartisan group of Democrats and moderate Republicans to propose a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, which went further than even Jeb Bush’s plan. Bush supports a path for legal status only. Rubio’s legislation failed, and at CPAC earlier this year, he said he now would only support a path to citizenship after securing the border.
Rubio is a strong candidate, but I can’t forgive him for endorsing a path to citizenship for those who break the law coming into the United States without a work permit. I don’t even favor work permits for people who break the law, much less permanent residencies, much less citizenship. Rubio is far to the left of me on immigration. But if you take away that negative, he is a formidable candidate in the general election. He would make an extremely difficult opponent for Hillary Clinton, or whoever the Democrats choose.
I am OK with him being our candidate in the general, and I think he would be as electable as Scott Walker, my top choice. If we were just choosing positions, I agree most with Cruz, but Cruz lacks accomplishments and I don’t see intelligent policies coming out of his mouth – the kinds of policies that can move us in a conservative direction, while still appealing to independents.
But I rank Rubio fifth in my list:
- Gov. Scott Walker
- Gov. Bobby Jindal
- Gov. Rick Perry
- Sen. Ted Cruz
- Sen. Marco Rubio
I like Rick Santorum more than Marco Rubio, but I’m not sure if he’s running. Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson are not on my list because of lack of experience, but I would love to see them run and be present to speak at the debates – I like listening to them both. They are both stars, but maybe not ready for the Presidency.
Rand Paul is a good candidate on fiscal policy. His statements on social policy are good, but he lacks accomplishments.His foreign policy is too much like Obama’s for me. He has said some good things, but he lacks accomplishments. I don’t want any more weakness and appeasement. Paul is to the left of Cruz and Rubio on foreign policy – I don’t want him on my list. But I’d put him in charge of the Federal Reserve in an instant.
We have SO MANY good candidates, and the Democrats have picked themselves a stinker. It’s so good! I feel bad that young people are so lousy on the marriage issue, but maybe with a good leader, we can change some of their minds during the debates? Do young people even watch debates?
WINTERY KNIGHT 
He is a formidable candidate.
35% is insane at any income level.
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The problem we’re going to have is too many real conservative candidates while the establishment republicans rally behind Jeb Bush and wait for the rest of us to splinter – just like last time. Only Jeb Bush is even worse than Mitt Romney in a lot of ways. We’ve got to find a way to rally the real conservatives behind just one conservative, even if he isn’t perfect (and he won’t be) so that we don’t end up with a milk-sop RINO again.
The GOP establishment is absolutely TERRIBLE about picking candidates. It seems that their one major criteria is that he be as bland and boring as possible by being unable to articulate any coherent position or able to stand up for anything. And not only do they want a moderate with no actual grit, but they’re putting up a man this year who many will see as just another member of a dynasty (which makes most Americans instinctively recoil). If you’re trying to lose the general election to some of the most incompetent and blatantly corrupt people out there (i.e. Hillary and Obama), the GOP establishment candidate is your best bet. But they don’t seem to ever learn. they are convinced that the only way to win is to compromise and waffle despite all the evidence that their strategy never works.
We need a way to rally real conservatives around a good candidate and stop the establishment from putting up their man. We have a lot of good choices, and that can be good. But it can also be dangerous when we splinter the conservative vote and get a spineless moderate again.
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For 2008, the GOP establishment backed Senator John McCain – the most hawkish Republican at a time when the country was most war weary
For 2012, the GOP establishment backed Mitt Romney – the only candidate who implemented a healthcare program similar to Obamacare at a time when Obamacare was the pivotal issue in the election.
For 2016, the GOP establishment is backing Jeb Bush – the brother of the man blamed for the financial crisis and the two disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
You’re right. The GOP establishment is bad at picking candidates. The candidate most likely to win in the general election is Rubio — if he can get past the primaries
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Walker is ahead of Bush, and he is not establishment.
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Walker is ahead in the polling now, but Jeb Bush is ahead in the fundraising.
At this stage, when no candidate has a clear majority, the poll data means little.
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I think that Marco Rubio’s approach to immigration is reasonable. You can’t deport millions upon millions of illegal immigrants. That would take too much time and money. It would add billions of dollars to the deficit.
First we have to secure the border and prevent any more illegal immigration. Then we have to deal with the people who are already here.
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What about the social issues: abortion and gay “marriage”? That is where we find out if a GOPer has spine or not. Read a few quotes from the supposedly “bi-partisan” Reagan on these two issues, and he would be called a bigot and women hater. Even if we elect someone who SAYS they are pro-life and pro-family (anti-abortion and anti-gay “marriage”), they still might cave once elected. So, if they are not going in with fighting words on those issues, what’s the point in even considering them?
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That’s why I prefer achievements in the past over words, and why I rank Cruz so low. He is a good debater and I have no doubt he believed what he says and that he is transparent, but it requires perseverance and smart policies and good negotiating to get things passed.
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Plus Ted Cruz’s role in the government shutdown has made him toxic to the Republican establishment and to Independents.
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The candidates who are the most iffy on the marriage issue are Jeb Bush and Rand Paul. I would watch out for them
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Would you really put Rand Paul in charge of the Federal Reserve?
His views on monetary policy are not mainstream among economists, regardless of their political persuasion.
He warns about Weimar style hyper inflation when inflation is less than two percent per year.
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I would. We need some transparency in these government departments and I want him to supervise an audit of the Federal Reserve. I think inflation is being hidden because banks are not lending out the money they have. I could be wrong, but that’s why I want an audit.
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“We need transparency in these government departments.”
The Federal Reserve isn’t a government department. It is a quasi-governmental agency.
Rand Paul would give Congress more influence over monetary policy. That is a dangerous precedent that could ultimately lead to politicians pressuring the Federal Reserve to increase inflation right before an election in order to hide a recession.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/413718/rand-pauls-fed-audit-dangerous-idea-jon-hartley
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Rick Perry is number three on your list? He made an absolute fool of himself in the 2012 primary debates.
The notion that governors make better presidents is not necessarily true. Governors often have no foreign policy experience and are only used to dealing with issues pertaining to their states, not with issues pertaining to the country as a whole.
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You’re right, but he is conservative and he has accomplishments. I only care about what people produce, not whether they sound clever in speeches. His state is doing awesomely in job creation and liberty.
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As a Texan, I am well aware of my state’s economic performance.
“I only care about what people produce, not whether they sound clever in speeches.”
When it comes to electability, a candidate’s speech and debate skills are just as important as a candidate’s record, if not more so.
It doesn’t matter if you have a great resume if you can’t argue your positions well.
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Thanks for posting these summaries of the candidates’ policies. They’ve been helpful!
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You’re so welcome! It’s important to look at people’s past accomplishments and not be swayed by speeches or ads.
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