Worshipping False Idols

Conservative blogger Javier Manjarres has a fascinating post on the tension that has grown between Sen. Marco Rubio and the tea party base that supported him in the 2010 election.

This continued throughout the first half of 2011, as Rubio completely discounted the notion that he could possibly have a problem with those early supporters who truly believed in his candidacy and in him as person. According to some of these supporters, Rubio refused to return phone calls, texts, emails, and delegated the responsibility of communicating with these supporters to his staffers.

Unfortunately, Rubio change of posture towards his early supporters turned out to be a consistent one and not a temporary lapse of loyalty on his part. Rubio himself has personally been approached by certain key supporters who have expressed their concerns about what’s happened with him as well as whom he has surrounded himself with.

Rubio was also advised to reach out to some of the staffers and supporters who devoted themselves to his campaign and had felt betrayed by his “self-serving,” and dismissive nature. But in keeping with his non-confrontational demeanor and ‘Hear no Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil’ approach to dealing with people, Rubio did not reach out to those individuals after vowing to do so. Senator Rubio lost a certain degree of respect with a few for failing to ”do the right thing,” for not acting when he needed to.

Manjarres was an early supporter of Rubio's Senate campaign. I wonder how much of his feelings are expressed in this post. I imagine that Manjarres will catch some grief were writing this post. In Manjarres' defense, he notes that Rubio doesn't have time to touch base with every supporter. Rubio is a senator and has young children. It isn't fair for some supporters to think that Rubio can drop everything just to touch base with them.

I never had the sense that Rubio was comfortable with the tea partiers. Rubio dismissed the Senate Tea Party Caucus as a "little club." Rubio needed the tea party to force the establishment Charlie Crist out of the GOP primary. The tea party movement is fading. Rubio doesn't need them anymore. That is the way politics works.

Peter Schorsch is harsh on Manjarres.

I have avoided idol worship of elected officials. It enables me to be more objective. My interest is policy. If President Obama or another Democrat supports horribles policies than I am going to say so. Cheerleading makes peopl;e less informed. I doubt conservatives would worship Andrew Brietbart if they actually examined how sleazy he was.