Trying to Revive His Prospects, Rubio Pushes Strength Abroad

[Jefferson23]

OXON HILL, Md. — Alarmed by the rise of noninterventionist voices in his party, Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, is aiming to revive his political prospects in an unlikely way: trying to become the leading voice for a muscular brand of foreign policy.

The road to presidential success in Iowa and New Hampshire may not run through the Crimean Peninsula or the streets of Caracas, but in recent weeks Mr. Rubio has used Russia’s incursion into Ukraine and the violent clashes in Venezuela to remind Republicans of their orthodoxy — projecting strength abroad — and of why he was such a favorite in the party before seeing his popularity slip over his backing of an immigration overhaul.

The party has been pulled by competing forces before — such as when Pat Buchanan’s more isolationist leanings contrasted with the internationalist views of the first President George Bush in 1992 — but the ascent of the Tea Party and its skepticism about foreign entanglements is now framing an even larger internal debate.


Addressing a gathering of conservatives here on Thursday, Mr. Rubio, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, sought to link the right’s resolute belief in American exceptionalism with a call for the United States to play a more robust role in confronting bad actors on the world stage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/us/politics/trying-to-revive-his-prospects-rubio-pushes-strength-abroad.html?hp

[BeyondGeography]

1. There's a reason that door is open, Marco

Nobody wants to go there anymore.

[Jefferson23]

2. It will be interesting to see how he manages himself against Rand Paul, who does not

represent the old guard in the GOP.

[BeyondGeography]

3. It's a big division in their party

"Muscular," oh, how they love that word. But then there's the libertarian FP crowd that has grown significantly post-Iraq. No home runs for anyone on this patch of turf.

[Jefferson23]

4. Agreed, and I hope they continue to tear each other apart over it. n/t