Florida Senator Marco Rubio is a rapidly rising star within the Republican Party.\u00a0 Widely touted as a rock-ribbed \u201cconservative\u201d by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, ecstasy can be heard in more than one prominent Republican voice when it muses upon Rubio\u2019s presidential prospects.<\/p>\n
All of the hype aside, Rubio is about as conservative as John McCain.<\/p>\n
Granted, stylistically speaking, there are dramatic differences between the young, crisp, charismatic Rubio and the aged, debilitated, insipid McCain. And unlike the latter, the former has mastered the kind of rhetoric in which self-avowed \u201cconservatives\u201d of the mainstream variety have been trading for years.<\/p>\n
Yet as far as substance is concerned, Rubio isn\u2019t appreciably different from the McCains of the GOP.\u00a0 On no issue is this more obvious than that of immigration.<\/p>\n
Like McCain, Rubio is foolish enough to think that the salvation of the Republican Party lies in its ability to woo Hispanic voters.\u00a0 And like McCain, Rubio thinks that if only Republicans pander to Hispanics by granting amnesty to the 11 or 15 or 20 million illegal Hispanic immigrants living within the United States, then these newly baptized citizens will flock to the polls to vote straight \u201cR\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like McCain, Rubio apparently fails to grasp the fact that out-Democrating the Democrats on this issue, or even working with them on it, promises to come at the cost of obliterating his own party.\u00a0 He is just as gullible as McCain for evidently failing to realize that the Democrats, rightly, have every confidence that amnesty will guarantee their party\u2019s reign for evermore.<\/p>\n
Rubio is just like McCain in trying to have his cake and eat it too when it comes to amnesty.\u00a0 In spite of supporting the latter, he would have us believe that he does so only begrudgingly, and only because the Democrats will see to it that it becomes law anyhow.\u00a0 So, as long as it is going to happen in any event, Rubio will make sure that its evils are minimized.<\/p>\n
This is the position that Rubio conveyed on Rush Limbaugh\u2019s radio show recently.\u00a0 Rush regularly heaps praise upon Rubio.\u00a0 This day was no exception.\u00a0 He lauded Rubio for \u201crecognizing reality,\u201d for recognizing that as long as the Democrats were going to get their way on amnesty, Republicans like himself may as well make the most of it.<\/p>\n
As the conservative writer Debbie Schlussel was quick to note, neither Rush nor Rubio can be credited here with peddling conservatism. \u00a0There are, however, richly deserving of blame for pulling a con-job.<\/p>\n
On her website, Schlussel blasts Rush for \u201cpimping\u201d Rubio\u2019s \u201cSnoop Dogg defense\u201d of his stance on amnesty.\u00a0 She refers to the rapper\u2019s claim that while he would never force children to smoke marijuana, he wouldn\u2019t hesitate to teach them how to smoke it.\u00a0 After all, they are going to wind up smoking it anyhow, right?\u00a0 Mine as well make sure that they do it correctly, safely.\u00a0 Schlussel writes: \u201cI call it [Rubio\u2019s argument for amnesty] the Snoop Dogg defense because it\u2019s the same old thing we hear from liberals and reprobates time and time again when they want to ease penalties for criminals and those engaged in anti-social, anti-American behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schlussel also reminds us that conservatives, including Rush, used to argue tirelessly against<\/em> this kind of argument, especially as it pertained to youth sex.\u00a0 When those on the left favored free condom distribution in public schools on the grounds that, since kids were going to have sex anyway, we may as well make sure that they do so \u201csafely,\u201d neither Rush nor many others on the right were having any of it.\u00a0 But if they gave the left then the same treatment that Rush insists upon giving Rubio now, then, Schlussel remarks, they should be \u201ccongratulating schools for teaching young kids how to use condoms and giving them birth control.\u201d<\/p>\n Furthermore, South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham is Lindsay Grahamnesty thanks to Rush.\u00a0 For years, Graham has argued on behalf of precisely the sort of amnesty plan that Rubio is now pushing.\u00a0 For his efforts, Rush (rightly) ridiculed him. But now he sings hosannas to Rubio for \u201crecognizing reality.\u201d As Schlussel observes, the only thing that accounts for this inconsistency on his part is that \u201cRush is in the tank for Rubio [.]\u201d\u00a0 Along with his colleagues, Rush buys \u201cinto the false idea of Rubio as the pristine, \u2018conservative,\u2019 great Hispanic hope to rescue the GOP from death.\u201d<\/p>\n Schlussel’s conclusion is blunt: \u201cMarco Rubio is not on our side on this. And neither is Rush.\u201d She warns us against confusing \u201cpartisans and personalities\u201d with \u201cprinciples and those who consistently hold them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Translation: Don\u2019t confuse faux conservatives with real conservatives. \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Florida Senator Marco Rubio is a rapidly rising star within the Republican Party.\u00a0 Widely touted as a rock-ribbed \u201cconservative\u201d by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, ecstasy can be heard in more than one prominent Republican voice when it muses upon Rubio\u2019s presidential prospects. All of the hype aside, Rubio is about as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n