A Dispassionate Look at Marco the Great

For Throwback Wednesday, the neocon's origin story

Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was one of four GOP fedpols who questioned “the Air Force’s decision to replace two permanent F-15C Eagle fighter squadrons in Okinawa with rotational forces.”

Sigh.

In 2012, I reviewed Manuel Roig-Franzia’s biography of Marco Rubio, and bashed the Sunshine State chickenhawk’s reflexive defense of D.C. as the uncontested globocop. A decade later, nothing’s changed.

On fiscal and economic issues, “Little Marco” has been better. He’s received stellar scores from the Club for Growth and Citizens Against Government Waste. But the National Taxpayers Union, which conducts “the most comprehensive analysis of the way that members of Congress vote for taxpayers,” isn’t as big a fan. During 11 years in the Senate, Rubio has “earned” five Bs, three As, two Cs, and a D from the organization. Not Pete Domenici-level bad, but nothing to boast about. At least he’s kept his commitment to the pro-life cause.

Rubio is on the ballot Tuesday, and if the polls can be believed, he’ll win another term — and thus, be a major player in the GOP’s presidential-nominee competition (most likely for the #2 slot) in 2024 and 2028. Enjoy this glimpse at his rise to power.