Marco Rubio is said to be a rising star in the Republican party. But, consistent with the talking point vernacular of a common common Fox News narrative, what if the Tea Party and the right wing conservatives aren't ready for a Hispanic president? What if Senator Marco Rubio, who is a Cuban-American, create images in the conservative brain of that most hated man of Cuba, Fidel Castro?
Is that a risk a Conservative Republican Party is willing to take?
At this point in America's history, can we be sure that the right wing base that forms the Tea Party and its servile dependent, the Republican party, are in the mood for a Cuban-American president? What if the conservative right isn't any more in love with Marco Rubio, a man whose heritage is from Cuba, any more than they are in love with an African-American president, or any more than they wanted a Mormon president?
What if the rising star tag on Marco Rubio by conservative pundits and the Republican party is really a ruse to expose Mr Rubio long before the 2016 presidential campaign so that he will flame out before he has any chance for any faction of the Tea Party and the right wing base to desire him as a presidential candidate from the Republican party? Remember that other rising star, Bobby Jindal?
You can bet that RNC want to avoid the circus generated by the cast of characters in line to represent the party in the 2012 presidential campaign. Parading out the likes of Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich presented Americans with a group so bad and embarrassingly comical, that the RNC was forced to support Mitt Romney, a man at least some of them claimed that no one in the party really liked.
Who can forget headlines such as: "Crazy Rick Santorum Quotes" and "Dumbest Michele Bachmann Quotes". Sadly, the quotes were authentic and not remotely akin to a Fox News lead in such as "What if Rick Santorum said..."
But Marco Rubio shares some of the same foibles and comical mis-steps as the 2012 group of presidential pretenders. Surely the party remembers the jokes about "Senator Big Gulp" after Mr Rubio's comical performance representing the Republican Party's response to the State Of The Union Address by President Barack Obama.
Surely, the Republican party wants to avoid headlines like the one Mr Rubio spawned in May 2013: "Marco Rubio Humiliates Himself By Demanding That The Non-existent IRS Commissioner Resign." Surely the party remembers the RNC speech where Senator Rubio "dreamed about the day when there would be more government over more freedom" when he meant to say he dreamed about the day when there would more freedom over more government.
So what strategy could the Republican Party employ with Marco Rubio if they don't want him on the 2016 ticket? What if one strategy is to make him the front man on immigration reform? It is not a win-win situation for any conservative presidential candidate. He likely will irritate or disappoint either Hispanics and/or the right wing base.
Currently, the GOP promotes Marco Rubio even he though he is less popular with Hispanics than is Jeb Bush. And given that the Republican primaries are heavily influenced by conservative activists who are opposed to revising immigration laws, Mr Rubio assumes a big risk. And, likely, he will make enough mistakes before the primaries to become a risk for the party which he may or may not be able to overcome.
Will Hispanics Americans trust Republicans, even a Hispanic one? What if the Republican Party isn't ready for a Hispanic president? Recent comments and actions by Republicans such Representative Steve King (Republican, Iowa), Pat McCrory (Republican Governor, North Carolina), and Representative Don Young (Republican, Arkansas-he who unapologetically referred to his parents "Latino "farm workers as "wetbacks") suggest the party is not ready for a Latino president.
Will Senator Rubio survive the fray? Or will he give the party enough mistakes, gaffes, and comedic mis-steps that will make him merely a passing thought? Only time will tell.