The Reclaim America PAC is actually the Marco Rubio PAC (nudge nudge, wink wink, Citizens United, say no more), and tonight they’re marketing a new product to the rubes: the official Marco Rubio Water Bottle.

Related:
Video: Marco Rubio’s Drinking Problem

It’s the dreaded Obama State of the Union Curse. Any politician who gives the GOP response is suddenly tongue-tied and dry-mouthed, and their career dies.

Remember when Sen. Marco Rubio’s name was pushed out there as an example of a “moderate” Republican? Not a Tea Party loon or far right social conservative?

Well, here’s Rubio on Fox News parroting pro-gun propaganda and invoking one of the most insidious right wing memes, the insinuation that President Obama is an “other” — a person who doesn’t truly understand the US Constitution, or American values.

It’s about one short step away from Birtherism, and even closer to racism. And it’s absolutely mainstream bigoted Republican politics; this lunatic insinuation was a very large part of Mitt Romney’s campaign rhetoric. The right wing base really responds to the idea that our first black president is actually a foreigner who secretly hates America.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is the latest GOP politician forced to “clarify” his anti-science comments: Rubio: Science, Faith ‘Not Inconsistent’ on Earth.

Speaking with POLITICO’s Mike Allen at a Playbook Breakfast event, Rubio clarified his beliefs about how the universe was created, saying he believes science’s conclusions — that the earth is four and a half billion years old — and his faith’s answers about the earth’s age aren’t mutually exclusive.

“Science says it’s about four and a half billion years old and my faith teaches that that’s not inconsistent,” the possible 2016 GOP presidential contender said. “The answer I gave was actually trying to make the same point the president made a few years ago, and that is there is no scientific debate on the age of the earth. I mean, it’s established pretty definitively as at least four and a half billion years old … I was referring to a theological debate and which is a pretty healthy debate.”

I’m long past the point of even thinking about giving Republican politicians the benefit of the doubt on issues like this one. Rubio is walking it back because he got stung by the negative publicity associated with admitting his creationist beliefs, and that’s the only motivation for his remarks.

More importantly, he doesn’t just talk about it, Rubio has actively worked to legitimize the teaching of creationism in Florida public schools, and has previously said the teaching of evolution “destroys the family” and compared it to communism under Fidel Castro.

Let’s get real: Marco Rubio is now pretending to “correct” himself because he can’t continue doing this kind of work with the media spotlight on him. And he is by no means an outlier in the Republican Party; creationism is the norm among GOP politicians.

It’s helpful to look back at the remarks that prompted this; here’s what Rubio actually said:

I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.

The bottom line, and the real purpose behind his comments about the age of the Earth, is to promote the teaching of creationism in public schools. This is a default Republican Party position.

Following Marco Rubio’s comments about the age of the Earth (“I’m not a scientist, man”), it’s been tragically hilarious — and sadly revealing — to watch the entire right wing wrestle with the issue.

Here’s Glenn Beck and his crew struggling to figure out whether the Bible actually gives an age for the Earth, because of course that would be the true age, never mind what those secular elitist eggheads think, they’re going to hell anyway.

Beck eventually decides that since each day for God equals 1,000 years, and God created the universe in 7 days, that must mean the Earth is 7,000 years old.

*headdesk*

Bravo to GQ for actually asking a real question about science in their interview of Marco Rubio, and making him state outright that he’s just another anti-science Republican: Marco Rubio Interview.

GQ: How old do you think the Earth is?

Marco Rubio: I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.

This is pretty much the standard Republican line — ignorance. Admitting you believe in science over the Bible is political suicide for Republicans.

And please note that Rubio is in favor of teaching children to believe this nonsense.

Ever wonder why, after many years leading the world, America is now slipping way behind in science education? All you have to do is read the words of right wingers like Marco Rubio, who perpetuate a Bronze Age view of the universe, pretending it’s just as valid as rational scientific theory.

In the same interview, Rubio says his best friend in politics is … Jim DeMint. A Dominionist religious fundamentalist, and another young earth creationist. The right wing is mortgaging America’s future to these fanatics.

And an even more appalling footnote: Marco Rubio is a member of the Senate Science Committee.

As we reported in 2009, Marco Rubio believes the theory of evolution is “destroying the family,” and compares it to communism: Karl Rove Endorses Creationist Florida Candidate Rubio.

Rubio, a Cuban-American, made a comparison to the strategy employed by the Communist Party in Cuba where schools encouraged children to turn in parents who criticized Fidel Castro.

“Of course, I’m not equating the evolution people with Fidel Castro,” he quickly added, while noting that undermining the family and the church were key means the Communist Party used to gain control in Cuba.

“In order to impose their totalitarian regime, they destroyed the family; they destroyed the faith links that existed in that society,” he said.

Although the evolution issue is “obviously” on a “much smaller scale,” both matters are related to the “fundamental question of who is in charge of the upbringing of children. Is it parents or is it the government? I believe it’s parents. And we should do nothing in government that undermines that relationship.

“And there are parents that passionately believe in this and they should be given the opportunity to teach that to their children without someone undoing it,” Rubio said.

ABC’s Jonathan Karl says his GOP sources are telling him that Marco Rubio isn’t going to be Mitt Romney’s running mate.

Even before the Republicans chose a presidential nominee it was widely assumed that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., would be at the top of anybody’s list of vice presidential candidates. The reasons are obvious: Not only is he young, charismatic and wildly popular with conservatives, but he could also help Republicans win a key state (Florida) and make inroads with Hispanics.

But knowledgeable Republican sources tell me that Rubio is not being vetted by Mitt Romney’s vice presidential search team. He has not been asked to complete any questionnaires or been asked to turn over any financial documents typically required of potential vice presidential candidates.

This afternoon Romney announced that his campaign was “thoroughly vetting” Sen. Rubio, contrary to ABC’s report.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is pleading with the GOP to drop the xenophobic fear mongering. Not in so many words, of course.

WASHINGTON — With Republicans increasingly concerned about losing Hispanic voters this November, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida on Thursday pressed his party to embrace a compromise measure allowing young illegal immigrants a pathway to legal status.

At a meeting with reporters in his Senate office, Mr. Rubio, a rising Republican star considered a leading vice-presidential prospect for Mitt Romney, sought to appeal to the conscience of his party…

See … that’s the problem. You can’t appeal to something that isn’t there.

This is why I continue to believe that Newt Gingrich has no real chance of becoming the Republican nominee for President; he’s even disliked by most of his own party: Rubio scolds Gingrich camp, says ad bashing ‘anti-immigrant’ Romney is ‘inaccurate, inflammatory’.

Sen. Marco Rubio scolded Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign over a Spanish-language radio ad that accuses rival Mitt Romney of being “anti-immigrant”

 “This kind of language is more than just unfortunate. It’s inaccurate, inflammatory, and doesn’t belong in this campaign,” Rubio told The Miami Herald when asked about the ad.

“The truth is that neither of these two men is anti-immigrant,” Rubio said. “Both are pro-legal immigration and both have positive messages that play well in the Hispanic community.”

As for the last sentence in the above quote, it’s obviously false. Both Gingrich and Romney are determinedly anti-immigrant — like most Republicans — and only a dyed in the wool partisan like Rubio would deny it. To understand this, all you need to do is look at Republican “self-deportation” legislation, and Republicans’ universal opposition to the DREAM Act. And it’s even more obvious in this election season, as the candidates have been relentlessly fear-mongering about immigration issues.