Remember Marco Rubio?
For a rising Republican star, he has kept quiet since arriving in Washington — until this week.
After writing an op-ed for Wednesday’s issue of the Wall Street Journal, he’s come out with guns blazing on raising the national debt ceiling. Rubio says his vote is contingent on the government’s efforts to tackle larger issues, such as long-term debt and the reformation of Medicare and Social Security. Considering the nation may hit the ceiling within the next month, his demands seem unreasonable. But, of course, that’s why his base backed him. He may have GOP support, but Rubio is no moderate out to play nice.
We respect the will to stand for what he believes, but we would like to know what he would change that wouldn’t lose him his job. Changing Medicare is likely to spell political suicide for the Florida senator. He may even tick off seniors in the short term: If the debt tops out without rising the ceiling, Social Security and Medicare checks could be coming in the mail later than planned. We also question Rubio’s priorities.
As of now, we could use a temporary solution as we cope with the larger and underlying issues at hand one at a time. Rubio’s biting off more than he can chew, but we’ll give him some credit for trying to make Congress address entitlement funds, a topic that it’s been dodging for years. All in due time.
