The Other McCain

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Top Rubio Staffer Reportedly Pushed for Early Florida Primary to Help Romney

Posted on | October 13, 2011 | 127 Comments

* * * UPDATE OCT. 14 * * *

Marco Rubio Denies His Office
Influenced Florida Primary Date

PREVIOUSLY (OCT. 13)
* * * EXCLUSIVE * * *

When Florida defied Republican National Committee rules to move the state’s 2012 presidential primary from an RNC-approved March date to Jan. 31, conservatives immediately suspected that state party insiders had orchestrated the move to help former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney thwart the momentum of Tea Party-backed candidate Herman Cain. Some Florida activists focused their suspicion on moderates in state party leadership — allies of Senate candidate George LeMieux and of former Gov. Charlie Crist — as orchestrating the change in the primary date. The move was seen as helping the centrist Romney, whose superior fund-raising resources would enable him to score an early knockout in the Sunshine State before Cain could fully leverage the boost he got from an upset victory in a Sept. 24 Florida GOP straw poll.

Yet while the moderate Republican faction in Tallahassee was immediately blamed for the primary date-switch, only insiders knew that a key factor was a push from inside the staff of the Tea Party’s own 2010 hero, Sen. Marco Rubio. GOP sources in Washington and Florida say that Rubio’s senatorial chief of staff, Cesar Conda, has been a major force in persuading Florida Republicans to move their primary to January.

“Cesar used to be with Romney’s campaign,” one informed source explained to me in an interview today, adding: “Conda used his contacts to push the primary to the 31st because they want Romney in.”

Conda’s loyalty to Romney was highlighted in a Politico story by Scott Wong last week: “At least six past and current Rubio Senate aides, including chief of staff Cesar Conda and his deputy, Terry Sullivan, worked for Romney’s 2008 presidential bid, establishing a direct link and a line of communication between the front-runner for the 2012 GOP nomination and the front-runner in the Republican veepstakes. There’s also a trail of fundraisers, donors and consultants who have overlapping relationships with Rubio and Romney.”

In a March 2010 column for National Review, Conda defended the so-called “RomneyCare” Massachusetts health insurance program. A former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, Conda was originally an ally of Crist, as the St. Petersburg Times noted when Conda was picked as Rubio’s chief of chief in January 2011:

Like many Republicans, Conda once thought Charlie Crist would be the next senator but later distanced himself from the former Florida governor, saying he lacked conservative credentials.
Conda has worked as a lobbyist and analyst for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and founded the Washington office of Navigators, a lobbying/consulting firm where another top Rubio adviser, Todd Harris, also worked.
The firm’s clients included GlaxoSmithKline, At&T, Visa and Citigroup, which got $45 billion under the bank bailout.

Some have speculated that, by delivering Florida for Romney, Conda would not only help Romney lock up the 2012 presidential nomination, but also secure the 2012 vice-presidential pick for Rubio.

It was Rubio’s underdog campaign that helped spark Tea Party activism in Florida and across the nation. Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer and National Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) conspired to “fix” the 2010 Senate primary in Florida with a May 2009 endorsement of the moderate Crist. At that point leading Rubio by more than 30 points in polls, Crist was seen as the safe bet in Florida’s Senate race. But the Greer/Cornyn endorsement backfired, as conservatives pointed out Crist’s embrace of President Obama’s deficit-spending “stimulus” agenda and denounced the effort by party insiders to determine the Republican candidate 15 months ahead of the August 2010 primary. The newly aroused Tea Party movement made Rubio their hero. Crist, overwhelmed by the conservative rally for Rubio, quit the GOP to launch a doomed third-party Senate race. Crist’s ally Greer resigned in disgrace and is now under criminal indictment for corruption charges.

Reports that Rubio — or at least Rubio’s top aides — are working behind the scenes for Romney, who is seen as representing the RINO (“Republican In Name Only”) moderate wing of the party, will be a bitter disappointment for conservatives who supported Rubio’s insurgent campaign last year. Many Tea Party activists who backed Rubio against Crist in the 2010 primary are now supporting Cain, the conservative Atlanta businessman who has surged to the front of the the Republican presidential pack in the past three weeks.

Cain’s candidacy got a boost not only from his Sept. 24 straw-poll win, but also from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s announcement last week that she would not seek the White House in 2012. In an appearance on  Greta Van Susteren’s Fox News Channel program to discuss her decision, Palin singled out Cain for praise, saying she was “intrigued” and “impressed” with Cain’s “business acumen” and “up by the bootstraps” success.

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Cain tied with Romney nationally. Recent polls by Public Policy Polling and NBC/Wall Street Journal show Cain now leading Romney, and within 3 points of the longtime GOP frontrunner in the influential Real Clear Politics poll average. Meanwhile, a new poll of likely Florida Republican primary voters shows Cain now at 34% to Romney’s 28%, with former frontrunner Texas Gov. Rick Perry falling to a distant fourth at 5%, behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was third with 11%.

— Robert Stacy McCain




 

UPDATE: Linked at Fire Andrea Mitchell — thanks!

UPDATE II: Michelle Malkin on Twitter:

UPDATE III: Headline from The Washington Post:

Mitt Romney attracts new support as donors
and elected officials coalesce behind him

Hmmm. Kinda like how the Establishment lined up behind Dede Scozzafava, isn’t it? And Herman Cain is Doug Hoffman in that analogy.

UPDATE IV: “Say it ain’t so, Marco.”

UPDATE V: “Rubio, Rubio! Wherefore art thou Rubio?”

UPDATE VI: Linked by Finrod at Red State — thanks! — and Bob Belvedere at Camp of the Saints, who wonders if Rubio is “crossing over to the Dark Side?”

UPDATE VII: Linked by Maggie’s Notebook — thanks! — and Da Tech Guy sees Team Romney replicating the errors of Team Coakley. Meanwhile, getting linked by Allahpundit at Hot Air inspired me to leave this comment:

If this, indeed, an effort to secure Rubio’s slot as running-mate for Romney, has anybody else noticed that (a) Herman Cain’s top campaign staffers are from Wisconsin and (b) Paul Ryan praised the 9-9-9 plan today?
IYKWIMAITYD.

PREVIOUSLY:


Category: Election 2012, Florida, Herman Cain, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Tea Party

Comments

127 Responses to “Top Rubio Staffer Reportedly Pushed for Early Florida Primary to Help Romney”

  1. Dave
    October 13th, 2011 @ 3:32 pm

    Is that a Coelacanth I see? No by God, it’s actual investigative journalism! Talk about something we thought was extinct! Nice job.

  2. Finrod Felagund
    October 13th, 2011 @ 3:34 pm

    Yow.  Talk about bad news for Marco Rubio.

    Thank you very much, Stacy, for finding out about this.
     

  3. Anonymous
    October 13th, 2011 @ 3:41 pm

    Credit goes to the source who tipped me, but who is sworn to secrecy. And I never burn my sources.

  4. Ugh! Top Marco Rubio staffer Cesar Conda pushed for earlier Florida Primary to help Romney : Fire Andrea Mitchell!
    October 13th, 2011 @ 3:42 pm

    […] it ain’t so Marco! The Other McCain has posted an exclusive story revealing that Marco Rubio’s senatorial chief of staff, Cesar […]

  5. smitty
    October 13th, 2011 @ 3:43 pm

    Conda nasty?

  6. Anonymous
    October 13th, 2011 @ 3:58 pm

    Yeah…either he’s behind it, or his staff looks to be out of control.  Not good, either way.

  7. Dan C
    October 13th, 2011 @ 4:03 pm

    Rubio is a fraud who is in bed with the establishment. He has accomplished nothing by the way.

    Our party is hopelessly corrupt!

    Conservative reform is not coming no matter who wins, and we all know it deep down!

  8. Kelly
    October 13th, 2011 @ 4:17 pm

    If true, this needs to go viral. And, if true, my respect for Rubio evaporates. Say it ain’t so Marco.

  9. Paula
    October 13th, 2011 @ 4:20 pm

    Wow!  This is horrible news. Another one bites the dust. This is the third teaparty candidate to reveal his true colors.   How many actual Conservative are left?  sigh.  Waiting to hear Rubio’s explanation of this debacle.  So I reckon the plan was to use Rubio to fire up the TeaParty base in the 2012 elections if Romney won he nomination? File this under:  Lucy, you’ve got some splainin’ to do.

    Great  info catch R. S. McCain. YDM (You Da Man) 🙂

  10. ThePaganTemple
    October 13th, 2011 @ 4:37 pm

    I don’t want to slam Rubio too fast over this. There’s a certain kind of culture that is prevalent in politics both at the state and federal levels. Political staffs and other such operatives seem to dwell in their own little parallel worlds where they think they are unaccountable to anybody outside the club. Let’s wait and see how Rubio addresses the issue.

  11. Anonymous
    October 13th, 2011 @ 4:37 pm

    Thanks for the compliment, Paula, but as I say, my source deserves the credit. All I did was answer the phone, take notes, make a couple of calls, do some Googling and write it up.

    What strikes me is that this kind of insider maneuvering in Florida was entirely unnecessary. Rubio was (and still is) the overwhelming favorite for the VP slot no matter who gets the nomination. So there was no need for Conda or anyone else to make any deals on Rubio’s behalf. But it seems the Romney people in Florida got this idea in their head that the RNC rules (protecting the first 4 traditional early states and no “winner take all” primaries before April) would hurt by delaying coronation of Mitt “It’s His Turn” Romney, and so they started pushing to move up the Florida primary to try to give Mitt a quick knock-out.

    Alas, the Law of Unintended Consequences has not yet been repealed: This whole thing may end up backfiring completely, if a grassroots surge for Cain should produce an upset in Florida, and if backlash against the Romney/GOP insider deal hurts Rubio’s VP chances.

    I’m thinking Paul Ryan’s chances to become running mate might be gradually improving. IYKWIMAITYD.

  12. Adjoran
    October 13th, 2011 @ 4:53 pm

    When has anyone ever shown restraint on applying the RINO tag?  I can’t think of a single time – a hint of a rumor, a facial expression, a dog which didn’t bark have all proven more than enough to get someone labelled RINO around here and elsewhere in the conservative blogosphere.

    So Rubio should join the ranks of the many with 80 or even 90+ lifetime ACU ratings who nonetheless must wear the RINO badge.

    Eventually, the GOP will be down to nothing but RINOs and about ten to twelve guys who sit around and decide who gets smeared next.

  13. Say it ain’t so, Marco. - The NeoSexist
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:17 pm

    […] it ain’t so, Marco. Oct.13, 2011 in politics RS McCain has an exclusive scoop regarding the impetus of the GOP primary calendar […]

  14. JeffS
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:18 pm

    Good story, Stacy.

    And to throw in my two bits on Rubio……I concur with TPT above.  This may be a rogue staff member in action.  Last I heard, Rubio was NOT interested in the VP slot.

  15. JeffS
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:19 pm

    I concur.  Rubio may well be in bed with the Old School “Republicans”, but we don’t know the full story.

  16. JeffS
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:20 pm

    And I must add…..shame on Romney and the GOP good old boy network for making this happen.  I hope Cain primaries these creeps.

  17. Anonymous
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:22 pm

    If he fires the guy within a week, I have no problem with Rubio. If not?

  18. ThePaganTemple
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:33 pm

    I wouldn’t be too quick to attack Romney over it either Jeff, sometimes these things tend to take on a life of these own. These professional political consultants are murder. They are the most conniving people you will ever find anywhere.

  19. ThePaganTemple
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:37 pm

    That’s true to a point Adjoran. For example, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a more reliably conservative person than George Allen. But on the other hand, the RINO brigade has brought it on themselves, partly due to actions like this, and partly due to their lack of support for people like Christine O’Donnell. They are just as bad and possibly worse, when it comes to the my-way-or-the-highway attitude.

  20. Dell Hill
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:43 pm

    Linked http://dellsbottomline.blogspot.com/2011/10/is-rubios-staff-in-cahoots-with-mitt-to.html

    And The Plot Thickens!

  21. Rubi-Oh-Oh: Crossing Over To The Dark Side? « The Camp Of The Saints
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:43 pm

    […] Please do take the time to click here and read the whole report. Share this:TwitterEmailFacebookMoreStumbleUponRedditDiggLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. from → Elections 2012, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, Presidential Nomination, Stacy McCain ← Rule 5 News: Sara And Ashton = Real Bi-Partisanship No comments yet […]

  22. davidfarrar
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:48 pm

    If the fix is ever in for Obama to win the 2012 elections, you will know it when Sen. Rubio agrees to become the vice-presidential nominee on a Republican ticket. By now so many people know that Obama is not a natural born Citizen, and that Sen. Rubio, sadly, isn’t a natural born citizen either, they would not be able to bring themselves to vote for someone who would be so willing to insult the Constitution so flagrantly as Obama has done, and for the very same reason.

    To his everlasting credit; Sen. Rubio has always refused to accept any suggestion that he should be the VP nominee on the Repulkican ticket. But, sadly, he has also failed to address Obama’s ineligibility, as God and providence has placed him in a position of leadership to do, and protect the Constitution, as he has sworn to do, from Obama’s massive attempt to usurp its A2S1 provision.

    ex animo
    davidfarrar

  23. CAPT Pete in GA
    October 13th, 2011 @ 5:54 pm

    RSM – nice reporting job.  Rubio’s people should follow their leader’s supporters. 

  24. Jasmine Clark
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:00 pm

    sad. i liked rubio. but if he’s friends with romney, i don’t like him anymore.

    sarah palin is NOT friendly with the establishment like marco rubio is. if she were running, we’d have a great candidate for president who is AGAINST pay-for-play, crony capitalism, and all that slimy stuff politicians are known for. if you are against the establishment, sign this petition that politely asks sarah to change her mind about not running!! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/runsarahrun/

  25. CalMark
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:06 pm

    Rubio is the boss–Rubio is to blame. 

    Former Speaker of the Florida Assembly, a very smart guy–and he doesn’t know one of his staffers is conniving to move the State’s primary date for corrupt reasons?  Puh-leeze.  Rubio is either culpably clueless (and thus undeserving of re-election, let alone running for higher office) or a turncoat.  In either case, he’s now in a VERY deep hole.

    A part of me–I liked Rubio a lot–hopes it turns out to be a phony, contrived story.  It has been known to happen.  Unfortunately, it has that awful ring of truth.

    Lots of folks were jumping on the “Rubio 2012” bandwagon, before he even got elected to the Senate.  If nothing else, this is an object lesson for our side on the Politics of Personality. 

  26. Anonymous
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:08 pm

    Your assessment is correct.

  27. CalMark
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:09 pm

    This may very well bite Romney, hard!  I hope so. 

    He’s so slick and untrustworthy. 

    Anyway, it’s about time we conservatives got a  break.  The other side–whether with a “D” or “R” next to their names–have been winning all the battles that matter–witness Boehner’s contemptible sellouts despite his promises and the 2010 results.

  28. CalMark
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:13 pm

    If these stories weren’t always true–and I can’t remember a single really important one that wasn’t–you’d have a point.

    Playing nice got us into this mess.  Like the GOP chairman in 2006 burbling proudly on Rush Limbaugh’s election day program that unlike the nasty ol’ Democrats, the noble and gentlemanly GOP doesn’t cry foul about voter fraud until they are totally, 100% absolutely sure–in other words, when it’s too late.

    Conservatives ARE the country, but the Ruling Class hates us.  We’re in a
    death struggle here, and if the “Intelligence” has a good chance of
    being true, we have to act on it.

  29. Anonymous
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:15 pm

    If Romney gets the nomination there is no candidate, absent some assurance of Romney’s early demise, that makes his candidacy one iota more palatable.

  30. Garym
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:23 pm

    Thats the real story. This old boys network knows it can’t win a fair fight, so they act like dems to stack the deck. Romney needs to answer for this, not necessarily Rubio.

  31. Anonymous
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:26 pm

    Calling them RINOs is apparently our mistake, backbiting, backdoor relationships and situational conservative principles appear to be the epitome of what it means to be a Republican. In short it is unfair to call a Republican a RINO just because we made the naive mistake of assuming their pretensions to conservative principles were genuine. After all just because the cur wags it’s tail as one walks by doesn’t mean it wont bite one in the ass.

    The GOP already is nothing but RINOs it’s not their fault we didn’t get the joke.

  32. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:26 pm

    The old duffer with the fedora and a roulette system is actually breaking some news. 

    HMMMMM, and I took Rubio at his word that he was not seeking a Veep slot.  Okay,  I am predicting Romney/Rubio (unless of course Cain manages to knock off Mitt). 

  33. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:27 pm

    Wow.  If this is true just wow.  Say it ain’t true Marco, say it ain’t true!

  34. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:28 pm

    Shoeless Marco Rubio! 

  35. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:34 pm

    I hope Marco did not do this.  I like Marco.   Maybe this was a rogue staffer (or a source who lied to Stacy).  But it is definitely news worthy to report it now. 

  36. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:36 pm

    Agreed.  RINO is stated if you disagree with someone.  Reminds me of that SNL episode when Susan Lucci was on commenting how she never got an emmy and everybody on the SNL set had one (including the workman who was using one as a hammer).  It gets to the point it doesn’t mean anything anymore. 

  37. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:37 pm

    I never thought George Allen was a RINO, I thought George Allen was dumb. 

  38. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:38 pm

    Let’s see if it is true or not.  But if true, I agree.  Jetison! 

  39. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:39 pm

    You sound like that guy Mick at Althouse.   

  40. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:53 pm

    http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2011/10/insiders-swoon.php

    Oh oh. 

  41. DaveO
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:56 pm

    How is Romney a centrist, exactly? His actions have him only slightly to the left of Bernie Sanders, but still right of Obama.

  42. DaveO
    October 13th, 2011 @ 6:58 pm

    Who, downticket, does the move in dates help in Florida, and across the US?

    The campaign for President, while important, pales next to the fight for the Senate.

  43. Richard Mcenroe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 7:00 pm

    A natural mistake, Dave, the worn shoeleather bears a strong resemblance to coelecanth scales…

  44. Richard Mcenroe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 7:03 pm

    If Cesar was doing this without Rubio’s consent, he’s finished; you DON’T embarrass the boss.  If Rubio knew, it’s a black mark on him and his only working penance would be to continue to refuse the vice-presidency…

  45. Bob Belvedere
    October 13th, 2011 @ 7:21 pm

    Well, if the insiders want him I must by be ag’in ‘im.

  46. Bob Belvedere
    October 13th, 2011 @ 7:23 pm

    Man…you keep hitting them out of the park, Joe.

  47. Finrod Felagund
    October 13th, 2011 @ 7:43 pm

    And you’re quite very much welcome re: linkage.  I’ll report if anyone over there comes up with anything of interest.
     

  48. Anonymous
    October 13th, 2011 @ 8:00 pm

    I find your pessimism disturbing.

  49. Joe
    October 13th, 2011 @ 8:03 pm

    I hope Stacy’s source is wrong or it was a rogue staffer.  We really do not need more bad news like this.  That would leave…well maybe Herman Cain and Paul Ryan. 

  50. James Knauer
    October 13th, 2011 @ 8:10 pm

    He’s a fixture at TPM, pretending not to be whatever it is he’s pretending to be.

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