With all due respect, indeed! On the Bloomberg TV show of that name that he co-hosts with Mark Halperin, John Heilemann today reported that the current and former governors in the GOP field--Bush, Kasich and Christie--think Marco Rubio is a "punk."
Clarified Heilemann: "when I say 'punk,' they have the same view that Hillary Clinton had of Barack Obama [in 2008]: line-cutter, punk, man of no accomplishment." It's hard to imagine the courtly Jeb Bush calling Rubio a punk, but in his interiew on CBS today, Jeb did flatly assert that Rubio had accomplished "nothing" in the Senate. Readers will also remember that yesterday, Joe Scarborough grilled Rubio-endorser Rick Santorum, who struggled to name a Rubio accomplishement in the Senate.
Does this matter? Will voters care about Rubio's thin Senate resume, or are they more concerned about his plans for the future . . . and ability to beat the Dem nominee?
MARK HALPERIN: The three establishment candidates--governors and former governors--they look at Rubio and they say, that guy's never done a thing --
JOHN HEILEMANN: -- they think he's a punk.
HALPERIN: -- and I think--
HEILEMANN: -- they do.
HALPERIN: -- they believe in their gut, it's so obvious to them that they're more qualified than Marco Rubio --
HEILEMANN: Yes!
HALPERIN: -- to be the nominee and to beat Hillary Clinton to be president, that they just can't even fathom that that may not break through with voters.
HEILEMANN: Yes, and they have the same view as Hillary Clinton. When I say "punk," I mean they have the same view that Hillary Clinton had of Barack Obama [in 2008]: line-cutter, punk, man of no accomplishment. And then Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton, so there you go.
