The Democrats' Marco Rubio Shame Is Eternal
Never let them forget they all voted for this villain.
There are so, so, so many ways to highlight the fecklessness, complicity, and corruption of the Democratic Party in 2025. But you could do worse than point to one damning fact: every single Democratic senator—yes, before you ask, that includes Bernie Sanders—voted to confirm Marco Rubio as secretary of state. It’s a decision that was terrible at the time and only becomes more morally, ethically, and politically bankrupt with each passing day.
Try as I might, I can’t get over this. I should get over it. After all, expecting Democrats to do good things is one of the biggest follies possible. But that unanimity is just wild to me. The Democratic Party got together and collectively said “we, as a united group, are going to give our strongest possible endorsement to Marco Rubio.” Nobody abstained, nobody was absent, nobody dissented.
“We don’t agree on everything — but he is well qualified and has the experience necessary to represent the U.S. well,” California’s Adam Schiff wrote.
“I believe Senator Rubio has a thorough understanding of the United States’ role on an international scale, has served with honor on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is a good choice to lead the State Department. I plan to vote yes on his nomination when it comes before the Senate,” Dick Durbin, the second-highest-ranking member of the Democratic caucus, said.
“Marco Rubio and I have served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee together for over 10 years. We don't always agree, but he’s been a trusted partner on many issues, such as bolstering U.S. leadership in NATO. I'm glad he was unanimously confirmed to be Secretary of State,” Virginia’s Tim Kaine gushed.
“If every one of President Trump’s nominees were as qualified and experienced as Senator Rubio, they would sail through the Senate with bipartisan support,” Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor.
The most telling line came from Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who issued a joint statement alongside her Republican counterpart, Jim Risch.
“We are glad to have worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that one of our own, Senator Marco Rubio, could be positioned to quickly take the helm of the State Department,” the statement began.
There it is. “One of our own.” Rubio was in the Senate club, and club members look out for each other. The rest of us don’t get much of a look-in.
So how has Rubio repaid this outpouring of love? By placing himself squarely at the center of the Trump regime’s fascist agenda.
On Friday, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate whose abduction by ICE agents over his pro-Palestinian activism has ignited global condemnation, could be deported from the U.S. The government’s case against Khalil rested entirely on a short memo from, you guessed it, Rubio. As CNN noted, the memo “contains no allegations of criminal activity.” Instead, Rubio asserts that Khalil’s activism “undermine[s] U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States,” whatever that bullshit means. Translation: supporting Palestine means you hate Jews and can be deported. Every Democrat voted for this.
Rubio is proud of this stuff. From a March 27 Reuters report:
"It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas," Rubio said at a press conference in Guyana, without elaborating on whose visas had been revoked.
Speaking to reporters on the plane back to Washington, Rubio said the 300 revoked visas were a combination of student and visitor visas. He said he signed every single action.
"At some point, I hope we run out because we've gotten rid of all of them, but we're looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up."
The top U.S. diplomat confirmed the State Department revoked Ozturk's visa but did not address details when asked what specific actions Ozturk had taken that merited such a move.
Rubio said Washington would take away any visa that has been previously issued if students would participate in actions such as "vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus."
Ah yes, the “ruckus” standard of jurisprudence. That’s a new one.
Now, most elected Democrats don’t give a shit about Palestine, and cheerfully co-signed the repression of the Palestine movement, so it’s not like they’re super-furious about Khalil and the other activists swept up by the Trump government. But they seem shocked that Rubio is also going along with all the other stuff Trump wants—almost as if he is a member of Trump’s administration or something.
Listen to these world-class chumps whine to The Hill a few weeks ago:
“Sen. Rubio, his words, his actions, his legislation, he was one way, and somehow when he walked through that door and took that oath to become secretary, they are not one and the same,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
[…]“I don’t know what’s happened to Marco Rubio,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“He has been a strong and effective defender of Ukraine. He has fought against dictators, particularly Putin when they invaded Ukraine. He has been a consistent and steady supporter of food and medicine for little babies all around the world.”
Wow, the guy who literally applied to be part of Donald Trump’s cabinet team is now in political agreement with Donald Trump? I’m stunned by this, because, as a Senate Democrat, I line up every day for the Men in Black to zap my brain clean.
Again, the point here is not to feel somehow betrayed by these fools. That would suggest that you expected them to be good people, or good at their jobs, or good at anything, really. (How many Senate Democrats does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Zero, because none of them would ever know how to do it and they’d have to call their little aides in.) The point here is to be angry that our two main political choices right now are “fascists” and “the friends of fascists who also want a good schmear of the fascism on their bagel too, oh, and also they’re so, so dumb.” The unanimous vote for Rubio should hang around the Democrats’ neck forever. It is the ultimate symbol of their worthlessness.
My only thinking here is what did the Dems expect to happen?
Expectations: A guy they've worked with over the last decade-and-change, seems reasonable when compared to the rest of the bootlicks/apparatchiks/suckfish that surround Trump.
Reality: Do they not remember when he was coerced into voting against his own (fairly well crafted, if I remember correctly) immigration bill?
I understand why the Dems think this way - democratic norms, etc. (looking at you, Schumer). But, man, how many times does the scorpion have to sting the frog?
I don't know if this is factually the correct call, but I'm still putting this on Schumer. He could have easily gotten everyone to #RESIST, or at least given the green light for each Senator to vote their own way, but this smacks of a coordinated effort to, as you say, do right by One Of Their Own. I don't understand how anyone thinks this dude is still Leadership Material.