Will Marco Rubio Lead The March of Conservatives out of the GOP?

By Kyle Munzenrieder Mon., Aug. 3 2009 at 4:10 PM

Categories: Politicks

If there's one point Riptide has been consistently making about Marco Rubio is that his values and policies are more in line with the right-wing, super-conservative blogosphere then they are with Florida voters. He pretty much hammered that point home this weekend by speaking at the RedState Gathering. RedState.com being something of a conservative antithesis of grass roots, liberal blog The Daily Kos.

You might remember Kos head honcho Markos Moulitsas theorizing that Charlie Crist doesn't need the Republican party to win in Florida, and might switch parties or run as an independant -- and, reality being what it is, he didn't really have much of a problem with it, saying he's just a few smidges to the rights of Democratic Senator Bill Nelson.

Well, RedState head honco Erik Erickson inadvertedly mirrored that message when he picked up on a part of Rubio's speech that suggested Conservatives don't nee the GOP:

"The Republican Party is the natural home for this movement but it is not the inevitable home for this movement. That's the message to my fellow Reps. It is the natural home for it, it is the logical home for it and it can be the voice for this movement. But it can't just be a vehicle by which you raise money to win elections."

March of Politics takes that a step farther, suggesting it might be a subtle hint that Rubio would consider running as an independent if he looses the Republican party.

This only underscores the Florida Senate primaries spot as a perfect illustration of the problems of the Republican party: apparently it's so out of whack that both the moderate and conservative wing of the party feel might get to the point where they have no use it.

As for Crist or Rubio running as an independent, well, we bet, Democrat Kendrick Meek is sure hoping one of them does.