Why is Jeb Bush going after Marco Rubio?
During the last GOP debate two weeks ago, Marco Rubio : he called Jeb Bush out for attacking Mr. Rubio鈥檚 campaign.
鈥淭he only reason you鈥檙e doing [this] now is because we鈥檙e running for the same position, and somebody convinced you attacking me is going to help you,鈥� Rubio said. The audience clapped, Mr. Bush was silenced, and .
Since that moment, a $100 million "super PAC" supporting the former Florida governor has decided to directly target Rubio鈥檚 campaign. The PAC went after Rubio鈥檚 stance on abortion, calling him 鈥�,鈥� and then how they felt about Rubio鈥檚 absences from Senate. According to the PAC鈥檚 chief strategist, the group will spend as much as Rubio鈥檚 sudden surge, the New York Times reports.
On paper, Rubio and Bush could not look more different: Rubio comes from Cuban immigrant parents while Bush hails from a wealthy, affluent political family. But when it comes down to the campaign, both are Spanish-speaking Republicans from Florida with establishment appeal, and that鈥檚 enough to pit the former mentor and mentee against one another.
The two Republican candidates will meet face-to-face for the fourth GOP debate tonight in Milwaukee 鈥� a crucial debate for both candidates that, according to some media is a 鈥�.鈥�
Polls following the last GOP debate have showed that voter confidence in Rubio shot up after Rubio defended himself against Bush's attack 鈥� and support for Bush seems to be dropping. That鈥檚 why for Bush, who鈥檚 on the cusp of being cut out. (Governors Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee have both been knocked from tonight鈥檚 stage in national polls.)
Bush鈥檚 tactic to go after Rubio may not be of his own making 鈥� but it is certainly a major shift from his stance towards Rubio three years ago, when he claimed Rubio had 鈥� and the fortitude to be a good president.鈥� But the shift does illuminate a bigger theme of PAC politics: the polls matter, and PACs will go to new levels to try and influence them.
Whether Bush will go after Rubio again tonight is still in question, but it鈥檚 likely something the media will grill him on. And whether voters will like it is the even bigger question.
