St. Louis Post-Dispatch Endorses Marco Rubio For President
"Republican voters in Missouri and Illinois have an opportunity on March 15 to turn around the GOP ship before it’s too late to stop front-runner Donald Trump. Rubio is the best option..."
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board
Editorial: Marco Rubio can help heal and unify the Republican Party
By St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
March 5, 2016
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/editorial-marco-rubio-can-help-heal-and-unify-the-republican/article_2fb567bb-ecb4-5ebf-a152-5806e7e7f283.html
For the GOP to be a political party of today, and not of a past where the poor, middle-class and people of color were safely marginalized, it must unite behind Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
Republican voters in Missouri and Illinois have an opportunity on March 15 to turn around the GOP ship before it’s too late to stop front-runner Donald Trump. Rubio is the best option to halt the party’s takeover by an extremist fringe.
The 44-year-old junior senator is the only remaining candidate for the Republican nomination for president who has maintained an inclusive campaign theme aimed at energizing his party around helping the poor and middle class.
Rubio is a traditional conservative. He tells crowds he does not want “big government to be used as a tool of crony capitalism.” Of course, he also trumpets the predictable themes of opposition to same-sex marriage, Obamacare and raising the minimum wage. He adamantly opposes restoring relations with Cuba, the country his parents are from, even though many Republican leaders now say it’s time for a new approach.
Spanish-language media sometimes describe this son of a bartender and a maid as a joven viejo — young fogey. His personal story is compelling. He is a genuine candidate with something to offer Republican voters turned off by Trump’s blowhard, strongman appeal to the party’s fringe.
Rubio does not prey on voters’ anger, pessimism or fear. He deserves credit and support for championing workers, families and small businesses. Although he occasionally waffles, Rubio favors a fix for the nation’s broken immigration system.
He reasonable says the GOP can work with blue-collar unions on many issues, provided employers aren’t driven out of business in the process.
Rubio calls himself a child of the “Reagan Revolution,” and that mantle, along with his message of limited government and cutting the nation’s nearly $19 trillion debt, has helped him win the backing of conservative, establishment Republicans.
It’s not too late for Republicans to reverse Trump’s Super Tuesday momentum and opt for a Republican leader with vision and ideas that embrace more members of their party, rather than fewer.
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