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Rubio: “I’m not running to beat up on other Republicans” but to unify the party

Feb 3, 2016

By Dave Andrusko

Sen. Marco Rubio

Sen. Marco Rubio

We all know, to quote the immortal “Mr. Dooley” that “politics ain’t bean-bag.” It is, especially at the presidential level, a full-contact sport. And, unlike, say, professional football, there is no penalty for spearing when someone impales a rival.

We also understand that following the Iowa caucuses candidates are bowing out of the contest even before next Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. First to go was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, on the Republican side, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on the Democratic side.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul bowed out earlier today. CNN is reporting that former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum will drop out tonight.

Others will likely exit after New Hampshire. Still other Republicans will stay in hoping for a spark coming out of, say, South Carolina on February 20. An awful lot is at stake over the next 2 ½ weeks.

But, having said all that…

National Right to Life PAC has endorsed no one in the Republican primary. Every major Republican presidential candidate has taken a pro-life position. So the following should be taken at face value and nothing more.

We believe that the sentiment of pro-life Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is good advice for all of the GOP candidates. He told CNN that he is not running to beat up on his rivals.

The specifics of what prompted that response are not needed. Suffice it to say, having finished only a point out of third in the Iowa caucuses, Rubio is gaining more media attention and more barbed criticism from at least three of his competitors.

Appearing on CNN, Rubio said of two of his rivals that they “have had a tough couple days,” adding, “And obviously sometimes people don’t react well to adversity, and so they’re saying some things they’ll probably later on regret.”

“But that’s not going to change my campaign,” Rubio continued. “I’m not running to beat up on other Republicans. If there are policy differences, we’ll discuss those. But ultimately, I’m running to unify this party and ensure that our next president is nothing like the one we have now.”

Amen to that.

Categories: Politics