The much anticipated and unofficial kick-off to the 2016 Republican presidential primary race is this weekend in Des Moines, Iowa.
The inaugural Iowa Freedom Summit hosted by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and Citizen’s United, will showcase just about all of the potential candidates vying to snag the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.The two most notable politicians who will not be in attendance are former Governor Jeb Bush, who declined the invitation, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who seems to be M.I.A.
Could this be a blatant case of “Simon says” or “Follow the Leader?” After all, Rubio is Bush’s close amigo and political mentor. Rubio can appreciate the the Eric B & Rakim “Follow the Leader” reference. Rubio loves rap, even old school stuff.
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Rubio and his people could not be reached for comment, but according to the event’s website, Rubio is not listed as one of the confirmed speakers.
Could Rubio crash the event at the very last minute? Maybe, but those chances are slim, considering that he just launched his “American Dreams” book, and probably has kid’s stuff to do with his family.For Rubio, who has hurt himself with the conservative grassroots base of the Republican Party for supporting Obama’s immigration agenda, to not attend is a very big deal.
This shun of the event could be a way of signaling that he is not all that invested in a presidential run, or has prior engagements scheduled like Bush himself has stated as being the reason why he would not be attending.
Here is the skinny on why Rubio will not be in Iowa.
Rubio has two events already planned for this weekend. He is supposed to be in San Diego, California, for some Koch Brothers meeting, and then he has to fly back to Miami, Florida, to host his Reclaim America PAC’s annual retreat.
Don’t forget that Rubio has to go to church on Sunday morning.So there you have it.
The event’s potential presidential candidates, who are already confirmed are Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Rick Santorum, Gov. Rick Perry, Gov. Scott Walker, Donald Trump, Gov. Chris Christie, Dr. Ben Carson, and Gov. Sarah Palin.