The Youthful Fascination With Rubio

In the South Bay, I know two young Hispanic conservatives who are big fans of Marco Rubio.

He is telegenic. He knows how to present himself on camera.

Ben Shapiro explained as much at a Mizzou U discussion forum on how to fight the Left. Donald Trump looks good on TV, too, and knows how to manipulate the moment, despite his legacy of liberalism.

Rubio is young, a few months behind Ted Cruz. He qualifies as the youngest Republican candidate running for office.

Not by much.

He bested the Establishment and the Democratic contender in his 2010 Florida US Senate race.

He has an incredibly strong record on life and other social issues, including the Second Amendment.

He also has a record of being told what to do, and caving on key issues just to be liked.

I do not see him as a leader. He has gone along to get along too much of the time.

As speaker of the Florida House, he conceded that Cap and Trade was going to pass, so every state needed to line up and make it work.

It stalled then died in the US Senate: Thank God! One of the most recent elected officials to the US Senate, Joe Manchin, campaigned as a Republican and shot a bullet through the Cap and Trade bill in one commercial.

That legislation had no chance of passage. Even if the bill had passed and been signed into law, why would concerned and committed conservatives just cave on the issue?

Ted Cruz and Rand Paul fought against this legalistic Washington cabal time and again. The first three words of the US Constitution state "We the People". Just because a law passes does not mean it should stay enforced. The US Constitution enshrines the natural law endowed to each person by God Almighty.

We have governors who sue the President, who refuse to comply with bad laws.

Marco Rubio (credit: Gage Skidmore)

So, what is the fascination with Rubio, then?

Young people want to be accepted. They want to be liked. Rubio wants to be accepted. Rubio wants to be liked.

A lot of people argue for a candidate who can win. Of course. But winning an election means nothing without a winning candidate who wins on the issues which matter. Besides, aside from Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Republican Presidential candidates during the general election have not been winners, despite the constant pleading for "a winner" or "someone who can win".

The psychological similarities are pulling in young people. I want to be liked, I want to win, and I do not want to be rejected as old-fashioned or stuffy.

And yet. . .

Rubio refuses to budge on his support for immigration "reform", and there are cohorts within the Hispanic communities who want pathways to citizenship and the relaxing of our borders. How many young Americans know that they are paying top dollar for a public college education, and young illegals get the discount? Huh?!

Do young people like working two jobs to eke out a forty-hour week?

All this talk of amnesty may

Yet — who cares? The rule of law is essential, and law-breakers, regardless of their age, should not be rewarded. No borders, no country. No country, no rule of law.

Rubio has caved on other issues, as well, including gay marriage. He has also shown himself as easy to push around.

Young people face these pressures, too. They are looking for someone like them. Leadership should be about more than looking for someone like you, or even someone whom you like.

I want someone who stands up and fights, not just someone young looking.

Besides, Ted Cruz is just a few months older than Rubio, and Rand Paul has a youthful vitality and energy which rivals adolescents and young people whom I have met.