Marco Rubio: Republicans’ Obama?
by: Kenneth Simon ‘11Young, charismatic Senate candidate may be GOP’s response to Obama in 2012
Marco Rubio might take issue with being compared with Barack Obama in any fashion, but the young Floridian Senate candidate and son of Cuban immigrants, father a bartender and mother a maid, might be exactly what the Republican Party needs in 2012. Marco Rubio is a young, charismatic 38 year old who has served in the Florida House of Representatives since 2000, currently as Speaker. The fact that Rubio is very capable of catering to the crucial Hispanic vote is not an unimportant factor in considering Rubio, but more than anything Rubio’s ascension has been well received by Conservatives around the country.
In fact, Rubio will be headlining the biggest event of the year for Conservatives across America by serving as Keynote speaker for the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. I recall watching Barack Obama give his Keynote address at the Democratic Convention for John Kerry and one thing was pretty clear from that night: Barack Obama went from rising star in the Democratic Party to legitimate Presidential candidate. The same outcome, the ability to go from rising star to legitimate Presidential candidate, is possible for Marco Rubio when he takes the stage this week at CPAC. Both the crowd and the political feeling around the country are in the favor of a Marco Rubio.
When Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President, many Americans were happy to see both a historic and “change” themed Presidential candidate. Rubio will be able to encompass the same two characteristics heading into 2012. Americans are undoubtedly unhappy with the fundamental thrust of the situation in Washington and President Obama will have to answer for his inability to bring any level of bi-partisanship, or what some even went so far as to call “post-partisanship,” to the nation’s capital. The anger with President Obama is clear: a CNN poll released yesterday showed that “52 percent of Americans said President Barack Obama doesn’t deserve reelection in 2012.” Ultimately, Rubio, in 2012, would be entering a very similar situation Obama entered into during the 2008 election: an unpopular incumbent President, who this time is actually on the ballot, and an economy that may very likely still be reeling.
Rubio positions himself as a dedicated believer to fiscal Conservatism, both low-taxes and limited government. The Republicans, much like the Democrats in 2008, will need a candidate who is, to use a Vice President Biden term, “fresh” and committed to the core values of his party while appealing to independents and moderates. There is nothing to dislike about Rubio’s story and his ability to connect with the people in America who are most vocal about the direction of our country. Rubio’s age will not help him in his quest against a group of candidates in the Republican Party, who are both older and more experienced, but he will have to gain the confidence of the American people much like Barack Obama had to during his campaign for the White House.
The Republican Party is poised to have a big midterm election in 2010 and the tide may go all the way to 2012. Marco Rubio represents a face of the Republican Party that not enough people know about, but his speech at CPAC this week will likely change that problem. In 2008 a young minority candidate captivated a nation with his eloquence and plea for change. Now, after 4 years as the President of the United States it seems that the shine has worn off of President Obama and 2012 may very well be the perfect time for the Republicans to nominate our own young, charismatic leader prepared to captivate a nation—a nation which quite frankly is looking to be captivated. Marco Rubio has Republicans “fired up and ready to go.”
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