Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) endorsed fmr. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination on Fox News’ “Hannity” show this week. Endorsements usually say more about the endorser than the endorsee, but this was clearly a big one.
Until Monday night, Rubio was likely the most unifying figure among Republicans. He is widely admired for his ability to convey conservative principles and defend notion of American exceptionalism in foreign affairs in a clear and passionate way that is almost unrivaled among current politicians.
Rubio manages to have almost universal appeal among Republicans without abandoning any of his principles because of his ability to convey them effectively. He is the Right’s version of Barack Obama, only with actual substance. It is for that reason that he is often mentioned as the primary contender for the Vice Presidential spot on the GOP ticket, despite consistently claiming he isn’t interested. Furthermore, his positions are almost completely in sync with the conservative base of the Republican Party.
So what could he possibly do to lose this universal appeal?
Apparently the answer is as simple as having an opinion on this presidential primary process that is essentially common sense.
After Rubio’s endorsement of Romney, Rubio was attacked by countless individuals on social media for being a “RINO” (Republican-in-name-only) and “sell-out.” Rubio explained that his endorsement of Romney was taking into consideration that the other main contenders could not win the primary before the convention (something the Santorum and Gingrich campaigns have essentially admitted) and his belief that a fight at the convention would be a “recipe for disaster” in November. This is hardly an extreme position.
Additionally, what if Rubio actually does believe that Romney is the best candidate available to take on Barack Obama?
While it is true that Romney hasn’t always been a stalwart of conservatism, there is a solid argument to be made that the other candidates have substantial deficits as well. Another important point is that Romney was endorsed by almost every major conservative in 2008. A lot has changed since 2008, but most of Romney’s rhetoric and positions have remained consistent since then. I can understand that some might not consider him the best choice this time around, but surely he hasn’t suddenly become so horrible a choice that anyone who supports him is somehow betraying conservatism? In addition, Romney has already secured the support of other major conservative leaders such as Tea Party Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and American Conservative Union Chairman Al Cardenas.
Rubio by almost any definition is more conservative than any of the candidates and doesn’t have very many positions that could be considered outside the mainstream of the Republican base, so how exactly does one define him as a “Republican in Name Only”? More importantly, if Rubio, Ann Coulter, Cardenas, Sen. Lee and a majority of Republican voters in this primary are all “sellouts” and “Republicans in Name Only,” then it would seem that the Republican Party just shrank to an almost non-existent status.
You don’t have to like Mitt Romney, support him to be the nominee, or even respect the opinion of Marco Rubio, but you should understand that attacking someone’s credibility for having a different opinion is not very conservative. In fact, it is something only a real RINO would do.
