Marco’s special talent — his ability to be on both sides of every issue
Marco Rubio has a way about him. The way he manages to move from side to side on any issue. He can be against a law one day and 72 hours later find himself for it. And although Rubio has come out against immigrants and offshore drilling for oil throughout his campaign, that ability of his to move on the political dance floor may date back to his genes and his parents’ roots — well, as immigrants. Rubio is the son of Cuban parents.
And if I can take a moment to stereotype Marco, ask almost any Cuban and he or she will tell you that all Cubans are good dancers. (An aside here, I happen to be Cuban and am a terrible dancer.) Well, Marco has shown he can dance — around any issue according to what is most convenient for the moment.
Two very clear examples are the controversial Arizona immigration law “that requires state and local law officers to question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally.” Initially, during the heat of the furor against it by mostly Hispanic communities in Florida, Rubio came out publicly against stating that Arizona lawmakers had “gone too far” when they passed the law. Suddenly, though, this week when members of his own party (also the Tea Partiers) reacted to his reaction, he changed his mind and said that “he [had] changed his position after [Arizona] lawmakers tweaked language in a way that critics say makes it even more harsh.”
The Associated Press recently wrote that Rubio “said he’s comfortable with the [Arizona] law since the language was amended in an effort to quell widespread criticism, saying the changes addressed concerns he had about potential abuse.
“The new language,” states the AP, “bans racial profiling and more clearly defines when an officer can question a person’s immigration status, but still doesn’t define what should make an officer suspect someone might be an illegal immigrant.”
Marco, Marco… this still doesn’t sound right, does it? If you’re parents had lived in Arizona, they’d probably be prime targets for questioning by authorities. Hell Marco, I know you consider yourself a white boy, but you Marco would probably be questioned…
And then there’s offshore oil drilling. Marco has been part of the ‘Drill, baby, drill crowd.’ But suddenly in April when the oil rig exploded in the Gulf Coast, affecting Florida’s coastline, Marco became “Drill, baby, maybe… can we check, baby, before we drill?”
However you want to interpret his actions on drilling, Marco returned to his Cuban roots… and danced around drilling — too.
Alvaro F. Fernandez
