Rubio rising?

[bobloblaw]

With Yeb and Walker imploding and Kaisch going no where. I think the GOPe will begin to coalesce around Rubio by Nov/Dec.

[/]

Ugh, Walker isn't even in the establishment so he shouldn't be relevant to the question.

But anyway, the results of one debate aren't really indicative of how the race is trending as a whole. For all we know, Bush and Kasich could be surging this time next month. Yes, Rubio is a possibility, but he's not the only one.

[Blue3]

Funny how Rubio wasn't even considered part of the establishment until the true outsiders... Trump, Carson, Fiorina... showed up.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Rubio's come off as the best establishment candidate two debates in a row, so yeah, his stock is definitely rising.

[/]

Funny how Rubio wasn't even considered part of the establishment until the true outsiders... Trump, Carson, Fiorina... showed up.

Fiorina? Maybe an outsider, but her positions aren't that anti-establishment.

[Bigby]

Funny how Rubio wasn't even considered part of the establishment until the true outsiders... Trump, Carson, Fiorina... showed up.

Wasn't Rubio a Tea Party favorite until it came out that he was too sane for them?

[TDAS04]

It's possible, if he can come off across as acceptable link between the establishment and the Tea Party, but I'm not sure.

[Angel of Death]

Whatever his campaign is doing to make him bubble under the spotlight for now, could very well turn out to be a stroke of genius in the end. I don't see how it shouldn't be obvious to everyone that Rubio is by far the closest to occupying a sweet spot for the Republicans.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

I've actually believed for a while that this nomination is going to come down to Rubio and Cruz, one best equipped to absorb the establishment support and the other likely to be the last Tea Party vanguard left.

[FLgirl]

Whatever his campaign is doing to make him bubble under the spotlight for now, could very well turn out to be a stroke of genius in the end. I don't see how it shouldn't be obvious to everyone that Rubio is by far the closest to occupying a sweet spot for the Republicans.

Rubio is running such an awesomely smart campaign. Quietly building support while staying out of the spotlight for the most part. Staying above the fray by not insulting opponents or wading into controversial issues just yet. Speaking out strongly on foreign policy issues, his strength. Performing impressively in debates.

It's all by design, this long game. A quiet, strong presence in a slow, steady rise. Weariness with Trump's antics will set in, the truth of the incompetence of the outsiders on top will come to light, and all the other candidates will continue faltering.

There, in the middle of it, will be Rubio, the bridge, the hope, the only answer, peaking at just the right time. Not "Aha!" but "Duh!" - he's been there all along.

[Mister Mets]

Funny how Rubio wasn't even considered part of the establishment until the true outsiders... Trump, Carson, Fiorina... showed up.

Rubio's been part of the establishment wing.

Fiorina's not a true outsider. She ran for Senate in 2010, and was the Vice-Chair of the Senate Campaign Committee in 2012.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Funny how Rubio wasn't even considered part of the establishment until the true outsiders... Trump, Carson, Fiorina... showed up.

Rubio's been part of the establishment wing.

Fiorina's not a true outsider. She ran for Senate in 2010, and was the Vice-Chair of the Senate Campaign Committee in 2012.

Rubio was the Tea Party challenger to Crist in 2010, but I think he's the only insurgent candidate who, like Toomey, has worked more in the mainstream right after winning the primary.

[Bull Moose Base]

Whatever his campaign is doing to make him bubble under the spotlight for now, could very well turn out to be a stroke of genius in the end. I don't see how it shouldn't be obvious to everyone that Rubio is by far the closest to occupying a sweet spot for the Republicans.

Rubio is running such an awesomely smart campaign. Quietly building support while staying out of the spotlight for the most part. Staying above the fray by not insulting opponents or wading into controversial issues just yet. Speaking out strongly on foreign policy issues, his strength. Performing impressively in debates.

It's all by design, this long game. A quiet, strong presence in a slow, steady rise. Weariness with Trump's antics will set in, the truth of the incompetence of the outsiders on top will come to light, and all the other candidates will continue faltering.

There, in the middle of it, will be Rubio, the bridge, the hope, the only answer, peaking at just the right time. Not "Aha!" but "Duh!" - he's been there all along.

In the 538 post-debate discussion, they also seemed to think Rubio was smart to fly under the radar. This does sort of fit with the winning strategies of the last few cycles including the one we're in- the flavors of the month of 2012, McCain's collapse and revival in 2008, Obama's steady rise in 2008, Kerry only really emerging after beating Dean in Iowa. But what I don't see mentioned a lot is that this was sort of the opposite of what used to be the norm for the GOP: Reagan, HW, Dole and W were all early frontrunners who dominated polling by this time in their cycle.

[bobloblaw]

Ugh, Walker isn't even in the establishment so he shouldn't be relevant to the question.

But anyway, the results of one debate aren't really indicative of how the race is trending as a whole. For all we know, Bush and Kasich could be surging this time next month. Yes, Rubio is a possibility, but he's not the only one.

Walker was one of the candidates who pundits thought could bridge the Tea Party and GOPe

[bobloblaw]

Funny how Rubio wasn't even considered part of the establishment until the true outsiders... Trump, Carson, Fiorina... showed up.

Wasn't Rubio a Tea Party favorite until it came out that he was too sane for them?

Like giving citizenship to law breakers. Something no other nation on earth does.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Funny how Rubio wasn't even considered part of the establishment until the true outsiders... Trump, Carson, Fiorina... showed up.

Rubio's been part of the establishment wing.

Fiorina's not a true outsider. She ran for Senate in 2010, and was the Vice-Chair of the Senate Campaign Committee in 2012.

Well cruz was a domestic advisor to Dubya himself, so..

Remember guys, establishment - outsider is no binary choice, but a sliding scale from two extremes. So a candidate like Walker that unnerved some establishment factions but delighted others plays two camps?

[Why]

Rubio was very strong most of the time during the debate.

Trump attacked him on his Senate voting record and I thought Rubio's answer was not overly convincing and perhaps his views on immigration might be a bit of weakness as well in the primaries.

It seems hard to believe he will not gain support, whether enough to win we will have to wait at see.

[Bull Moose Base]

Rubio was very strong most of the time during the debate.

Trump attacked him on his Senate voting record and I thought Rubio's answer was not overly convincing and perhaps his views on immigration might be a bit of weakness as well in the primaries.

Yeah, on of the funny things in the debate is that Trump attacked both Rubio and Fiorina on real weaknesses but despite it being Trump, it got too little attention, because it wasn't offensive or controversial.

[Blue3]

I think Rubio is positioning himself more for future elections than this one, but yes, he's probably their strongest candidate with a chance. And the most likely to be a future nominee or president of this pack.

[Figueira]

I think it is extremely possible for Rubio to be the nominee.

[FLgirl]

Funny how Rubio wasn't even considered part of the establishment until the true outsiders... Trump, Carson, Fiorina... showed up.

Rubio's been part of the establishment wing.

Fiorina's not a true outsider. She ran for Senate in 2010, and was the Vice-Chair of the Senate Campaign Committee in 2012.

Well cruz was a domestic advisor to Dubya himself, so..

Remember guys, establishment - outsider is no binary choice, but a sliding scale from two extremes. So a candidate like Walker that unnerved some establishment factions but delighted others plays two camps?

This is why the whole notion of "outsiders" being more noble than "establishment" is whacked. There's plenty of corruption and games being played in the the business world, too. And these business people have apparently all had their hands in political circles as well. There are no outsiders. And even if one is purely an outsider, it does not, by nature, make them automatically more virtuous.

You're only an outsider until you're not. It takes a snap of fingers to switch.

[Cory]

Rubio is running such an awesomely smart campaign. Quietly building support while staying out of the spotlight for the most part. Staying above the fray by not insulting opponents or wading into controversial issues just yet. Speaking out strongly on foreign policy issues, his strength. Performing impressively in debates.

It's all by design, this long game. A quiet, strong presence in a slow, steady rise. Weariness with Trump's antics will set in, the truth of the incompetence of the outsiders on top will come to light, and all the other candidates will continue faltering.

There, in the middle of it, will be Rubio, the bridge, the hope, the only answer, peaking at just the right time. Not "Aha!" but "Duh!" - he's been there all along.

This could be a perfect description of the Rubio long-game.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Rubio is using a good strategy, building up a primary campaign while hiding in the shadows and letting everyone else duke it out while remaining invisible so he can rise to the occasion when everyone else relevant falls.

[eric82oslo]

Rubio will be one of the last three contenders standing almost certainly. The question is though if he can beat Bush in the end, who has a much stronger war chest than him currently. I think he could, but I'd still consider Jeb the frontrunner for now, despite him not even being nearly as coherent as Rubio on foreign policy. I think there's at least a 70-75% chance that either Bush or Rubio will win the nomination in the end. Probably even higher.

[Horsemask]

I could see myself voting for Rubio if there's a point which my top choice drops out or if Rubio is the nominee. My only reservation is his short time in the Senate and no executive experience.