Three Miami congress members will basically eat crow today when they 
formally endorse Sen. Marco Rubio in the GOP presidential primary.
Marquito wasn’t their first choice. But U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen suddenly find themselves without a candidate in the race, since their loser pick, former Gov. Jeb Bush, withdrew Saturday after coming in fourth in South Carolina.
Ladra understands that they don’t want to be shut out of the White House should the universe align and Rubio pull an impossible feat by winning not only the nomination and then the presidency over Hillary Clinton. But just how valuable is this runner-up nod? Not much.
Read related story: Gloves are off in Jeb Bush vs Marco Rubio primary
Nobody is going to forget what Ileana said months ago — that Rubio ought to wait his turn. That he wasn’t mature enough yet. What’s she going to say now to get back on Rubio’s good side? That it’s his turn now? Boy, he grew up a lot in 48 hours.
She told Michael Putney on WPLG Local 10s’s This Week in South Florida Sunday that “This Week in South Florida,” Ros-Lehtinen said “we know and love Marco. We never said one negative word about Marco.”
What is Diaz-Balart going to say? He said months ago that he was “all in” with Jeb. “I don’t think there’s anybody more prepared to be president than Jeb Bush,” he told The Hill.
Now he’s going to say there’s nobody more prepared than Rubio? Or is Marco just the next best prepared? Could he be saying the same thing about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz next month?
Read related story: Presidential absentee ballots drop today to 157,000+ voters
Yes, he could. Because this is how it is in party politics, people.
This sudden Rubio love — an official endorsement at a joint press conference is expected Monday afternoon — is going to be hardest for Curbelo to swallow. He and Rubio have had a longtime feud, rooted in the day Marco beat him for the local party chairmanship and solidified with Curbelo’s giddy backing of Charlie Crist for Senator against his Cuban-American hermano.
What about Jeb? Everyone wants to know if he’s going to throw his weight behind his onetime protege. And how is that going to sound after he’s attacked Rubio on the campaign trail and in debates? Suddenly the no-show votes and abandoning ship on his immigration reform aren’t all that important?
Bush may have hinted at a coming Rubio endorsement 
with his concession speech Saturday, which sounded a little like the Senator’s stump speech.
“Over the last seven years, our nation’s bright light has become little more than a flicker. We have retreated from the world stage. The American values that have brought peace and opportunity are fading. That is not the America we know and love,” Bush said.
“America is a country that thinks big, acts boldly and leads without apology. It will be up to the next president to restore that kind of leadership.”
Then again, maybe he’s talking about Donald Trump.
Miami congressional caucus shifts support to Marco Rubio added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
Bush’s exit from the race Saturday after a lackluster fourth-place result in the South Carolina primary freed the former Florida governor’s supporters to select a new candidate. And that began a steady shift to Rubio. “A lot of people were prepared to come to Marco — they kind of saw the writing on the wall — but were waiting for Jeb to get out,” Ballard said. “There’s really no time for people to study their navels if they want to get involved.”
I’ll try to put my opinion on the GOP candidates another way… Calling Trump, Cruz or Rubio a republican is like saying Putin has American values.
I’m a fiscal conservative and rights liberal. Which means neither party adequately supports my views. I hate the way the democrats spend and I hate the way republicans hypocritically think they can tell people how to live their lives and what they can and can not do with their body. while I believe that the republicans have a long standing history of deregulating businesses so they can steal more money, it was Bill Clinton that deregulated banks so they could really do some damage. You can’t expose me… I expose myself. 😀
Congratulations Too Funny. You exposed Silenced Citizen as a liberal democrat. Silenced Citizen states that every policy in the last 30 years has been designed to siphon money from us. But the President for the majority of that time has been Democrat. So I could not agree with you more Silenced Citizen. Enough with the large government and over taxation that is primarily the model of the Democratic Party to support the so called entitled, which at this time 52% of the people are receiving some form of it.
I’m neither foreigner nor socialist. I would have voted for McCain had he picked Lieberman and probably Jeb had he ran good enough campaign to go the distance because they were true conservatives. I won’t vote for any of the remaining fools or fear mongers in the GOP grab bag. If you think America is a free enterprise, capitalist society then they really have you fooled. Every policy in the last 30 years has been designed to siphon money away from you.
Secure the borders Yes but that doesn’t mean kicking out people based on their nationality or religion! That’s what makes America better than the other countries. Reform campaign finance so the people have a say in their leaders instead of the corporations and elite. Reform health care so corporations are not enriching themselves off our sick and elderly.
I could go on and on…
Silenced Citizen,
If you like socialistic point of views move back to the country you came from. This country is great based on the principles, laws, justice , equity, democracy, and free enterprise that right now the Republicans are aspiring to and protecting. The Democrats are trying to change that. Most Hispanics are democrats mostly from South America and Central America. If you love socialism, as the Democrats are moving towards to, as a form of government so much, then you should have never left your country to begin with. Don’t come here to change the U.S.
So Too Funny, you’re going to vote for the party the has been preventing results for 8 years while at the same time offering no alternatives. You’re short term memory is exactly what the GOP is counting on.
I agree with Got-A-Point. Silenced Citizen, do you know what is lunacy? Voting for a candidate that has been a public servant for years, but yet no results, but to expect results would be different if elected as President.
You are not only out of touch Silenced Citizen, but also a lunatic. By definition.
The people had enough with the establishment. In others words, it is time to get the long timers out of Washington and bring in new blood.
DONALD TRUMP IS THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
How anyone could believe that trump is the answer is just beyond me. Businessman have routinely shown they make poor public servants because leadership and service are not just about the bottom line. And now you want to prop up a guy that doesn’t give a crap about anything other than his money and his ego just because he’s telling you what you want to hear? This guy has stomped on everyone he ever met just to make a buck! Lunacy.
On the way to the White House Donald Trump wins Nevada. More importantly he won the Hispanic Vote. Why? Because the mainstream media initially wanted to paint Trump as a racist. Now it seems that people are seeing right straight through this.
The new revolution is happening. The hell with the media and journalists. Everybody knows that this institution is corrupt, extremely to the left, and tinkering with socialism.
So why is Donald Trump the front runner? Simple. He called out Obama 8 years ago when he questioned Obama’s hidden motives. The voters are frustrated because they now know they were taken for a ride by the mainstream media in 2008. This election is to undo the hatred and bigotry of the last 8 years of the Obama Administration.
Oye Woofie are you hiding in your dog house?
Without a doubt that amongst the Republican candidates the most qualified to run this country is the person who has been able to run a billion dollar company. Who in the right mind would want to pick a candidate who is unproven? Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz? Come on! Really!
At any rate, I must agree with Sergio. Any Republican over a Democrat. To my Cuban exile community President Obama is not only closing Guantanamo in anticipation of his visit in the next several weeks to Cuba, but word has it that he will soon position himself to start discussing the possibility of returning Guantanamo to Cuba. This is a deliberate attempt of weakening this great nation of ours. I urge all Democratic Registered Voters to switch to the Republican Party because if not, USA and Cuba will soon share the same type of government. Doesn’t this sound like what happened to Cuba over 50 years ago. I ask all readers to this blog this fundamental question. Why does Obama support leaders and countries who have a hatred towards this nation?
So having a dialogue with Cuba is more important than having dialogue with Israel. I ask why?
Ladra- I will keep on dogging you because it is well known that you are big time Democrat who voted for Obama. Please put on the record whether you are voting Republican or Democrat this time around. Don’t tell me you have not made a decision. I am not asking you to state the candidate just the party. Come on. Be an open book.
Oye Woofie, this is one bark that I am anxiously waiting to listen to.
Trump, Cruz or Rubio over the democrat choices. Having said that as long as Cruz/Rubio stay in the race its almost a guarantee victory for Trump as they will split the vote-
Mabel Wolf,
Then start moving because we need somebody who has cojones. Our current President has too much estrogen.
That’s exactly right – why don’t we learn from our mistakes? Cojones are better than estrogen. Hillary doesn’t count.
Too Funny… Too Sad…
If Donald Trump is nominated, and by the hand of Satan gets elected… ME MUDO A LA PATAGONIA!!!
I also don’t care much who endorses whom, since it is all politics. I will weigh carefully and deliberately when I decide to cast my vote. For me, my vote IS important and it DOES matter. 🙂
Ladra,
You don’t get it! We the people, do not give a crap about who is endorsing whom. The same way that your blog or your political consultant gig won’t sway not even a fly. All these folks, including Rubio is irrelevant.
DONALD TRUMP IS OUR NEXT PRESIDENT!
WE THE PEOPLE WANT THIS COUNTRY TO BE GREAT AGAIN.
WE TOOK A CHANCE WITH AN INEXPERIENCED LEADER IN PRESIDENT OBAMA AND IT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST DISASTER SINCE PRESIDENT CARTER. ENOUGH WITH THE EXPERIMENTATION.
I absolutely agree. Obama was a community organizer with no leadership skills except train the neighborhoods to protest against banks so minorities would be able to get the homes without a down payment, no papers to show employment, or ability to pay mortgage, taxes, insurance.
At least with Trump, a billionaire I don’t worry about him taking any money from taxpayers. He will reduce the debt! Rubio if you read his history in Miami there’s REAL concern. http://motherjones.com/10things-you-should-know-about-Rubio. And, his term in the FL with GOP AMEX card spending and borrowing money like water. Flying people around using GOP card & buying influence, we would stay awake nights worrying about $120 haircuts, dipilatory wax to wax his hairy back, arms, legs and money to influence “money people” to invest in Rubio. That’s too much power for a 44 yr. old KID to handle.