As the LGBT community goes to vote in the Florida primary on March 15, both gay Republicans and Democrats will get to select the candidate to represent their party.
But when it comes to the Republican primary there is only one choice and that’s Marco Rubio.
Republicans may represent the minority of LGBT voters in South Florida, but you certainly deserve a respectable voice in the general election. Marco Rubio is best suited to be that voice.
After a knockdown, dragged out fight, only a few Republicans are still standing against Donald Trump. It has been a winnowing process that began with 17 candidates. Marco Rubio has shown the wit and wisdom, the guts and gumption, to be his party’s best standard-bearer.
Trump has a whole bunch of delegates after last night’s Super Tuesday contests. But an election is a marathon, not a sprint, and Marco Rubio has the tenacity and toughness to push on and unite his party. The future of democracy and his party is at stake. He should and he must.
Make no mistake about it. Donald Trump has not just brought this primary into the gutter; he has disgraced the Republican Party. He has demeaned the legacy of Reagan, the memory of Eisenhower, the party of Abraham Lincoln.
Trump has poisoned the political process this year, demeaned and disgraced the presidential race, reduced American electoral politics to a cesspool.
“Some people see things as they are, and ask why,” Robert F. Kennedy once said, quoting George Bernard Shaw, “but I see things as they can be, and ask, ‘Why not?’
Politics should be inspirational and motivational. We should be asking not how to make America white again, but how to make America wider, open to all, and excluded to none.
Our national motto, from the days of our founders, was ‘E Pluribus Unum,’ or, ‘Out of Many, One.’ America is a melting pot, a nation of immigrants dreaming of how today we can make things better tomorrow.
Marco Rubio set upon his campaign with many views that are inconsistent with LGBT aspirations. He has spoken out against same sex marriage, and judicial decisions authenticating them. But he called not for hate and insurrection, only a promise to advance his beliefs judicially and justly, in courts of law and legislative forums.
With Rubio as the nominee of the Republican Party, America will get to debate conservatism vs. liberalism, a move forward towards diversity or a retreat back to nationalism. His positions may not agree with ours, but we will debate issues intelligently, advance ideas respectfully, and enhance the political process exponentially.
With Marco Rubio as the Republican candidate, America will debate whether Democrats or Republicans serve our nation’s best interests. We won’t be inciting bigotry or standing silent against white supremacists. We won’t be mocking soldiers who were taken prisoner or joking about foam parties at the Warsaw.
Donald Trump has become more than a huckster with bad hair. He has inspired hate and fear, and become all that Neo-Fascists are. He has placed the safety of Americans at risk all over the world, threatening torture and unconstitutional uses of force. He has attacked peoples and populations, and mocked the disabled.
Anyone who stands up to him, from jurists to journalists, has been called names and now he is threatening the press. The candidacy of the neo-Fascist with a spray tan and puffed up face will only further sour a campaign season he has already toxified with bile and venom.
Rubio is now the target of Trump, but of course not on ideas or issues. In one day, Trump demeaned Rubio on personal looks, hygiene, and height. Still, Rubio has taught the Trumpster a lesson – two can play the same game.
Trump is discombobulating on stage, stupidly trying to justify the fraud that was Trump University and the failures of his four business bankruptcies. It has become increasingly obvious that Trump can’t stand the heat. He can’t take what he gives out. Bullies are always that way.
Let’s help take him down.
Still, while you have seen five minutes of Rubio standing up to Trump on the airwaves lately, you have not seen his 40 minutes of policy making speeches. He does not salute Putin or make fun of Mexicans. He talks of a thoughtful immigration plan and strengthening America’s position in Eastern Europe.
Rubio stands with Israel against terror, and he stands with the military being bolstered to prevent America from becoming a victim of it.
Rubio actually has a tax plan that analysts can review. He will probably gain a lot of support for his call that we have “20,000 new border agents instead of 20,000 new IRS agents.”
The point here is not to endorse Rubio’s position on any of these issues. The point here is that his candidacy allows America to thoughtfully debate issues and ideas, from Cuba to the constitution, from Supreme Court justices to social security and better ways to take care of our seniors.
Accordingly, with so much at stake, the South Florida Gay News has to take a position. And our position is anybody but Trump must win.
Next week, we will express our preference in the Democratic Presidential primary. But right now, Republicans have to choose between a candidate or a Klandidate; a respected U.S. Senator or a disgusting businessman who lies unconscionably every day.
The interest of the U.S. will best be served if Marco Rubio represented the Republican Party in this year’s presidential election.
If you are a Log Cabin Republican, if you are a member of the South Florida gay community, or just a plain ordinary good old god fearing Republican, get out there on Tuesday, March 15, and vote for Marco Rubio.
