Marco Rubio is reportedly very close to flip-flopping on his decision to not run for re-election to the US Senate. His reasoning is the recent tragedy in Orlando, which has left the LGBT and Latino communities in Florida and around the nation devastated.
“I’ve been deeply impacted by it,” Rubio told talk show host Hugh Hewitt. “I think when it visits your home state, and it impacts a community you know well, it really gives you pause to think a little bit about, you know, your service to your country and where you can be most useful to your country.”
We’ve seen plenty of shameless moves from Rubio over the past few years. From abandoning his own immigration bill — after launching that effort by invoking his own immigrant mother — to then endorsing a racist who has spent the past year denigrating Latinos, immigrants, and countless other groups, Marco has done it all.
But if Rubio really does go through with running for a job he’s already said he can’t stand, using the tragedy in Orlando as his excuse, it may be his most cynical move yet.
It’s a fact that Rubio has been vehemently anti-gay in the past. While in the Florida House, he considered adoption by gay couples to be a “social experiment,” preferring to leave kids without loving families at all. Then he ran for President opposing marriage equality. Now he wants to relaunch his political career on the bodies of the same LGBT community he opposed.
As Orlando Sentinel reporter Scott Maxwell writes, “It’s simply twisted.” But then again, this is Marco Rubio we’re talking about.
More from Maxwell’s column, “True leaders promote facts, healing — not themselves,” below.
Then there are the politicians who seem to be thinking about using the tragedy to change the trajectory of their entire political careers.
Last year, Marco Rubio vowed not to seek re-election to the U.S. Senate. He declared the position beneath him, saying, “We’re not going to fix America with senators and congressmen.”
Rubio only wanted to be President … well, until he lost. Then, 49 innocent people were shot dead in Orlando, and Florida’s freshman Republican seemed to spy an opportunity.
“Rubio Opens Door to Senate Bid After Orlando Shooting,” read one headline Monday
“Rubio ponders re-election bid following Orlando shooting,” said another.
Rubio seemed to think America’s united response to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history was a call for him to launch a new campaign.
Listen, if Rubio has decided he still craves political power, fine. If he’s considering reneging on a promise, well, he’s certainly not the first. But using a tragedy as an excuse to do either is simply twisted.
