Republican presidential candidate Senator Marco Rubio is considered to be the future of the Republican Party by the conservative grassroots and the party establishment, but after cosponsoring the failed Senate comprehensive immigration reform legislation back in 2013, much of the grassroots support he had enjoyed since arriving to Washington has largely disappeared.
Rubio is still very popular and is the darling of the Republican establishment, but his recent admission that he was missing votes because he wasn’t running for reelection to the Senate has left a bad taste with Americans, especially Floridians, who now see Rubio as the same type of political opportunist as his old political nemesis, Charlie CristRubio is currently polling in single digits behind Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson.
During his historic 2010 Senate race in Florida, Rubio relentlessly attacked Crist for running for the U.S. Senate instead of staying put as Governor and helping Florida get out of the recession it was experiencing at the time.
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Crist famously stated that Floridians would be better served with him in the U.S. Senate.
Now Rubio believes that his constituents are better served with him as president, and not as a sitting U.S. Senator.
“That’s why I’m missing votes. Because I am leaving the Senate. I am not running for reelection.”-WP Post
With Rubio missing more votes than any other U.S. Senator this year, simply because he is too busy campaigning for president, the call for his resignation has been made. Fellow Republican presidential candidate Jim Gilmore says that Rubio has “abandoned his post” and should resign.
“Essentially, Sen. Rubio has abandoned his post and expects the taxpayers of Florida to continue subsidizing his campaign for the White House despite his choice to campaign instead of representing the people who elected him to the Senate.”-Jim Gilmore (Washington Times)
Gilmore makes a valid point. If Floridians elected Rubio to represent them in the U.S. Senate, which means that he votes on their behalf, then shouldn’t Rubio resign after admitting that he has/is purposely missing votes to campaign?
Some will suggest that Rubio take a pay cut, but others feel strongly that he should resign his post.
If Rubio were to resign, Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) would then be tasked to appoint a successor until the next U.S. Senator is voted into office in 2016.Back in 2009, then-Governor Charlie Crist appointed his former chief of staff, George LeMeiux to the Senate when former Senator Mel Martinez (R) decided to step down.
If he is not happy in the U.S. Senate, and is missing votes so that he can campaign for higher office, should Senator Rubio just step down?
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