Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a possible Republican presidential candidate, is using a crowdsourcing platform to try to reach dissidents and human rights activists in autocratic regimes. In particular, Rubio is trying to help those oppressed by the governments of Iran and Cuba.
“I’m a member of the U.S. Congress looking for Iran and Cuba human rights cases to highlight,” the headline for Rubio’s post on the platform Movements.org reads.
“I’m Marco Rubio, and I believe that America and every individual around the world should defend the fundamental freedoms and rights of people everywhere. Write to me if there are stories of political prisoners or threatened dissidents in Iran, Cuba and elsewhere that aren’t getting enough attention. I will work to make sure they are not forgotten by the U.S. government and international community.”
It’s unclear what exactly Rubio plans to do with the information he obtains — and how might ensure that the dissidents “are not forgotten” by the American government and the rest of the world.
Yet, as one savvy political watcher says, it’s “cool and shows he gets new technology like this.”
In the Senate, Rubio has been a key Republican raising human rights concerns at a time when the Obama administration generally appears disinterested in the plights of these oppressed individuals.
Rubio’s family escaped the Cuban regime and came to the United States shortly before the young senator was born.
