As many of us already know, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are both mulling over a possible run for President in 2016. This we all know.
Since Rubio fell from grace after co-sponsoring the widely unpopular “Gang of Ocho” Senate immigration reform bill in 2013, Cruz’s popularity has skyrocketed, and has surpassed Rubio as the country’s top conservative Republican legislator.Since the whole immigration reform debacle, Rubio’s appearances have been very measured, avoiding town hall meetings and just about any public event, while Cruz has addressed constituents directly at every given opportunity, including at town hall meetings.
Now Cruz is making a direct appeal to Rubio’s potential 2016 Presidential base of support. After Rubio agreed to give the keynote address at the 2014 Miami-Dade GOP Lincoln Day dinner on June 20, but only after going back and forth with the group about which date worked best for him. Rubio couldn’t attend the initial date set aside for the event, and had to pass.
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**Update-Oh, and by the way, the Miami-Dade GOP did first announce that Rubio was going to be the keynote speaker.
Enter Ted Cruz.
The Miami-Dade Republican Party has just announced that Cruz will be filling the void that Rubio left, and will be giving the keynote address.
This would be Cruz’s third or fourth trip to Florida this year, which many politicos including myself, believe is an effort to shore up support for his potential presidential run, and pick off many of those former Rubio supporters and donors, who are now looking for an alternative to Rubio and Bush.
Once again, Rubio has managed to commit another dumb unforced error, by turning his back on many his core supporters and friends.
That is the sentiment that many current and past employees, supporters, and donors of Rubio’s seem to share.
And to add a little salt to that wound, several of these friends and supporters, are now saying that they will support Cruz, and even work for Cruz against Rubio in a Republican Presidential primary race. Ouch!This is how far Marco Rubio has fallen in his home county of Miami-Dade, and across the state of Florida.
One important thing to mention is that several potential presidential campaigns have already started calling operatives and potential supporters, hoping to scoop up as many of them as possible before Bush or Rubio get around to doing so.
While Bush is already actively shoring up his people, Rubio seems to still be dreaming about playing in the NFL, and not seriously looking forward to 2016. Rubio is putting together a bunch of outsiders to help him on policy, but has not contacted anyone on the ground in Florida.
Bush team is solid and loyal, as is Ted Cruz’s. But unlike Bush and Cruz, Rubio does not reach out and embrace his constituents, let alone the people who helped him win in 2012.
Rubio has purged many staffers from his 2010 campaign and his Senate office, and is relying almost solely on outside help to manage his political affairs.The list of loyal supporters, who are taken back by the way Rubio has been so dismissive of his friends and staffer, is quickly dwindling. Let me just say, all of these friends and supporters would still help Rubio in 2016, if he ever reached out to them, but some would only do it now if he paid them.
Before, the same people would jump through hoops for Rubio because they believed in the man they thought was Marco Rubio, and the message he brought with him.
Let’s make one thing very clear. Rubio would not be a sitting U.S. Senator if not for the hardworking grassroots activists around the state of Florida, who stuck their necks out for his candidacy, some of which were verbally and physically assaulted during Rubio’s 2012 Senate run, as well as being ridiculed and threatened for supporting some no-name state legislator over Florida Governor Charlie Crist.
Right now Florida is primed for the picking. Rubio and Bush will get their votes, but just how much damage can Cruz do to them in Florida?
Cruz is doing the right thing, he is going right after Rubio.