Recently, Politico magazine did a profile story on Marco Rubio. Immediately after, friends asked me to weight in and give my opinion of the article and Rubio himself. What I thought was going to be a a simple response turned into something much more lengthily and insightful.

I think it turned out pretty well, so I’m sharing:

I applaud the Politico article for writing the truth about Rubio’s Cuban roots. He has very little if any. Many still believe that his parents were forced to leave Cuba after Castro came to power. He was finally exposed as liar. His family immigrated for economic reasons 3 years before the revolution (1956). They were economic migrants under the US-back dictator, but that doesn’t resonate well in Miami so he took the liberty to embellish!

Interestingly enough, his family returned to Cuba several times AFTER the Revolution. This is part of the narrative which is rarely discussed in historic circles. Cubans were fleeing to and from Cuban depending which dictator was in power. Of course, all the dictators were financed and supported by the U.S. but that’s another story. Cubans who supported Batista flooded the island once he took power and those against Batista fled to the U.S.. When Castro came in, the same exchange occurred in the reverse.

Fun fact: there was a much larger influx of Cubans going into rather than out of Cuba once Castro took power. That also changed to the reverse a few short years later.

I’m afraid Rubio’s “humble beginnings” which are spouted all over the internet is also a big fat lie. Cubans are the only nationality in this country with unfettered access to U.S. government benefits. It’s especially hypocritical for the Republican Rubio to blast Government welfare when his family benefited so much from it. As the article correctly pointed out, never in the history of this planet has an immigrant group achieve so much privilege.

I was also happy to see the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act mentioned in the article. This act which is still in place to this very day assumes all Cubans to be refugees without having to prove persecution or even have ever lived in Cuba! No background checks or visas required.

Cubans are also immediately eligible for welfare, food stamps, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), cash assistance for impoverished seniors and disabled younger people. Till this day, many who arrive to Miami are granted temporary free housing and job assistance. How do I know this? Because every Cuban knows this!

Basically, Cubans are eligible for all welfare on the same basis as U.S. citizens without ever having worked a day in this country. Three months after touching US soil, Cubans automatically obtain work visas. After a year and a day, they obtain permanent residency. And exactly four years later, they become US citizens! Take a wild guess as how the Rubios gained citizenship in this country.

To be fair, the similar laws were passed for Haitian immigrants in the early 80’s, but they weren’t white and rich enough like their fellow Cubans to make anything out of it. The Cubans made sure of that through gerrymandering and other racist policies which Rubio actively endorsed and supported. Ask any white Cuban in Miami what they think of African Americans and you’ll get a very ugly picture.

Now ask Rubio about his immigration policies. What do you think his stance is on illegal immigrants? Do you think the privileges of his people should be applied to other migrant groups who suffer from conditions much worse than Cuba?

Rubio’s response on immigration is a big, fat middle finder with the word “NO” tattooed on it. He opposes any passage to citizenship for illegal migrants. The best he can offer is 10 years of purgatory with a prize of quasi-permanent resident status at the end. He’s also completely against the DREAM act and even opposes counting illegal immigrants on the National Census.

His stance is very revealing of his “humble beginnings”. He doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase. Growing up Cuban in Miami is growing up privileged. It’s not White-American in the south, but it’s comparable.

His position is pure hypocrisy: Welfare for me and my people, not for you!

The welfare system and sense of entitlement is so outlandish that for years Cubans have been using this welfare money to vacation and live in the country they were supposedly fleeing from in the first place. This is a scandal of outrageous proportions. Here you have a Federal law which affords Cubans benefits of the highest order due to their “oppressive” homeland and one of the first things they do is fly right back to Cuba to vacation with this money!!!

The Sun Sentinel (Rubio’s “supposed” arch media enemy) did an expose on the many facets surrounding this scandal. You can read all about it here: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/us-cuba-welfare-benefits/

As the article also correctly pointed out, all the Latin Americans in Miami known this very well and the resentment is very real. Like I said before, “welfare for me, no you” is the Republican motto.

Rubio’s work under Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart also explains his support for terrorism. These are people who have spent their careers supporting criminals both at home and abroad. Please read up on the actions of Luis Posada Carriles and his buddies during the last 50 years. I wrote something short and to the point with references a few years ago: https://elpidio.org/2010/03/31/luis-posada-carriles-redefining-terrorism/

While we’re discussion Rubio’s politics, I’d like to also bring up some interesting gems:

1. He considers the Supreme Court decision on marriage equality a “serious mistake”.
2. Under no circumstances is abortion acceptable.
3. Opposes contraception coverage and any funding to organizations like Planned Parenthood.
4. Opposes expanding gun purchase background checks.
5. Denies climate change.
6. Opposes the Affordable Care Act.
7. Opposes negotiation with Iran, Cuba, Russian, Syria and any other form of foreign policy sense.

To sum up, Rubio is sufficiently corrupt, racist, hypocritical and self-interested that, in my opinion, a potential Rubio presidency actually endangers the lives of the people in this country and around the world. Then again, most of the Republicans currently running for President pose the same dangers which speaks volumes about the democracy in this country.

There’s plenty more to say on this con-man, but I think I’ll leave it here. Please pass this information to your friends and anyone who is curious to learn more about Rubio.

Notes:

1. Prodigal Son: Marco Rubio’s Complicated Cuban Legacy: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/marco-rubio-profile-213275?o=0
2. Sun Sentinel Investigates: Easy Money – The Cuban Welfare System: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/us-cuba-welfare-benefits/
3. Luis Posada Carriles: Redefining Terrorism
4. Marco Rubio – Hillary Clinton’s worst nightmare? http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34546317