Florida’s Junior Senator has doubled-down on his support of GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump. At Wednesday’s debate Rubio continued his support for Trump, while continuing his pattern of deceitful public statements. Democratic nominee Patrick Murphy seized on Rubio’s willingness to resort to dishonesty to further his political standing in saying,

 “If you voted as much as you lied, you might have been a decent senator,”

Rubio’s absenteeism is just one reason Floridians should not return him to office. It is important though for Floridians not to take these debates too seriously. Senator Rubio is a trained performer of the higher caliber, perhaps the GOP’s new Ronald Reagan in that sense. What he says and does in debates have little relevance to reality because Rubio can take programmed lines and deliver them masterfully.

Senator Rubio’s self-interest and ideology have clearly shown through the last few weeks despite the attempts of the Senator whose reelection is serious doubt, to cast himself as a born-again Floridian.  In the last few weeks, Rubio has continued to prevaricate on climate change and the pressing issue of sea level rise and shown he is always wed to a neoconservative view of foreign affairs , one that involves public statements that undermine official American policy.

The same man who in the Republican Presidential Primaries accused President Obama of “deliberately weakening America,” was at it again Wednesday night saying:

“We have now made over two years, concession after concession to the Castro regime,” Rubio said, calling the US’ U.N. abstention on the Cuba issue “lawlessness.” Rubio added, “They have taken not even a quarter step to democracy.”

Since election to the Senate in 2010, Rubio has put his own ideological or personal considerations with regards to Cuba and Iran over national security. On the issue of Cuba, Floridians overwhelmingly agree with the shift in policy under this administration and the potential benefits to

Many Cuban-Americans in Miami love Reagan but his policies produced the same results as Democrats they disliked such as Jimmy Carter and John Kennedy. No change in Castro’s policies, though Castro himself helped Reagan get elected by releasing pressure on his economy in the form of the Mariel boatlift. Patrick Murphy pointed out Wednesday how US policy which remained consistent for 50 years never produced anything positive in terms of results. Cuba hasn’t moved toward Democracy as Rubio stated in the debate but this has far more to do with the policies RUBIO SUPPORTED AND CONTINUE TO SEEK, than this administration or the stand Patrick Murphy has taken. 

The US sanctions against Cuba were long viewed as nothing short of a joke in western Europe, and did little over a half century to modify the behavior of the Cuban regime. Since President Clinton signed the embarrassingly onerous Helms-Burton law in 1996 which among other things aggressively sought an international embargo against Cuba, trade between Western Europe and the Communist regime in Havana has more than doubled according to the Financial Times.

Now it is time for the United States and Florida in particular to benefit from the growing economic influence of Cuba. I firmly believe most Republicans if they are intellectually honest about their views on economic growth and free trade would embrace President Obama’s policy changes if not for the pressure coming from an increasingly isolated faction in Miami-Dade County. Marco Rubio has clung to that isolated faction and a tired ideology that puts Rubio’s own personal views and interest above what is best for Florida. His view also refutes his established thoughts about free trade and would potentially do damage to the state’s economy.

On climate change,  Rubio is incapable of intellectual thought and simply repeats messages like one of those pull-string toys you buy at Target. Rubio is programmed with platitudes and talking points that mirror the right-wing view on the issue, even though the place where Florida’s Junior Senator announced his ill-fated candidacy for President in 2015 will be under water within our lifetimes.

But Rubio is not concerned about the fate of Miami, southeast Florida or the state. His consideration is strictly about himself. On that score his need to be reelected has given him some leeway to talk like a moderate, but when pressed his right-wing ideology shines through. Murphy has put Rubio on the spot in both debates to this point, forcing some answers that should remind Florida voters of the danger posed by a politician so eager to be President.  While foreign affairs outside of Cuba seems to have faded as an issue in this race, Floridians must be reminded that Rubio is potentially so dangerous for global peace if he were to get elected President, that stopping him now is critical.

In his quest to be President, Marco Rubio needs reelection in Florida to remain viable. Yet he’s so clearly out of tune with Florida’s interests and needs while doing a poor job of faking compassion. Rubio’s political career hangs by a thread – two defeats in a year would finish him off so we can only hope he loses this race.