Senator Rubio Gets an Earful!

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is confronted by fellow passengers on a flight from Miami to Washington, wondering how he can possibly support the shutting down of government services.
by Charlie Leck

This short, but intriguing story just came in on my computer from Talking Points Memo. Written and filed by Igor Bobic, I take the chance of reproducing all of it immediately below. I took it from TPM.com….

“Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) reportedly got an earful about a potential government shutdown from constituents who recognized him on a flight from Miami to Washington, D.C. Monday morning.

“A source on the flight told the Miami Herald that Rubio was flooded with complaints after his party demanded a repeal or delay of President Obama's signature health law in exchange for funding the government this weekend.

“According to the account, which was contested by a spokesperson for the Florida Republican that declined to elaborate on the incident, a flight attendant also asked the senator whether the government would indeed shut down midnight on Monday.

“Rubio reportedly sought to calm their concerns by calling the faceoff between the White House and House Republicans "not really a shutdown, more of a slowdown -- but not a good way to do business."

Wow! I wish I had been on that flight!

_________________________

Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

Keep Your Eye On This Guy

The beginning of a presidential campaign is still a year or so away, but you’ll observe lots of testing of the waters in the next few months as potential candidates position themselves to capture the spotlight. Here’s my prediction about the hot Republican who will be a serious candidate for that party’s top spot.
by Charlie Leck

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (Republican, Florida)
There’s a U.S. Senator down in Florida who is positioning himself, right now, for serious consideration as his party’s nominee for a run at the presidency. I claim no prophetic abilities nor any prescience here. I just observe how he is trying to look presidential; and how he is acting so bipartisan; and how he keeps flirting with the right wing within his party without giving up the center-ground that he has so carefully cultivated.

For instance, Senator Rubio appeared on six (yes, 6) different talk shows yesterday, including two that were Spanish speaking.

The Senator has the challenging task of holding the center of his party while not losing his appeal to that conservative element that has become so powerful. How will he win back the Latino population (nation wide) that wants serious immigration reforms and not, at the same time, lose the conservatives that opposes immigration reform?

Now, I’m not sayin’ – I’m just sayin’
A local radio personality likes to use the above silliness. Sometimes I’m trapped into using it also because it says everything. Keep your eye on Senator Rubio if you want to get a good clear picture of what your next president might look like. Examine him! Flip him over and look at both sides in the clear light of day and truth. Has he got what it takes? Is there more there than charm?

It won’t hurt anything to get an early jump on these questions. You can bet the Democrats are watching closely – looking for any little weaknesses they can find. You can also bet that the Tea Party has him under a microscope, trying to determine if he might not be a wolf (Democrat) in sheep’s clothing.

Examine Senator Rubio’s stances on gun control, tax reform, marriage reform, refreshing the middle class, international policy and global warming.

One of the reasons for the Republicans’ poor showing in the 2012 presidential election was its lack of appeal to the Latino population. It’s a problem that Rubio doesn’t want to have. He’s working hard to gain strong support among that portion of the population. How will he do with women? With African-Americans? With environmentalists?

Keep your eye on him. You might also have some fun along the way.

_________________________

Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.