Common Sense: Marco Rubio

I am supporting Marco Rubio for president. Allow me to tell you why. I first became familiar with Rubio through members of my family – expatriates from Brooklyn who now reside in Southern Florida – who spoke highly of him during his tenure as the speaker of the Florida State Assembly. They gave him the lion’s share of credit for keeping their taxes low and state spending under control.

Then, about three years ago, I for the first time heard Senator Rubio speak in person at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. Thousands of conservatives from around the nation attend this conference.

I was impressed by his ability to communicate a conservative message on values in a manner that I felt had a broad-based appeal. In fact, he captivated the audience that was dominated by young people. Back then it was obvious to me that he was a true national rising star within the conservative movement.

I heard him speak in person several more times after that speech and began following him more closely on a number of public policy issues that he was taking on. I was impressed by his depth of knowledge on foreign affairs and his approach to national security. I was beginning to look at him as an individual whose lead I could follow on these issues, much like the confidence I had as a young man working to elect Ronald Reagan.

Sure, there were bumps in the road. It was clear to me that he was strongly opposed to illegal immigration and wanted to secure our border, but I did feel he took a wrong turn in accomplishing his stated goals when he worked with Senator Schumer.

Nevertheless, he was still coming at it from the same point – stop illegal immigration and protect our borders. And now during this presidential campaign, he has been the most honest in advocating for a plan that will work because it goes beyond the tough rhetoric and has workable solutions.

In my opinion, Marco Rubio offers the best hope for making America great again. He comes at it from the perspective of bringing Americans together – not dividing them. He is the most unifying of any of the major conservative presidential candidates. His approach is by far the broadest.

There is also a pragmatic decision that political leaders like myself need to make. Who is the strongest candidate to run against Hillary Clinton? Who is the strongest conservative to beat Hillary Clinton next November? This is one of those circumstances in which logic is confirmed by common sense and common sense is confirmed by polling, with the conclusion being that Marco Rubio is the strongest candidate against Hillary Clinton.

In fact, many polls show Marco Rubio actually beating her right now. They also show that he is the most well-liked as measured by the net favorable to unfavorable polling numbers for any of the Republican candidates by the national electorate. This means that he can expand on his winning numbers against Hillary.

Thus, I was pleased to join the team that New York State Rubio Chair Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis is assembling from across the state to win the nomination and eventually the election for Marco Rubio. And I was pleased to have Fran Vella-Marrone, my vice chairperson of the Brooklyn Conservative Party, join me as well as the 30 or so other elected and party officials who comprised the first wave of Rubio endorsements.

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Allow me to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year!