Senator Marco Rubio’s ideological dogma obviously is too much for him to grasp the significance of the erosion of American moral authority thanks to yesterday’s release of a Senate report on torture. Rubio’s galling tweet below echoed the statements of the more extreme elements of the GOP, while not appreciating America’s reputation in the world means we cannot behave in the same manner as our enemies do.

Those who served us in aftermath of 9/11 deserve our thanks not one sided partisan Senate report that now places American lives in danger.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 9, 2014

It was yet another case of Rubio showing his meandering views on issues simply are meant to attract media attention or to appeal to Republican red-meat voters. Ideology for Rubio isn’t meant to be consistent – It is simply a way of ensuring he stays close to the GOP base, and continues to echo  the sentiments of the most extreme partisan elements of American society.

Florida’s Junior Senator has time and again echoed the dangerous rhetoric of the Reagan and Gingrich years, times when the Republicans were committed to destroying the legacy of the New Deal and Great Society rather than reluctantly accepting it which is the situation today. Then again in those days the Democrats had adopted a certain degree of Reaganomics and were crowding out any sort of reasonable moderate position pushing the Republicans further and further right. But as dangerous as Rubio’s unhinged free market economic views have been since the second he walked into the Florida House after a 2000 Special Election, I am beginning to fear his views on foreign policy are even more dangerous.

In November 2013, I wrote that Rubio was completely wrong about the Middle East. Now he’s adding torture to hois checklist which also includes Central Asia and Latin America. Perhaps it would be wise if he just kept his mouth shut on foreign policy in general. The excessively political views that Rubio articulates are meant to stir up the GOP base but show he is incapable of making reasoned and well  thought out comments about foreign affairs.

This past March, Rubio appeared to be urging military action based on his veiled comments to Politico:

Sen. Rubio to POLITICO, “Putin’s invasion of Ukraine requires immediate and decisive U.S. leadership”: “Russia’s illegal military incursion in the Crimea region in Ukraine is a grave violation of a nation’s sovereignty and cannot go unpunished. First, President Obama should speak unequivocally and call this what it is: a military invasion. … Second, President Obama should dispatch Secretary Kerry and Secretary Hagel to Kiev to show U.S. support for Ukraine’s transitional government … Third, the U.S. should rally our allies to boycott this June’s G8 summit in Sochi …

“[I]f Russian troops do not leave Ukraine immediately, Russia should be expelled from this group. Fourth, any and all discussions and negotiations with Moscow on any issue unrelated to this crisis, including trade and other matters, should be immediately suspended. … This is a critical moment in world history. The credibility of the alliances and security assurances that have preserved the international order is at stake. If Putin’s illegal actions are allowed to stand unpunished, it will usher in a dark and dangerous era in world affairs.”

While I strongly believed both them and now that Obama has done a poor job in handling Vladimir Putin in almost every way possible, sending troops was never seriously contemplated. But in this case as with so many others, Rubio staked the most extreme position possible and his dangerous rhetoric was enabled by a willing Washington DC press corp anxious for the types of soundbites few inside the beltway provide.

Rubio, ever the astute pol, mixing below the belt attacks on the President with a reactionary voting record could keep both the GOP establishment and  Tea Party clamoring for him with this combination of rhetoric and votes. The national media is playing its part in fueling Rubio’s support by elevating his profile. But Rubio’s national star has dimmed despite these efforts to placate the Republican base and his failure to provide a steady presence at home when compared to his predecessors have led to the potential that he could be a one-termer.

The fall of Marco Rubio could be tied to his political cowardice- his unwillingness to follow his convictions on immigration and his desire to constantly kow-tow to where he believes the GOP base sits on a number of issues.  His hypocrisy and inconsistency on foreign policy issues mirrors the confusing non-conservative approach the Republican Party establishment has pursued. If President Obama is for it, Marco Rubio and much of the GOP is against it.

Salon has dissected Rubio’s hypocrisy well in this piece.