Now well into his second term in the U.S. Senate and with a bid for the Republican presidential nomination under his belt, Marco Rubio is showing no plans to get off the national stage.
On Monday, National Review published a piece from the Florida Republican on “Building a National American Conservatism.” Rubio attempted to offer a vision for why conservatism remains a cornerstone of American life.
“The families I met in West Miami during my first campaign and the ones I met running for president aren’t ideological warriors. They are fathers and mothers, workers and small-business owners, Little League coaches and church volunteers. What they care about is having leaders who understand them and fight for them,” Rubio wrote. “They need leaders who appreciate that jobs are not just about making money so they can buy more things; jobs are first and foremost about dignity. They need leaders willing to put the needs of Americans before the needs of other countries. They need leaders who know that the global trade that makes it cheaper to buy something at Walmart is useless if it destroys the jobs that pay enough to buy it.
“I am a conservative because I seek to conserve the principle at the core of the American project: freedom,” Rubio added. “It is the freedom to live a virtuous and meaningful life supported by family, community, faith, and the dignity of work. Today as much as ever, our nation needs a political movement that seeks to conserve freedom, because these core elements of American life are being threatened. The American work culture — being able to earn enough to support a family — is under attack from global economic elites out of touch with working Americans. Insulated from the disruptions created by globalization, they care more about the profits multinational corporations can make doing business in China than they do about American workers losing their jobs. The family, the single most important institution in all of society, is buffeted by economic pressures that discourage family life, and by social engineering that seeks to replace it. The faith of our fathers and the traditional values it teaches are now routinely mocked, ridiculed and increasingly silenced by liberal elites in the press, Hollywood, and academia, denying millions of Americans their place in the public square.
“The American community — a nation sharing a common homeland and destiny — has been abandoned by the political Left and Right,” Rubio continued. “It has been replaced by a democracy of the fittest, which pits Americans against one another on the basis of purchasing power, religion, race, ethnicity, or even who they voted for in the last election. What happens to a nation when the only economic-policy options offered are narrow economic growth without redistribution, or narrow economic growth with redistribution? Or when the social security provided by strong families is replaced by accumulating wealth or by becoming dependent on government programs? What happens when what is right and wrong is relative instead of rooted in absolute truth found by faith? What happens when citizens of a nation abandon their shared inheritance for the identity politics of wealth, race, or ideology? What happens is what we are witnessing in America today. And while this state of affairs threatens the security of our nation at home, the failure of the liberal order to see and rectify similar insecurities in countries across the globe threatens our entire political system. This failure has left millions of people vulnerable to the ancient temptation of authoritarianism.”
Rubio, who sits on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also weighed in on international issues
“We are in the middle of a geopolitical competition between democracy and dictatorship. In far too many places, authoritarianism seems to be winning, while democracy and liberty are coming under assault,” Rubio wrote. “Authoritarian leaders in Russia and China, Turkey, and even the Philippines argue that democracy leads to societal chaos and national decline. They point to the heated divisions and unsolved challenges of the preeminent democratic republic in the world, the United States, as Exhibit A.”
Rubio insisted "we face an existential challenge to the American cause" which “is a bet against the revolutionary idea that a diverse people could use their God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to establish and maintain a just and prosperous nation” and that the stakes are high.
“By our example, we have inspired the world to favor the side of liberty. But if we fail to correct our current course, we could end up emboldening the cause of autocracy,” Rubio wrote. “This is why I am, now more than ever, committed to doing all I can to help reinvigorate a national American conservatism that puts the strength of family, community, faith, and work first. Our policy agenda must follow from this goal. Rebuilding the American project cannot be the work of conservatives alone. It will require a broad civic awakening, one that restores our ability — as one people with many different views — to discuss these issues, recommit to our founding principles, and ensure that we preserve the blessings of American freedom for generations to come.”
Nor was this Rubio’s only attempt to tie himself closer to the conservative movement in recent days. Last week, Rubio named Michael Needham, the CEO for Heritage Action for America, as his chief of staff.
Needham replaces Clint Reed who was fired back in January for improper conduct with subordinates in Rubio's Senate office. Besides serving at Heritage Action for America, where he worked with members of Congress and on policy, Needham served at the Heritage Foundation where he worked as chief of staff and as an advisor to the president of that conservative group.
Rubio weighed in on last week as to why he named Needham to the post.
“Mike brings a wealth of policy, political and management experience that will greatly complement our office’s mission of serving the people of Florida and leading the effort to modernize the conservative movement in the 21st century,” Rubio said. “Mike understands and shares these goals, and I look forward to his contributions.”
The hire picked up attention at the state and national levels. The New York Times ran a piece headlined “Marco Rubio, Darling of GOP Establishment, Hires a Thorn in Its Side” while Joe Henderson over at Florida Politics pondered whether the Florida Republican was going to launch another presidential bid.
To put it mildly, it’s unlikely that Rubio will challenge President Donald Trump in the Republican primaries come 2020. There are far more likely Republican challengers including Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake or Arizona. Nor did Rubio shine in the tempestuous 2016 Republican primaries. After a surprisingly solid third place showing in Iowa, Rubio looked well positioned to emerge as the most likely challenger to take on Trump, including rising to second place in the polls in New Hampshire. However, an extremely poor debate performance in New Hampshire--where then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ripped into Rubio for relying heavily his talking points which Rubio only compounded with his wooden responses.
After the poor debate performance, Rubio plummeted in New Hampshire, eventually placing fifth. While he won a few contests, ranging from Minnesota to Puerto Rico, in the weeks to come, Rubio never bounced back. Trump landed the knockout blow in the senator’s backyard, wining 46 percent while Rubio placed a distant second with 27 percent and carrying only one--Miami-Dade--of Florida’s 67 counties.
Since then, Rubio has recovered some ground from his presidential campaign. The GOP leadership called on him to run for a second term in 2016 and he did, easily winning the primary and turning away the challenge of Democrat Patrick Murphy. Only 46, Rubio has time to recover and make another presidential bid. While Trump and George W. Bush (whose father had led the party and been on four GOP tickets) proved the exception in recent year, Republicans generally fall back on former hopefuls when they select a presidential candidate: Nixon, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney. Of course, Rubio is not the only Republican in that position. Fellow 2016 hopeful U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is doing much the same thing though he does face a surprisingly strong Democratic challenger for reelection this year. Whether Rubio is showcasing his conservatism for either 2024 or a long tenure in the Senate remains to be seen but, for the moment, it’s clear that conservatives across the nation will see more of him in the future.
