Feud Between Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio Boils Over
— -- It’s the fiery moment that was a long time coming. The enmity between GOP candidates Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush- a father-son drama even more fierce than if George Lucas wrote it himself- finally came to a head during the third GOP debate, as the two sparred over Rubio’s missed senate votes.
Rubio was asked by host Carl Quintanilla if he should resign from his job as Senate, following an editorial from Florida paper, the Sun Sentinel, calling on Rubio to “resign, not rip us off.”
“I read the editorial with great amusement, it’s actually evidence of the bias that exists in the American media today,” Rubio responded. He went on to cite other senators who missed votes during their campaign, such as John Kerry and Barack Obama.
Jeb Bush then interjected, naming himself as a constituent of the senator’s.
“He’s a gifted politician. But Marco, When you signed up for this, this is a six-year term. You should be showing up to term. Literally, the senate, what is it like a French work week? You get three days where you have to show up. You can campaign. Just resign and let somebody else take the job,” Bush said.
Members of Congress missing votes is an oft-cited concern of Bush’s out on the campaign trail. But this time Rubio, who has avoided criticizing Bush on the trail, was prepared with an answer.
“The only reason you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position," he said. "Someone convinced you attacking me is going to help you. Here’s the bottom line, my campaign is going to be about the future of America it’s not going to be about attacking anyone else on this stage.”
Rubio has missed 34 percent of his senate votes this year.
The relationship between the two is...complicated.
The two have long shared a mentor-protégée relationship, since they met in 1996. Bush donated to Rubio’s campaign when he ran for local office. After Rubio won his 2010 senate election, Bush said of Rubio, “I’m so proud of his high-voltage energy. I’m so proud of his enthusiasm. I’m so proud of his eloquence. And I’m so proud that he will be a part of a next generation of leaders that will restore America. Marco Rubio is the right man at the right time.”
Rubio, for his part, said of Bush, in a 2012 birthday tribute, according to the New York Times, “Often in the Senate when faced with a tough choice, I ask myself: WWJD. What would Jeb do!”
But now ,young Marco, the Luke Skywalker to Bush’s Darth Vader, has come to pose the greatest threat to his once-mentor. At a donor summit in Texas last weekend, it was clear who Bush’s team considered the greatest threat. In a PowerPoint presentation detailing strategy and campaign plans, Rubio was the only candidate with two slides dedicated to him. One bulletpoint labeled him “a GOP Obama.”
Rubio’s campaign has generally declined to engage Bush, but tonight seemed to be the boiling point, with the sparring between the two Floridians almost surely bound to escalate.
