[digg-reddit-me]Rubio’s comments on the Arizona law:
While I don’t believe Arizona’s policy was based on anything other than trying to get a handle on our broken borders, I think aspects of the law, especially that dealing with ‘reasonable suspicion,’ are going to put our law enforcement officers in an incredibly difficult position. It could also unreasonably single out people who are here legally, including many American citizens. Throughout American history and throughout this administration we have seen that when government is given an inch it takes a mile.
Other right wingers and Republicans have stood against the law — as Andrew Sullivan ably chronicles — including Karl Rove, Jeb Bush, and Tom Ridge. But none manages to finesse the issue quite so well as Rubio — who has the added advantage of being the most prominent Latino Republican in the nation. When the Republican Party has no choice but to try to woo the Hispanic vote as the demographics of the nation shift — while at the same time not alienating the overwhelmingly white populist right wing, Marco Rubio will be the answer. He will serve the same function to the party in the future as Michael Steele does now — except Rubio likely won’t be the screw-up Steele has been.
Notice how Rubio couches his opposition in populist right-wing grounds — that it would undermine the liberties of American citizens, that it puts police officers in a difficult position, that it represents encroaching government power.
It’s very well-done — and compared to the other statements by Republicans against the law — it’s masterful. This ability to position himself so well — added to his life story of how his parents escaped Communist Cuba to come to the land of opportunity — makes him a top-tier Republican presidential or vice-presidential candidate in the near-future. The fact that he’s Latino guarantees him a spot on a national ticket by 2020. I’d bet a presidential run in 2016 leads to him getting the Republican nomination for Vice President and/or lays the groundwork for his successful effort to in 2020 to get the Republican presidential nomination.
[Adapted from an image by DavidAll06 licensed under Creative Commons.]
2 replies on “Why Marco Rubio Is the Future of the Republican Party”
Rubio’s response succeeds because it presents an attempt to view the bill in good faith. This is decidedly in contrast to everyone that views the Arizona government in the worst light possible-that it consists of racist facists.
@denominator –
I agree that this is part of it…
The other essential thing he does is oppose it — in language that Hispanics can sympathize with…and to ground his opposition in the rhetoric of the Tea Party.
Now — if Obama uses this Tea Party rhetoric — he would either be discounted as being disingenuous or derided as a member of the ACLU (which often uses the same rhetoric as the Tea Party — but on different issues).
Rubio — being who he is — may have the credibility to criticize and maintain his populist right-wing credibility…