Today on Context Florida:
In the political hothouse that is Florida, Jack Stevenson says the number of people who actually believe that Marco Rubio would be a better president of the United States than Jeb Bush would fit into, well, Freedom Hall in Miami. Nevertheless, the political cognoscenti who fear Marco’s presidential candidacy is just the opening gambit in a run for governor in 2018, a race he might actually be able to win, would fill a much larger venue.
Little more than midway through his first term as Florida’s junior U.S. senator, Marco Rubio wants to move on up to the Oval Office. Daniel Tilson notes that in his announcement, his second short sentence (after “Thank you”) used “I” three times. Turns out at 43 years old – with a weak-kneed congressional presence, meager legislative accomplishments and a penchant for veering as far right as political calculations deem necessary – Rubio thinks he is well suited to be our next president.
Brian Crowley asks if Jeb Bush should stay in – or step aside for Marco Rubio. Bush is 62. Most of his campaign has been a rehash of the same ideas he was talking about in 1994. So far, the Bush of that era seems to be missing in this campaign. In 1994, there was energy. In 2015, there is a sense of entitlement.
With four children at home, Calvin Fondeur knows a thing or two about how to have fun. The Alliance for a Just Society recently released a report, called “Rigged to Fail,” that examines state policies in Florida and how they are failing to support working families like his. Without strong policies and supportive legislation, Florida is failing workers.
