We believe Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is best equipped to carry forward the philosophy of free people and free markets — of limited government, free trade and strong national defense — that has long animated the GOP and enriched American political life.
That inspiring prose could be helpful to Rubio, unless you take time to consider the source and weigh the odds that the editorial board of the Star Tribune truly cares anything about advancing the philosophy of free markets, limited government, etc. Either they are blowing smoke, or you take them at their word and sympathize with the quadrennial shock and frustration suffered when the Star Tribune editorial board realized the effects of their past endorsements of the small government all-star team of Barack Obama (twice), John Kerry, Al Gore, Bill Clinton (twice), Michael Dukakis, Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carter, etc., etc. Let’s please remember this concern for small government and free markets when it comes time for them to endorse Republican Candidate X vs. Democrat/Socialist Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. (Especially if it’s you Marco, watch your back!)
The institutional voice of the Star Tribune has long been known for insult editorials and drama queen rhetoric and they continue that tradition with this Rubio endorsement:
The insurgent candidacy of Donald Trump has unleashed a heedless xenophobic spirit that threatens to splinter the GOP and wound the country if a unifying alternative isn’t found.
Those words sound eerily familiar. Where have we heard rhetoric like this before?
Hillary Clinton for one: "One of the most distressing aspects of this campaign has been the language of Republican candidates, particularly their front-runner, that insults, demeans, denigrates different people," Clinton said. "It's not only shameful and offensive, which it is. I think it's dangerous. And it's dangerous in several ways," she said.
And Bernie Sanders: … "there are demagogues out there, people like Donald Trump, who are once again attempting to divide us up in xenophobic and racist ways,” Sanders said during a roundtable discussion at The Nation’s Mosque in northwest Washington.
And Martin O’Malley: “There's a lot of hatred being spewed” in the Republican race, he added, “and I think sometimes as Democrats we are too cautious in the face of that xenophobia.”
And Joe Biden: "There's one guy absolutely denigrating an entire group of people, appealing to the baser side of human nature, working on this notion of xenophobia in a way that hasn't occurred in a long time," Biden said at the backyard reception, held around the swimming pool at his Washington residence.
Uncanny resemblances. And I’m sure the average Minnesota caucus goer has learned over the years to put as much faith in the advice of the Star Tribune on which Republican to vote for as they would advice from Hillary Clinton.
One more precious pearl from the Star Tribune endorsement of Marco Rubio, regarding what's wrong with Trump:
He … has accused a two-term Republican president of “lying” to lead the nation into war.
The “Bush Lied” accusation is a sign of a historical ignorance and/or political character assassination and the user of it should rightly be chastised. After the Star Tribune editorial board gets done with Trump, maybe they’ll have time to confront other perpetrators of this slander, for example, members of the Star Tribune editorial board. From their 2004 Presidential endorsement of that champion of limited government, John Kerry for President
The way Bush did it demonstrates another of the most important reasons to deny him a second term: his pattern of deception and secrecy. He sold the war on Iraq, a defanged nation, by repeatedly suggesting a connection between Saddam and 9/11. He argued that Saddam's weapons of mass destruction posed an urgent threat to U.S. security. The connections didn't exist, and neither did the weapons.
Donald Trump is, to say the least, an imperfect messenger. But the message, of having a controlled immigration system run by the consent of the people, and the government enforcing the rule of the people’s laws, existed before Trump. He has been smart enough to latch onto it, and it has propelled his rise. The fact that his articulation of the message is often so crude and counterproductive, and people still support him, is evidence of the absolute dearth of other credible messengers. No other Republican candidate has fully embraced an approach contrary to the current policy on immigration, or can be trusted follow through on his words - see the NYT story on Marco Rubio’s willingness to be a useful tool for the status quo. Truth be told, you probably can’t trust Trump either on these issues, but in this election cycle, he appears to have the shortest nose at the Pinocchio audition.
