Tag Archives: Marco Rubio

VTGOP, Rubio flunk at Trump U.

local/regional, National, , , , , ,

Marco Rubio finished third yesterday behind Donald Trump and John Kasich. And thirty Vermont GOP leaders may be a little red in face today after deciding at the last minute to back Marco Rubio for President “because of his uplifting message”.havinalaugh

Phil Scott briefly seemed to wiggle toward Kasich but followed that with a barely visible, embarrassed nod from a distance to conservative Marco Rubio.

History could have guided them. Had they given it any thought beforehand they might have looked back in the state’s Republican past: “What would Calvin Coolidge do?” Vermont’s famous taciturn Republican  would likely have kept his mouth shut .

Rubio’s supposedly positive message the VTGOP thought they heard quickly proved an illusion.The endorsement risks alienating centrist Vermont voters in the general election due to Rubio’s conservative positions on women’s issue and climate change.

Today the New York Times describes Rubio (and Ted Cruz) in no uncertain terms:

Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio — are not only to the right of Mr. Trump on many issues, but are embracing the same game of exclusion, bigotry and character assassination. That Mr. Rubio would make double entendres about the size of Mr. Trump’s hands and talk about Mr. Trump wetting his pants shows how much his influence has permeated this race and how willingly his rivals are copying his tactics.

Coolidge once said, “I have noticed that nothing I have never said ever did me any harm.”  

Vermont’s gang of Rubio supporters might update Silent Cal’s observation : “No one we never endorsed could ever do us any harm.”   Phil Scott, Kurt Wright, and Randy Brock failed history at Trump U.

Update: It takes an extremist to endorse an extremist.

National, ,

Update: Well, it appears that our current Lieutenant Governor, Phil Scott, who currently  aspires to be the next Governor, has also endorsed Rubio, albeit not in so full-throated a manner as has his predecessor.  It sounds as iif he would prefer to maintain his protective cover, but this endorsement outs him as an extremist enabler at the very least.

So Brian Dubie endorses Marco Rubio for President?

Dubie endorses Rubio for Vermont’s presidential primary

Let’s see what that tells us about our own former Lieutenant Governor.

He didn’t endorse Kasich, who is still in the race. He didn’t simply abstain from an endorsement.  He went out of his way and endorsed Marco Rubio…the third most extreme conservative in the race…and I quote:

“I am pleased to announce my support for Sen. Marco Rubio,” Dubie said in a statement. “Sen. Rubio can win this election and put forward bold conservative ideas once in the White House that would ensure the American Dream is passed down to future generations. Sen. Marco Rubio is a strong conservative nominee who can win.”

How about them apples?

For all of his chameleon-like posturing as a moderate, Brian Dubie has just flown his true colors and they are screeching right-turn red.

Let’s see what Marco has espoused in the primary.

Exhibit A: Immigration?

Like the Donald, he’s “going to build a wall.” It will be 700 miles long and we’re going to have to pay for it.

Commenting on Meet the Press, and in complete denial of the fact that illegal immigration has been in sharp decline since 2005 he said

“We are worse off today than we were five years ago,” he told host Chuck Todd. “We have more illegal immigrants here.”

Exhibit B: Healthcare?

Rubio vows to repeal “Obamacare,” even though he and his family have chosen to enroll in the D.C. exchange, benefitting from the much greater subsidy available to members of Congress than that which is available to the general public. Nice.

Exhibit C: Minimum Wage?

Marco doesn’t believe there should be one. That’s right. In Marco’s perfect world (which, presumably, is Brian’s as well), trickle down economics from the tax breaks he wants to give to the rich will take care of all that. Just like it did in the reign of George II.

Exhibit D: LGBT Rights?

He’ll have no more of that! Marriage is between a man and a woman. Period. His words:

…he threatened to render the decision on gay marriage ineffectual by using his presidential powers to appoint only conservative justices to the bench who would supposedly interpret the ruling differently.

“Ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed,’ Rubio said Sunday.”

I guess that means interracial marriage will once more be in danger under a Rubio reign, too.  It’s good to be king.

How moderate is Dubie looking now?

Exhibits E & F: Women’s right to choose? Women’s right to affordable healthcare?

Rubio doesn’t recognize those rights…not even in the event of rape or incest.

Furthermore, he has vowed to defund Planned Parenthood, completely mischaracterizing the charitable women’s health service as being in the business of promoting abortion for profit.
Exhibit G: Freedom of religion?

Not so much for Muslims,.

Rubio has compared Muslims to Nazi’s and even suggested that mosques and other places where Muslims gather should be shut down.

I could go on, but you get the picture.

Brian Dubie endorses Marco Rubio’s brand of conservatism, which isn’t at all conservative in the usual sense of the word.

It is extreme and anyone who agrees with Mr. Rubio is an extremist.

Vermonters as a whole do not tend to be extremists so it is difficult to see what Mr. Dubie’s path to victory in the Governor’s race would have been, given that he so enthusiastically endorses the extreme views of someone like Marco Rubio.