As we well know, Sen. Marco Rubio has had his share of bad Florida publicity of late. As we also well know, it was well-deserved.
For the record, Rubio’s against those extra charter flights between the U.S., including Tampa, and Cuba. To Rubio, it’s all about abetting “a dictator”–not aiding local Cuban-Americans who want to visit their home island or helping the regional economy or just doing the right thing–he says in his exile-playbook talking points. And then that flap over his calculated misuse of family chronology. And, of course, he has that matter of not wanting to sound like a Tea Party wing nut on immigration. As a result, the past three weeks Rubio has been pursuing an obvious, familiar strategy right out of Political Spin 101.
* First, he conceded he made an ostensibly honest mistake on pre- or post-Castro timing. But Cuban-Americans don’t transpose dates around the revolution. That’s beyond self-serving disingenuousness. That’s an obvious lie.
* He then reframed the issue to put the focus elsewhere by emotionally referencing Communism and Castro and railing against his political enemies and their liberal media-lackey co-conspirators. It’s classic turn-the-rhetorical tables. Herman Cain can identify.
* Now it’s change the subject–and align yourself with something unassailable. Last Friday on the Senate floor he focused on human trafficking, a legitimate international concern. He wants to help Sen. Bill Nelson, who he doesn’t often help, update the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act that Nelson has co-sponsored. It’s serious and safe. There is no pro-slavery lobby.