The Patriot Post® · Rubio Embraces Nationalism

Yesterday we told you how French President Emmanuel Macron attacked President Trump for embracing the concept of nationalism. While I’m not surprised that European elites mock national sovereignty and embrace globalism, most Americans still support President Trump’s efforts to put America first.

Among those backing Trump’s defense of nationalism is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Sen. Rubio’s Cuban roots have given him a deep appreciation for America’s greatness, and he authored an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal explaining why the president is right to stand up for America. 

Here are some excerpts of Sen. Rubio’s column.

“It is through the nation that moral values can be upheld and sustained. In America, our ideals are deeply intertwined with our national traditions and institutions… What makes America exceptional is that our values are built into our national identity…

"President Trump is right to embrace the label ‘nationalist,’ because a true American nationalism isn’t about a national identity based on race, religion or ethnicity. Instead, it is based on our identity as a nation committed to the idea that all people are created equal, with a God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Senator Rubio is correct. And his point is what makes the Left’s identity politics and anti-Americanism so dangerous. 

The Left spends all of its time and energy attacking the values, institutions, and history of this country — things that used to unite us — while it divides us based on race, religion, gender, class, etc. 

Once the Left is done tearing us apart and “fundamentally transforming” America, what exactly will be left to unite us?

Florida Recount

The deadline for the Florida recount is today. But Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher says she can’t meet that deadline. So Sen. Bill Nelson’s campaign filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to extend the deadline for all of Florida’s 67 counties.

Some suggest there’s no harm in simply extending the deadline for a recount. But the problem is that Broward and Palm Beach Counties illegally blocked observers from monitoring the counting of ballots as soon as the polls closed. 

What were they doing during that time when the doors were locked and only they had control of the ballots? I have zero confidence that major fraud did not take place during those precious first hours.

As Sen. Marco Rubio put it, there have been so many irregularities that “this level of incompetence gives you no confidence about anything.”

For example, we already know that Broward officials mixed up disqualified ballots with valid ballots and now insist that they must all be counted because they can’t tell the difference. 

And there is news today that state officials have asked federal prosecutors to investigate whether Democrat Party activists in four counties altered dates on official election documents. 

Seeing what the Left was willing to do to destroy Brett Kavanaugh with all kinds of false charges, this looks like another round in the Left’s battle to control the Supreme Court. 

By the way, it’s not just Florida. As the vote counting continues in California, Republican losses keep mounting. 

Winning elections is not what it used to be. If you are a conservative running for office today, you not only have win the early vote, you also have to win on Election Day, you have to win the provisional ballots, you have to win the ballots found in cars and the votes manufactured behind closed doors. And then you have to win in court!

Ready for 2020?

We’re not done counting ballots from the 2018 elections and already some folks are talking about the 2020 elections. 

On Monday, West Virginia State Sen. Richard Ojeda (D), who lost a bid for Congress last week, announced his candidacy for president in 2020. He joins a long and growing list of Democrats looking to unseat President Trump.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is thinking about running, as is New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Speaking of New York, there’s renewed speculation about yet another Hillary Clinton campaign for the presidency. Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn wrote this week:

“Get ready for Hillary Clinton 4.0. More than 30 years in the making, this new version of Mrs. Clinton … will come full circle — back to the universal-health-care-promoting progressive firebrand of 1994.”

Polls this far out are pointless. But two polls conducted since last week’s elections have attempted to gauge the support of potential 2020 Democrat contenders.

Both polls found former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in first and second place respectively. 

What about Hillary? Democrats don’t seem to be with her today. 

She wasn’t even included in one poll and finished at 8% in the other. In head-to-head matchups, she loses to Biden, Sanders, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

There could be some action in the Republican primary too. 

Retiring Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake is thinking about challenging President Trump. So too is Ohio’s outgoing Gov. John Kasich, who just happens to be in New Hampshire this week. In fact, Kasich is even flirting with a third-party campaign with Colorado’s Democrat Gov. John Hickenlooper as his running mate.