Posted on 01/27/2016 11:00:48 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Former presidential candidate and New York governor George Pataki announced on Tuesday that he's "throwing his support," as ABC News put it, to Marco Rubio. I bet it was like catching a feather.
But it was characteristic of how the great-on-paper Rubio campaign has progressed. With the invisible primary coming to an end, it's time for Rubio, everybody's early smart-money candidate for the GOP nomination, to start piling up the kind of support that suggests a big, clanking political machine. Instead he's winning over George Pataki.
Back at the beginning of December I wrote a piece that didn't deny Rubio's superior positioning and potential rock-star status, but did express some puzzlement over exactly where and when he'd start winning primaries. The puzzle has only gotten deeper.
Despite constant talk of some Rubio "surge" in Iowa, he remains mired in third place there, far behind Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. In New Hampshire, supposedly the breakthrough state for any Establishment favorite, he's stuck in the low teens, about 20 points behind Trump, and also behind (in the Real Clear Politics polling averages) Cruz and John Kasich. South Carolina? A very similar story: polling in the low teens, down more than 20 points to Trump, and well behind Cruz. Even in Nevada, where his early life as a Las Vegas Mormon was thought to give him a good chance at an early state upset, the one recent poll shows him at about a three-to-one disadvantage to Trump and a two-to-one deficit to Cruz. And then on March 15, after what does not look to be a very promising "SEC Primary" two weeks earlier, comes the potential grim reaper: Rubio's home state of Florida, a winner-take-all primary he cannot afford to lose no matter how he looks nationally. There he is again mired in third place, far behind Trump, and with Jeb Bush, who cannot afford to lose there either, crouched right behind him with whatever's left of his shock-and-awe war chest, and with no choice but to spend it on destroying Rubio.
Speaking of Jeb!: Despite the moribund condition of Bush's campaign, Rubio still hasn't caught him in the FiveThirtyEight tabulation of endorsements, which is beginning to seem strange for someone supposedly running as the last great hope of the party Establishment. And even the mythology of Rubio as the Chosen One is growing thinner, given all the talk of party Establishment types deciding to embrace Donald Trump (albeit at a distance, with fire tongs) in order to stop that other Cuban-American senator.
With voting about to begin, things will start happening very rapidly, so the idea that Rubio's waiting in the weeds for a late-breaking win is becoming less credible each day. And today, and every day from here on out, he'll need more support "thrown" his way than George Pataki can provide.
working link:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/01/rubios-campaign-is-more-underwhelming-than-ever.html
How bad a campaign is a candidate running if he/she is behind Kasich in a NH poll?
I would gracefully bow out and take an extended vacation somewhere without electronics.
“potential rock star status”
Did Mario’s Beatle boots with the Cuban heels won him that accolade?
Mario=Marco
won=win
Cuban heels=pointy toes for squishing cockroaches in corners
But Brett Baier and the Fox All Stars say he wins every debate with Carly Fiorino
Rubio is a ‘Rat snake ..
She’s afraid of his footwear.
‘Rock-star status”? Umm..No. Sorry GOPe, won’t vote for Rubio under any circumstances. It’s Cruz for me.
Rubio isn’t even leading in Florida!
There are only 2 candidates for president and neither of them are Rube or Boosh.
Rubio betrayed his supporters right out of the gate by supporting amnesty. He is damaged forever and will be lucky to keep his seat if a reasonable challenger steps up. The taint goes right to the bone with Rubio.
I wouold love to see Huckleberry at third and Santorum fourth and Rubio go home to Florida.
Mario should go back to starring in video games with his brothers.
Rubio is a typical Tea Party Senator. He ran with enthusiastic Tea Party Support and upon taking his Senatorial Seat started grabbing for the branches of the Chamber of Commerce money tree. The Rubio Syndrome is why we cannot win in the Congress. These guys are politicians. The breed is anything but principled and steadfast. They know that their fortunes are made as Gopes and traitors, not as Representatives of their voters. It is really of no consequence that they might lose their re-elections because of their treason, their futures are guaranteed to be plush. If they truly represent their voting constituency their futures will be hard and their incomes limited to their salaries and their own investments. The entire Party Establishment will spend great amounts of money to beat them in their re-election attempts. Most of them opt for the CofC golden apples.
Rubio is a pleasant appearing, well-spoken young man. But could he go nose to nose with Putin, the ayatollahs or Red China? Not so much.
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