Marco Rubio for President

Some supporters of Rubio are already engaging in recriminations over the reason for his failure to launch. But it seems rather obvious: he is not the candidate suited for the moment, with a message for the times and a campaign operation up to the challenge. And then there was the drag of his leading role in the Gang of Eight amnesty for illegal aliens bill.

The families of 30 Americans raped, tortured and murdered by alleged illegal immigrants are urging Republican voters ahead of Super Tuesday to reject Sen. Marco Rubio, charging that the son of Cuban immigrants has not done enough to protect the country from undocumented criminals.

Recent polls are available in eight of the 12 states that elect delegates bound to candidates tomorrow. In the states that seem best suited for Rubio and Kasich, mid-February polls find Trump holding big leads over Rubio—26 points in Massachusetts and 15 points in Vermont. In more bad news for Rubio, Kasich is close enough to beat him in both states.

Rubio’s sell-out on immigration was the biggest betrayal of conservatives since George Bush’s dad said, “Read my lips, no new taxes” and then raised taxes. How do you trust Rubio on any issue after he so blatantly lied on immigration? Rubio running for President today is like Benedict Arnold running for President in 1788.

Here’s the thing: there is no anti-Trump vote to be consolidated. There’s an anti-establishment vote that Trump has consolidated. That vote is not a majority – but the remainder is not so unified in its loathing of Trump that Rubio would magically win a majority if other candidates would just step aside and let him win. 

Conventional wisdom now has it that Rubio will vault ahead by soaking up Bush’s support. But wait a minute: what support? If Rubio had received every vote that went to Bush in South Carolina, Trump would still have won. And Bush’s support in South Carolina, where he spent millions and flew in his brother to stump for him, was greatly inflated relative to his support just about anywhere else. 

Marco Rubio knew exactly what he was doing on Saturday night. The problem was he flubbed it. The Florida senator went into Saturday night’s GOP debate with momentum. He ended it as a viral glitch sensation.

It wasn’t simply that Marco Rubio's answers during the debate were bad. It is that they were bad in a way that emphasizes Rubio’s organic weaknesses, that he lacks the credentials or leadership gravitas and experience that people associate with the presidency. 

POLITICO political expert panel members panned the Florida senator's canned debate responses. 'Cringeworthy,' said one New Hampshire Republican.

South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy's endorsement of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) may shine an unwanted spotlight on the South Carolinian’s record of past radical statements on immigration and his aggressive support for donor class policies embraced by Sen. Rubio.

Sen. Marco Rubio rode into Washington as a tea party champion from Florida, but four years later, he has become a top pick for the Republican establishment in the presidential race, and he isn’t exactly running away from the establishment label.

Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday night politely complimented GOP presidential rival Sen. Marco Rubio as a “charming” communicator, and then he laid into him as wrong on national security, weak on immigration and a shill for corporate lobbyists.

Instead of working with conservatives, Rubio and his office coordinated attacks on conservatives together with liberals.  Even after all of his promises were exposed as pure fabrications, he still went on to star in ads for Mark Zuckerberg touting his bill as something it was not.

Marco Rubio must be crazy if he thinks conservatives won’t remember his role in crafting and ramming through the hated “Gang of Eight” amnesty for illegal aliens bill. Although Rubio is once again engaged in his signature “say one thing do another” move on amnesty and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, this time Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul aren’t letting him get away with it.

Rubio is pledging to carry Obama’s policy: leaving the executive amnesty for DREAMers in place until Congress submits to the order by legislatively ratifying amnesty. After a legislatively ratified DREAM Act, illegal aliens would be able to vote in U.S. elections and bring their relatives to work and collect entitlements in the United States.

The cloud of impropriety that hangs around Rivera and Arza should be noxious to a rising campaign with its eye on the White House. But both Arza and Rivera were spotted among other Rubio supporters as recently as the Republican presidential debates in Cleveland in August.

The endorsement of Sen. Marco Rubio by pro-same-sex marriage hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer just might turn social conservatives away from Rubio and toward someone like Sen. Ted Cruz. This might be good for Rubio’s bank account but could be nettlesome for him in the run up to a primary season dominated in part by social conservatives.

Rubio’s financial missteps could be a big weakness in a battle with Hillary Clinton—not because of the issues themselves, but because one of the biggest attack lines the Republicans have against Clinton is her questionable financial dealings, especially those related to the Clinton Foundation.

Rubio has tried to stay out of Trump’s way, opting instead to focus on fundraising and campaign activity and hoping to stay under the radar while his rivals duke it out. Now that he is on Trump’s hit list, Rubio figures he can’t just stand idly by any longer. On Thursday, during an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio, Rubio called Trump “a touchy and insecure guy.”

When Marco Rubio takes the debate stage alongside nine fellow Republican presidential contenders Thursday in Cleveland, he'll be trying to recapture his mojo. The 44-year-old Floridian was initially hailed by some as his party's version of Barack Obama, a trailblazing freshman senator who came out of nowhere to capture his party's presidential nomination eight years ago. Instead Rubio finds his poll numbers slipping into the middle of a crowded pack of Republican contenders.