Marco Rubio

[LurkerNoMore]

So pointing out facts about this twerp is called "smearing him because people think he is a threat?"

What kind of threat is he?  Certainly not one in this election as the little twerp put on a dazzling display of garnering support in his own state.  Remind us again how well that little performance turned out?  1-67?

[Leatherneck]

Rubio called Trump a dangerous ‘con man.’ Now he says Trump should be president
By Ed O'Keefe

Over the course of his presidential bid, Sen. Marco Rubio called Donald Trump a “con man” who was “dangerous” and unqualified to control the nation’s nuclear codes. He ridiculed his manhood and warned the businessman would “fracture” the Republican Party if he was the nominee.

By March — a few days before he dropped out — Rubio said with a cracking voice that it was “getting harder every day” to envision supporting his rival.

But now Rubio is onboard, saying that he plans to attend the Republican convention in Cleveland and that he would be “honored” to help Trump however he can.

“I want to be helpful. I don’t want to be harmful, because I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president,” Rubio said in a CNN interview that will be aired on Sunday.

Long a star of the mainstream conservative movement, Rubio is now one of the starkest symbols of the GOP’s rapid capitulation to Trump. Nearly every prominent Republican — from lawmakers to governors to former White House officials — has acquiesced as polling shows Trump’s support building.

Rubio’s shift also comes as GOP leaders are pushing the senator from Florida to reconsider his decision not to seek reelection. Rubio has said “maybe” he would run, with conditions.

Trump thanked Rubio indirectly by issuing a tweet Thursday night supportive of a bid: “Poll data shows that @marcorubio does by far the best in holding onto his Senate seat in Florida. Important to keep the MAJORITY. Run Marco!”

The words are a remarkable about-face for Trump, who spent months during the campaign deriding “Little Marco” as a dishonest lightweight who was “a disaster for Florida” and who “couldn’t get elected dogcatcher.”

Many of Rubio’s supporters were outraged by the move, saying they felt betrayed by a 44-year-old politician who had campaigned as a young representative of a more optimistic, inclusive GOP. The episode also adds to Rubio’s reputation as a shape-shifter who abandoned his own immigration reform bill when it became unpopular among conservatives.

Bryan McGrath, a Hudson Institute fellow who advised Rubio’s campaign on defense issues, noted that Rubio had explicitly said Trump could not be trusted with the nuclear arsenal.

“He said all the things I was thinking and all the reasons I remain dubious about Trump being the president,” McGrath said in an interview Friday. “So to see him bend a knee, it just bothers me and just reinforces the thing that’s getting Trump elected in the first place: the sense that politicians don’t tell the truth or are capable of switching on a dime if it looks like it’s good for them.”

Rubio responded to the criticism with a series of Twitter messages: “If you can live with a Clinton presidency for 4 years thats your right,” he wrote in one. “I cant and will do what I can to prevent it.”

The move came after several phone calls between Rubio and Trump in recent weeks, according to people familiar with their interactions. Some of Trump’s children also reached out to woo Rubio, these people said.

In the CNN interview, portions of which were released Thursday and Friday, Rubio said he would speak on Trump’s behalf if the candidate asked.

“I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president,” Rubio said. “If there’s something I can do to help that from happening, and it’s helpful to the cause, I’d most certainly be honored to be considered for that.”

He also shrugged off questions about his deep policy differences with Trump, who among other things has called for the mass deportation of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

“Look, my policy differences with Donald Trump — I spent 11 months talking about them. So I think they’re well understood,” Rubio said.

Supporters back home in Florida said that Rubio’s moves reflect political reality in his own back yard.

“If you are a Republican leader, I think that’s what you have to do. Period,” said Ninoska Perez Castellon, the host of a popular talk show on Miami’s Radio Mambi and a friend of the senator since his days as a West Miami city councilman. “You might not be happy with who the candidate is, but that’s the right thing to do.”

While Trump easily won the Florida GOP primary in March, Rubio prevailed in his home county of Miami-Dade with the support of Cuban American voters. Months later, attitudes have shifted.

Nelson Diaz, chairman of the Miami-Dade GOP, said that a Trump campaign official attended a party meeting on Thursday night.

“Everyone in the room was onboard,” Diaz said. “When I said we need to unite, everyone was in agreement. There were about 100 local leaders in the room. Not a single person disagreed, everyone stood up and clapped.”

Many of Trump’s former rivals, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, have endorsed him, but a number of others are still holding out. Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney remains firmly opposed to Trump and has been involved in talks of trying to find a third-party challenger. Members of the Bush family — including former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who ran against Trump for the nomination — are not expected to support Trump. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) reiterated this week that he was not yet ready to endorse him.

On Friday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) — another former Trump rival — told an Oklahoma radio station that “I am looking and listening to see what the candidates do.”

As Rubio was back in Florida meeting with Venezuelan college students Friday, prominent party officials were pushing him to reconsider plans to leave the Senate.

Jeff Atwater, the state’s popular chief financial officer who almost ran for Rubio’s seat, told the Tampa Bay Times that the senator should “pull aside some quiet time and contemplate” running again.

“He would be the best candidate to prevail,” Atwater said.

Brian Ballard, a well-connected Tallahassee GOP lobbyist, said that Rubio is “by far our best chance to hold the seat.”

The aggressive push to recruit Rubio went public earlier this week when one of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s top political advisers took to social media to encourage Rubio. The orchestrated effort included calling on him to run during the Republican senators’ closed-door weekly luncheon and a public letter from Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, on which Rubio serves.

None of the five Republicans running to succeed Rubio enjoys his level of name identification and would need roughly $50 million to mount a serious bid in the coming months, he said.

Democrats dismissed Rubio Friday as “a terrible fallback option” for Republicans, noting that he has taken positions on abortion, domestic violence and the economy during his presidential bid that would make him unpopular with Florida voters.

“Rubio spent months making clear how much he disliked his current job while he asked voters for a promotion, and it would be a tall order to convince voters they should send him back,” the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said in a statement.

In the CNN interview, Rubio said he would not run again because his longtime friend, Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, is one of those vying to succeed him.

Would Rubio reconsider if Lopez-Cantera dropped out?

“Maybe,” he said. “I enjoy my work in the Senate — I always did.”

Politics as usual, no? Is anyone surprised by this?

[LurkerNoMore]

Politics as usual, no? Is anyone surprised by this?

No.  Rubio is just a third tier twerp that never had a chance in the first place.  The best performance of his in any debate was nothing more than childish taunts and play acting. 

He ended up being the bukkake bitch between Christie and Trump.  They absolutely destroyed him and his flimsy campaign with no effort at all.  So now he is back to kissing ass and hoping for some crumbs to be dropped under the table.

[Dos Equis]

I wonder if Rubio is hanging out on his luxury speed boat? 

[LurkerNoMore]

I wonder if Rubio is still hanging out in parks with drug dealers and male hustlers?

[Las Vegas]

He was looking everywhere for a Kielbasa Stand, you see.  So he found himself in that park, and...

[Dos Equis]

I wonder how much it costs to maintain that luxury speed boat?  Must be a fortune.   

[LurkerNoMore]

Probably why he was selling drugs and hustling in the first place.  $20 is $20. 

[Dos Equis]

Probably why he was selling drugs and hustling in the first place.  $20 is $20. 

When was Rubio selling drugs?  And what was he "hustling"? 

[LurkerNoMore]

Surely he wasn't in that park to campaign.  I'm pretty sure he lost that district as well. 

[BayGBM]

No.  Rubio is just a third tier twerp that never had a chance in the first place.  The best performance of his in any debate was nothing more than childish taunts and play acting. 

He ended up being the bukkake bitch between Christie and Trump.  They absolutely destroyed him and his flimsy campaign with no effort at all.  So now he is back to kissing ass and hoping for some crumbs to be dropped under the table.

Ouch! 

[Dos Equis]

Surely he wasn't in that park to campaign.  I'm pretty sure he lost that district as well. 

When was he selling drugs?  Where are you getting that from?

[Las Vegas]

When was he selling drugs?  Where are you getting that from?

He may have been Bowling for Boners in that park.  That's what Lurker is saying.

[Dos Equis]

He may have been Bowling for Boners in that park.  That's what Lurker is saying.

He said Rubio was selling drugs. 

[Las Vegas]

He said Rubio was selling drugs. 

Nope.  Too busy pulling tricks.

[240 is Back]

When was Rubio selling drugs?  And what was he "hustling"?  

LOL you're a little out of the loop  

Arrested in a drug/sex park for "loitering" or something like that.   Threw a lot of foam parties in college. 

Right up your alley?   

[Las Vegas]

LOL you're a little out of the loop  

Arrested in a drug/sex park for "loitering" or something like that.   Threw a lot of foam parties in college. 

Right up your alley?   

Maybe Rubio had found a way to advance science through intense study of other guys' dicks.

[240 is Back]

Maybe Rubio had found a way to advance science through intense study of other guys' dicks.

Maybe dos equis will pretend he had no idea about this.   

imagine obama being arrested in a sex drug park.  I bet that wouldn't matter either, huh? 

[LurkerNoMore]

When was he selling drugs?  Where are you getting that from?

Oh, you mean Little Narco wasn't suspected of pill popping on tv during his campaign?  Who said he was just selling drugs?  Dude has quite the behavior characteristics of people who use them.  Just ask Trump.   That's the reason for his shifty eyes, constant water downing, restless twitches and excessive sweating.

[LurkerNoMore]

Maybe dos equis will pretend he had no idea about this.   

imagine obama being arrested in a sex drug park.  I bet that wouldn't matter either, huh? 

Rumor has it that the dude that robbed Carson at Popeyes was on a bad batch that he scored from the same park.   

[240 is Back]

Oh, you mean Little Narco wasn't suspected of pill popping on tv during his campaign?  Who said he was just selling drugs?  Dude has quite the behavior characteristics of people who use them.  Just ask Trump.   That's the reason for his shifty eyes, constant water downing, restless twitches and excessive sweating.

A lot of Floridians are on drugs, it's a big drug state.  Can't hold that against Rubio if that's the lifestyle he chooses.

[AbrahamG]

To be fair, I don't think he was selling the drugs.  It was more likely that he was selling his keister.

[Las Vegas]

Lol, but to be fair to him about his hanging around that park drinking beer -- I believe that's what he was busted or cited for -- he was a teenager.  So he may have been completely unaware of what the place was known for. 

The 'foam parties' and stuff, I don't know, but I remember James once made a post about it.

And don't think for one second that we've seen the last of Narco.  He'll be back again, with some of the peculiarities worked out and a little more polished.  His backers will be sure of it.

[LurkerNoMore]

Lol, but to be fair to him about his hanging around that park drinking beer -- I believe that's what he was busted or cited for -- he was a teenager.  So he may have been completely unaware of what the place was known for. 

The 'foam parties' and stuff, I don't know, but I remember James once made a post about it.

And don't think for one second that we've seen the last of Narco.  He'll be back again, with some of the peculiarities worked out and a little more polished.  His backers will be sure of it.

So you are saying those people with a blatant man-crush on him will continue to make excuses for this twerp and back him in the future no matter what?

[Las Vegas]

So you are saying those people with a blatant man-crush on him will continue to make excuses for this twerp and back him in the future no matter what?

Yes, they will insist on forcing their boy-toy Narco on the rest of us.  That's what our 'democracy' has been reduced to, I'm just so sorry to say.

I wish these creeps would buy their own island already and leave us out of it.