Belittle Rubio

Yesterday I warned and predicted that the immediate task for Trump was not the destruction of Cruz but the destruction of Rubio.   There is plenty of time for Trump to contrast himself as the responsible bully to contrast with the very conservative Cruz.   For now he has to make Rubio unavailable as a way for the GOP to re-unify the party that the Tea Party and Trump have broken into pieces.

Here it goes.   Politics isn't beanbag.  It is nasty.

"Never hire a boy to do a man's job."

New Trump Ad

Opponents of Rubio are taking him on, from different but related directions.   All are playing off the theme that Rubio is not ready, as proven by his shifting positions on things.   (Note that the theme of not being ready did not work against Obama in 2008 nor against Justin Trudeau running for Prime Minister in Canada a couple of months ago.)

Trump's line of attack is to belittle Rubio, in a particularly personal and nasty way.   Trump has noted that Rubio "sweats a lot".  Trump has noted that Rubio had trouble with his checkbook and with controlling his own spending--a young man's problem.  Rubio's log cabin story can be read as a heroic journey, up from near nothing.  It can also be read--by Trump--as a callow young man who would be eaten up by the problems facing a president.

Youth and inexperience, Trump says, makes Rubio a puppet of his handlers.   Plus, as the young, sweating, child he would be unable to face up against Putin or other serious challengers.

Bush's Super PAC has had ads up for a while, focusing on Rubio's changing positions, showing a weather vane.   And now a brand new one, mocking his high heeled boots, which dance around flip flopping on issues.  The dancing shoes in the ad make the overt point that Rubio dances around hard issues, then the more insidious point, in the light skipping steps, that the guy in the shoes is fibbing about his height and is a lightweight.

Jeb Bush Ad

Christie calls him a boy, repeatedly, using that word, "boy".   The repeated theme I heard multiple times in person and in debates is that Governors need to govern while legislators get to talk and talk.  Governors are serious grownups.   Unlike Rubio.   The brand new theme this week is that Rubio has some some very well crafted paragraphs in his set speech and that he inserts them as apparent answers to questions.    Rubio is "constantly scripted and controlled because he can't answer your questions. . . . Maybe he’ll do more than 40 minutes on a little stage telling everybody his canned speech that he’s memorized.  This isn’t a student council election, everybody. This is an election for president of the United States. Let’s get the boy in the bubble out of the bubble."

Readers of my blog will note that I have said this multiple times.  Rubio is astonishingly well spoken and eloquent (as is Carly) in part because Rubio is scripted.   So is Christie, but Christie's scripts are harder to notice because Christie exudes sincerity while Rubio exudes eloquence.   Eloquence, being eloquent, reveals its craft.  Sincerity hides its craft--until one hears the same story the third time, which I have with Christie.

Kasich's Super PAC has an ad up and Kasich says he is outraged.   Kasich's brand is to be the balanced, reasonable one, the one who tells fellow Republicans to get along.   Katich is helped by anti-Rubio ads, but not if it comes from him.   Can't we all get along???

Katich:  "I'll tell you, why don't we finish the last week with people saying what they're for rather than beating each other up?"

Kasich, from Ohio, brings governmental experience to every other candidate.  He is running for president, sure.  But he would be a good Vice President running mate, being popular in Ohio, having some 16 years in the House of Representatives and 6 years as a governor of Ohio.  He is from Ohio.  Did I mention that he is from a swing state, one essential for a Republican, Ohio?   

Best for Kasich to be nice.   It is both a brand and a way not to burn bridges, in case he needs to settle for VP.