Rubio and the Failed Revival of Bushism
I have maintained for a long time that a Rubio presidential bid made no sense, so it doesn’t surprise me that it hasn’t worked. As Chotiner says, he is too much of an ideologue, too out-of-touch with what rank-and-file Republicans actually care about, and too wedded to a discredited, bankrupt agenda. While he leans heavily on his parents’ humble origins in his stump speech, he is obviously the favorite of wealthy donors and party elites and has adopted the policies they prefer. This has made him almost uniquely unsuited to an election cycle in which most Republicans deeply distrust many of the very same people that desperately want Rubio as the nominee.
.. If voters wanted a break with past Republican failures, Rubio offered them nothing, and if they wanted someone with a record of accomplishment and competence in government he likewise had nothing for them. Sold as the candidate of the future, Rubio was determined to cling to the ideological detritus of the Bush era. Little wonder that most Republican voters haven’t been going for it.