Last week, Marco Rubio, Florida’s junior senator, took a cheap shot and gave the world a glimpse into his character.
On the phone with KXnO, a Des Moines sports radio station, he quipped, "Look, I don’t have anything against Florida State. I think there has to be a school where people that can’t get into Florida can go to college, and so that’s why we have Florida State."
Obviously, it was beyond foolish as a campaign move to alienate thousands of alumni, students and fans of a major nationally recognized research university. I took offense because I was accepted into both Florida State University and UF for my undergraduate and was very impressed by the stellar professors and excellent education that FSU offers.
But Rubio’s words shine light on a phrase that is beyond being simply mistaken: He’s demagogic and arrogant. A politician’s politician, he knew it wasn’t about what he said, but who was listening.
That is to say Mr. Rubio is a panderer-inauthentic at best, and a liar at worst.
During his campaign for senator, in an attempt to bolster votes from the Latino community and conservative voters, Rubio maintained (and even published on his campaign website) that he "was born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover."
Reporters later discovered that his parents left in 1956, when Fidel was in exile two and a half years before the Cuban Revolution.
Rubio even admitted later that his parents were able to return to Cuba after the revolution but ultimately settled in Miami.
It speaks to Rubio’s inconsistency that he reserves his criticism for the government of Fidel Castro but doesn’t view Fulgencio Batista’s U.S.-supported dictatorship, the likes of which his parents escaped, as a threat to human rights.
Forget Rubio’s loyalty to the state of Florida; he’s not even loyal to the Republican Party. As reported by the Tampa Bay Times, Rubio, as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, used the party credit card, designated for campaign use, to purchase thousands of dollars worth of personal items. What does it say about Rubio that he steals from his own people?
Now, why is it important that we take note of these things, especially as Rubio is far from the only politician who behaves this way?
As college students at one of Florida’s many excellent centers of higher education, we are a crucial part of the future for our state and country.
Rubio — and other politicians alike — seek to incite their constituency and are indifferent to the truth. These individuals pose a distinct threat to our country and by extension to us, the residents of the U.S.
The Rubios of the world only advance because people buy into their delusions of grandeur and extreme self-love, voting for them and allowing them to accumulate more power. We, as a generation of Floridians, can stop him.
The Gators should not derive any pride or school spirit from some sense of inherent superiority over FSU or any other university in Florida. Rather, each student should be proud because of his or her accomplishments and the small role he or she plays in ensuring a better future for Florida, the U.S. and the world.
Furthermore, we should not take pride in alumni like Rubio who try to gain support while sowing seeds of division in Florida. What pride should UF have in educating Marco Rubio? Is he a positive extension of the Gator Nation?
Reflecting on Rubio’s character and career provides a sense of amusement that he finds himself qualified to lead the U.S. However, it should also give pause — As demagogues like Rubio rise to the top, their lies and deception are seldom a hindrance to their success.
For these reasons, all Floridians should take note of the sardonic attitude and offensive actions of Rubio and his ilk, as he will only continue to advance in government if he is not apprehended by an electoral upset.
Jordan MacKenzie is a second-year UF linguistics master’s student. His column appears on Wednesdays.
