 |
| Marco Rubio speaking at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal. |
Only about a week after giving the GOP State of the Union
Response, Republican Senator of Florida Marco Rubio left for Jordan and Israel
to talk to each of the nation’s leaders regarding foreign policy and their
nation’s relations with the United States. Yet, after Rubio’s “Watergate moment” during his rebuttal,
many have not only wondered if Marco Rubio is prepared to make it into big
league politics, but have also tried to figure out who he really is.
After having been the youngest and
first Hispanic politician to become the speaker of the Florida House, Rubio was
elected as a Republican Senator for Florida in 2010. Since being elected, Rubio has been a part of both the
Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Despite having just been elected as a
Senator, Rubio has gradually gained fame in both the Republican establishment
and the Tea Party due in part to his Cuban heritage and his introduction of
Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney in 2012 at the Republican
National Convention. With the
tabloids calling Rubio the “Savior” and “New Face” of the Republican Party,
Rubio has often been hinted at as one of the possible Republican nominees for
the Presidential Election in 2016.
Although Rubio faces much pressure
from his Republican counterparts, he states that he has traveled to the Middle
East for purposes relating to his Senate Committees. Rubio first plans on meeting King Abdullah II of Jordan to
discuss the Syrian crisis and its effects on Jordanian society. He will then travel to Israel to meet
both Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to discuss the peace process between Palestine and Egypt, the
Israel-Egypt treaty, and Iran’s threat of nuclear weapons. While hoping to highlight the United
States’ partnership with Israel, Rubio also wants to improve the United States’
relationship with Jordan, who he calls one the United States’ “most loyal
allies in the region in trade, cultural exchanges, and … combating terrorism.”
Thus, could Rubio’s meetings in
Jordan and Israel have a large effect on each nation’s relations with the
United States? Does Rubio have what it takes to reunite the divided Republican
Party? While many have already seen Rubio’s good sense of humor, displayed
after the Republican rebuttal through his reactionary Twitter posts, Americans
now wonder what Rubio has in store for years to come.
Wow! I didn't hear about this guy. It's good that someone from an often-ignored minority is gaining a lot of power, even though I'm personally a democrat and his rise to power is happening in the republican party. You seem to have a few things to say about his sense of humor though, I'm kind of curious what you mean.
ReplyDelete