Inweekly endorses for the Republican presidential nomination the son of an immigrant bartender and a maid, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.
This newspaper built its foundation on challenging the rich and powerful that believe they are privileged to rights and government resources unavailable to most of us. We believe the American Dream still exists and tomorrow will be better than today and yesterday.
And we believe that dream should be available to all, not a select few.
Marco Rubio embodies the American Dream. He isn’t the son of a millionaire. He attended public elementary and secondary schools. He had to take out student loans to get his college education.
He worked his way up the political ladder in the Republican Party. Rubio interned for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and worked on Sen. Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. Two years out of law school, he was elected as City Commissioner for West Miami at the age of 26. In 2000, he was elected to the Florida House, eventually becoming the Speaker of the House.
Ten years later, he faced Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who appeared to be unbeatable for the U.S. Senate. He won easily.
While we understand the lure of Donald Trump’s populism that plugs into the voters’ disgust with the dysfunction in Washington, D.C., we believe our president should have a message of hope.
Marco Rubio gives the voters the hope that people are not trapped by the circumstances of their birth or destined to live the life their parents had. Hardworking families deserve better than living paycheck to paycheck and one unexpected expense away from disaster. Our college graduates don’t have to be handicapped by thousands in student loans that hinder their ability to start a career, business or family.
He gets it.
Inweekly does not agree with all his political positions, but we also don’t agree with political litmus tests.
Over the next week, Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and their supporters will exercise pressure to force Rubio out of the presidential race—which is why we’re releasing this endorsement today.
Floridians should not be conned into thinking that the GOP nomination is only down to Trump and Cruz. Our state is a pivotal one in the primary process. A victory for our U.S. Senator can be the catalyst for his candidacy, and if the primaries lead to a brokered GOP convention, then a Rubio victory makes sure our state has a seat at the table.
Marco Rubio can be a much-needed bridge builder and unifier for the Republican Party. Inweekly believes that of all the Republican candidates he is the best to lead this country, where whom you come from does not determine how far you can go.
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Inweekly will publish its endorsement for Florida’s Democratic presidential primary in its March 10 issue.