Marco "Me" Rubio

S. V. Date writes a superb op-ed on Marco Rubio's failure as Florida House Speaker. The short answer is that it has always been about Rubio. Floridians are a secondary issue.

At a Sarasota luncheon appearance during the property-tax special session, Rep. Rubio recounted a nightmare. He was vacationing in Colorado some time in the future, and ran across a guy who'd moved out of Florida because it had become too expensive. Rep. Rubio asked when he'd left, and the guy responded: About the time you were speaker.

The story was revealing not because it's inconceivable that anyone would want to leave Florida. People are doing that every day. The real insight Rep. Rubio offered was into his own self-image: the idea that a Florida transplant would have any idea who the state House speaker had been years earlier.

It was only the latest manifestation of Rep. Rubio's bout with Senate President's Disease, so named because it typically hits presiding officers of that chamber. They start believing the lobbyists and other courtiers in the nine square blocks surrounding the Capitol who tell them what a wonderful governor or U.S. senator they would make one day.

In this term, it has hit neither the titular president, Ken Pruitt, nor his shadow co-president, Sen. Webster. But it became apparent as early as last year that it had stricken Rep. Rubio, who already had used the Republican Party imprimatur to finance his "100 Ideas" machine that featured, of course, himself.

Rubio told the Sarasota’s Tiger Bay of his nightmare. Which (naturally) involved him.

Rubio, the Florida Speaker of the House, says in the dream, he’s in Colorado or a similar type place. He bumps into a person who used to live in Florida and they get to talking.

“Why’d you leave,” Rubio said recounting the dream to about 300 people at Sarasota’s Tiger Bay meeting.

Rubio said the guy tells him things just got too expensive. Couldn’t afford it anymore.

Then Rubio said he asks that guy when he left.

“Right around the same time you were speaker,” Rubio said.

Rubio is screwing up Florida by using the Florida legislature to position his future political ambitions. Bill Frist as Senate Majority leader is an apt comparison. Frist grinded the Senate to a halt and catered the the conservate base. This was all for a potential presidential bid. Frist became unpopular and realized he would not be a credible presidential candidate.

Rubio is veering Right after Florida voters made a moderate Governor. He is more like to become the next Johnnie Bryd than Jeb Bush.