To understand the context of this article, please click here for the report on former Governor Jeb Bush: http://sites.wis.edu/dateline/?p=361
Also from Florida, Marco Rubio is the state’s Catholic senator in DC. The child of Cuban immigrants who came to the US in 1956, Rubio is younger and a much stronger conservative than Bush.
Senator Rubio is a staunch pro-lifer, voting for myriad policies which would make it more difficult to get an abortion and supports the right of companies and organizations to not include contraception in their healthcare plans.
On the issue of gay marriage, Rubio said he is an advocate of traditional marriage but would not oppose states implementing gay marriage, while criticizing initiatives in federal government to do so nationally. When asked if he would attend a gay wedding, he said, “If there’s somebody that I love that’s in my life, I don’t necessarily have to agree with their decisions or the decisions they’ve made to continue to love them and participate in important events.” and said that he would ‘probably’ attend, in support of those individuals.
On economic issues, Rubio is in favor of making it a constitutional requirement for congress to approve balanced budgets and believes federal government is too big. He also is a fervent opponent of corporate taxation, saying “we should lower our corporate tax rate; it’s the highest in the world.” Rubio also believes in eliminating taxation on capital gains (any investment, from stock market gains to what you make from selling your home), inheritance taxes (taxes on money passed from one generation to the next in wills) and dividends (what companies give to shareholders as a percentage of total earnings). Rubio, who grew up in Las Vegas does not support gambling and pushed for greater benefits to small companies.
On the subject of criminal justice, Marco Rubio is a hardliner who supports greater penalties across the board and approves of life sentences for sex offenders and the death penalty, like Jeb Bush.
Education is another place where Rubio sees (mostly) eye-to-eye with the former governor, he was a strong supporter of the governor’s “A+ Plan” but is a serious doubter and opponent of Common Core Standards.
On the subject of the environment, Marco Rubio believes that it is an individuals right to waste less but regulation should not be a federal matter. He does however believe in providing incentives for wasting less, having suggested that HOV lanes include drivers with hybrid cars.
Rubio is a firm opponent of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, particularly in his dealings with Cuba and Iran, stating that “Cuba must improve on human rights for engagement to continue” and on the subject of the Iran deal (as negotiations were occurring, in 2012) that “We should also be preparing our allies, and the world, for the reality that unfortunately, if all else fails, preventing a nuclear Iran may, tragically, require a military solution.” Rubio also signed the Senate Republicans’ open letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, saying that any deal made by Obama would not be validated by the United States Congress. To put it basically, Rubio is a strong interventionist favorable to war with ISIS, supporting Jordan against ISIS and keeping war with Iran on the table.
Henri-Nicolas Grossman
