There is no doubt U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is a rising star in the political world. But how much do most Latinos across the U.S. know about this relatively young man? In a book by Washington Post reporter, Manuel Roig-Franzia , “The Rise of Marco Rubio,” the author tries to provide the answer to that question by delving deeper into Rubio’s family lineage and his political past.
Hispaniclink.com offers a review of the book written about the 41-year-old Cuban-American Republican from Florida who rose to national prominence as a Tea Party favorite. Roig-Franzia, details Rubio’s working class family – his grandfather – a cobbler in Cuba who emigrates to Miami a few years before Fidel Castro seizes power, his father who worked as a bartender and his mother who held down a night-shift job at Wal-Mart.
As for Rubio’s earlier public versions of his family history recounting that his family left Cuba to escape the Castro government’s tyranny, Roig-Franzia explains that Rubio was relying on “family lore.” The senator insists that he should still be considered the son of Cuban exiles.
Rubio apparently first flexed his political muscle when he was 26 years old. He wanted to run for a West Miami City Commission seat. He sought the guidance of two-term mayor Rebeca Sosa, a popular figure in the Cuban-exile community. She is quoted in the book as challenging him: “You’re too young. Why would you run?” Roig-Franzia explains that Rubio right then and there connected as he has done throughout his political career by telling stories about his family.
He has also, it seems, gone against political conventional wisdom more than once. When Rubio faced off Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate in 2010, he was virtually told he would lose. That didn’t stop him.
Among several other questions raised in the biography is why Rubio surrounded himself with politicians who envisioned politics as a “slugfest.” Why the senator is so prone to picking fights with liberal media?
And it seems as with too many politicians, there are also questions about personal finances. Apparently, during Rubio’s campaign for Florida Speaker, the St. Petersburg Times reported Rubio had spent $150,000 in “administrative costs” that were directed to a campaign committee organization he created.
