Building the Rubio brand
Rubio, who paid a company nearly $50,000 to do research into his background, has his team ready to push back. Nothing seems to small or far-flung.
A common example: A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter in 2011 posted a blog item about a news conference and mentioned how Rubio showed up late and “did his best to steal the show” with stirring talk about his elderly mother. The reporter was startled when an hour later Burgos reached out to complain. Still, Burgos managed to get the blog updated.
“It certainly is a long time to try to stay safe until 2016, if he’s running,” said Republican strategist Alex Castellanos. “You have to have real substance to last that long. Image alone won’t do it.” He said Rubio’s speech was a good first step, and the lawmaker followed the next day by introducing a bill that would give tax credits so poor kids can attend private school.
“Rubio may be fortunate that he got this early attention so that stories like inflating his resume about his Cuban roots and the credit card have been raised enough at the national level that they won’t be treated as news,” said Norm Ornstein, resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, and a longtime watcher of Congress. “But if I were a political figure and had a cover on Time that said ‘the savior,’ I would have at best mixed emotions. The more you get built up, the more the temptation (of the media) to show the chinks in your armor and bring you down.”
Blowback
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AMNESTY! ™
Pork-Chop on February 17, 2013 at 7:20 PM
Tampabay…too not to…annoying.
Panther on February 17, 2013 at 7:26 PM
Worms don’t really “push back”.
Rubio’s never held a real job in his life. What is there to investigate. He’s been leeching off of the government for his entire career.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 17, 2013 at 7:32 PM
Hmm. Anybody ever see Rubio leaving politics? I don’t. Well, not till after he’s president at least. Otherwise he’s in for life.
Dongemaharu on February 17, 2013 at 7:34 PM
I like the Rubios brand. Try the fish tacos.
/
Christien on February 17, 2013 at 7:34 PM
Republican strategist? Really? KNOW THY ENEMY!
So I guess what is REALLY happening behind the scenes is Rove and his buddies ARE reworking the Rubio brand.
Lousy Washington ruins EVERYONE we send up there, damnit!
DannoJyd on February 17, 2013 at 7:44 PM
¡No se puede!
No to Rubio, no way, no how, ever!
Anyone who places illegal aliens above American citizens and national sovereignty will never get the vote of this minority.
madmonkphotog on February 17, 2013 at 8:06 PM
Ummm… We know what Rubio’s doing.. Right??? Gosh is the guy a good politician. Obama kept pushing back on people I didn’t know about in 2008. For instance, I didn’t know about the birthers until Barry elevated them. Same deal with Rubio. Betcha the Rubio birthers are a Sister Soljah moment. I think that Rubio would totally enjoy it if he got to denounce people on the right for this and then mention that all the Latino kids are citizens including the Dream Act kids.
Illinidiva on February 17, 2013 at 8:15 PM
Try – Building the Rubio resume – of which there is currently none.
Go be a Governor Marco – then come back and talk to us.
jake-the-goose on February 17, 2013 at 8:18 PM
Yes, reworking right down to this story, which begs the real question: what was his brand?
Too bad the Rove crowd doesn’t own a set of tabloids, like the other side. They have a formula that is used to familiarize the public to the sound bite (checkout line cover blurbs) and carefully staged sqish articles ( each with one live truth to keep readers engaged) to preemptively buff down the hard edges of the various skeletons in the closets of their race horses.
You do not get a spotlight like Rubio did, convention and SOU, unless the Club thinks it can stage you. The real reason to stage Rubio early, is to use him as cover on the amnesty push coming up in about 5 seconds.
The water bottle ‘faux pas’ at SOU mentioned in the article was as accidental as Biden suddenly confessing his support of gay marriage, just before Obama evolved, and started his GLBT fund raising tour. It worked, It got him spin.
I firmly believe that our time for reaching out is now,” Rubio says. “We must act fast
Yeah, right
entagor on February 17, 2013 at 8:19 PM
Step by step, uno, dos, tres.
VorDaj on February 17, 2013 at 8:24 PM
Before too many people catch on.
VorDaj on February 17, 2013 at 8:25 PM
Senor Rubio calls it EARNESTY! ™
VorDaj on February 17, 2013 at 8:28 PM
I understand the need to build a brand. That is natural. I also understand the need to protect the brand, particularly in a society where the media treats you as the enemy.
I’m not so enamored with those who manufacture brands for personal gain, as it tends to be the contrary to the idea of public service.
I’ll have to watch what Rubio does some more, but this doesn’t look so much like building a brand, as it does the manufacturing of one.
Dusty on February 17, 2013 at 8:31 PM
Rubio = Yugo.
VorDaj on February 17, 2013 at 9:12 PM
Rubio.
Cuba’s answer to the Corvair.
RovesChins on February 17, 2013 at 9:35 PM
a bloo bloo, muh governership!
You dont need that crap to win. It’s unnecessary.
Flapjackmaka on February 17, 2013 at 9:49 PM