A smooth, attractive, likable candidate is a favorite in a primary for higher office… until the far right pushes him out, forcing him back to seek lower office.
Sound familiar?
It sure was fascinating to watch U.S. Senator from Florida Marco Rubio have done to him exactly what he and his tea-party backers did to former Gov. Charlie Crist in 2010, which caused Crist to leave the party and ultimately become a Democrat.
Rubio, a staunch conservative, swore up and down he wouldn’t be running to keep his seat if he dropped out of the GOP presidential primary, but after weeks of his party’s insistence (aaaand an Orlando mass shooting to “inspire” him to change his mind), here we are.
If he were to win reelection (especially if Clinton takes the White House), he would remain another force of obstruction on everything from Supreme Court nominees to basic legislation. He would continue to be a voice for the loud yet statistically insignificant anti-woman and anti-LGBT set. He would not speak for the overwhelming majority of Floridians who desperately want our state’s natural environment respected and protected.
Rubio says he’s disgusted with Trump’s remarks about women and has not campaigned with him, but he has not un-endorsed him either, a cowardly cop-out strategy that many mainstream Republicans have adopted as they await the outcome of the election.
His opponent, Jupiter Congressman Patrick Murphy, is about as moderate as they come. He’s favored the Keystone Pipeline and voted in favor of creating the Benghazi committee.
A key primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Orlando), seemed to push Murphy, a former Republican, to the left on multiple issues.
We feel Murphy is on the right side of history in many respects: protecting a woman’s right to choose, the environment, LGBT rights, Social Security and Medicare. And even if he supported grilling Clinton over Benghazi, he appears to have since become a strong ally of hers.
And, unlike Rubio, he has pledged to serve at least a full six-year term in the Senate, something Rubio has not fully signed onto doing.
CL recommends: PATRICK MURPHY
