The
young man, articulate and handsome, stood before the crowd at the Palace Grand reception hall, orchestrating a frenzy over
property taxes.
"Is a 25 percent cut enough?" he called out. "No!" the audience
cried. "Fifty percent?"
"Yes!"
Struck by the campaign-like
atmosphere, Hernando County Commissioner Diane Rowden turned to her husband and asked, "Is this guy running for governor?"
Marco Rubio, speaker of the Florida House, has crisscrossed the state in recent weeks, making the pitch for huge
property tax cuts before crowds.
He has been on radio and TV, including "Nightline"
and PBS's "NewsHour." He has hosted telephone conference calls with dozens of people. A Republican Party-funded
Web site promotes his ideas.
More than anyone - including Gov. Charlie Crist - the 36-year-old
from Miami has become the face of the property tax debate in Florida. He seized the issue early this year and proposed a dramatic
plan to trade property taxes for a higher sales tax.
The tax swap died - not before gaining national
attention - yet that has done little to weaken Rubio's zeal. Or his standing. As lawmakers prepare for a special session
on Tuesday, no one's voice matters more.
Rubio's insistence on deep cuts contributed greatly,
if not entirely, to the stalemate that led to a special session. But it may also reward taxpayers with more relief and put
a bigger hurt on local governments - factors that only elevate his stature as the tax cut king.
Early
reaction was mixed to a five-year plan released Friday that calls for a rollback of local governments' tax revenues and
expansion of the homestead exemption. Some said Rubio and Senate President Ken Pruitt gave government a pass and that the
cuts go mostly to those who need them least - primary homeowners.
"It's a good first
step," said David Daniel, a lobbyist for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He credits Rubio for "beating the hammer,"
but worries the plan may add to the increasing tax burden assumed by business and nonhomestead property.
"It's got to be a balancing act," Daniel said.
The next two weeks will
test Rubio's ability and desire to walk that line.
"If we come out with meaningful reform,
Marco wins," said Rep. Jack Seiler, a prominent Democrat from Broward County. "The public will never remember that
he was the proponent of the tax swap."
Failure may also have its benefits. Rubio has said
that if lawmakers pass a "Tallahassee special" he will join with citizen groups that want to change the tax structure
through a ballot initiative.
Rubio insists something must get done, and he plays down his role
in the process with modesty that belies his ambitions.
"Speakers come and go," he said.
"I'm not sure five years from now that someone is going to remember that I was at their town hall meeting in Hernando
County."
Rubio on the run
Still, his public schedule rivals that of a candidate for statewide office. Last week, while Crist was resting after
his trip to Israel and Jordan, Rubio was out and on message:
Monday: 8:30 a.m. meeting with taxpayers
at the Coffee Cup Restaurant in Pensacola. 11 a.m. appearance in Destin with Rep. Ray Sansom, next in line to become speaker.
1 p.m. meeting in Panama City with the Bay Tax Foundation.
Tuesday: 3:30 p.m. meeting with Boca
Raton Chamber of Commerce. 7 p.m. interview on Univision. 8 p.m. town hall meeting at St. John African Methodist Episcopal
Church in Miami.
Wednesday: 11:45 a.m. flight to Orlando from Miami. 1 p.m. conference call with
Florida Association of Realtors. 2 p.m. interview on WESH-Ch. 2. 3 p.m. interview with Central Florida News 13. 3:45 p.m.
interview on News 13 En Espanol.
The Republican Party-sponsored trips have afforded Rubio crucial
face time with local politicians, business leaders and grass roots political organizers.
Creating buzz
He has made lasting contacts with influential Realtors
and others with a stake in the property tax debate.
All of which could be useful down the road
if he seeks statewide office.
"He's the most pro-taxpayer legislative leader in the country,"
said Grover Norquist, a national conservative figure, adding that Rubio's moves have created a buzz among think tanks
in Washington.
"There is something helpful about staking out a clear, radical position,"
Norquist said of Rubio's tax swap. "It moved the debate in a healthy way. And in politics you don't ever want
to get everything you asked for. You want to put the target out further than you can reach in one year. He can come back next
year and say, 'Here's step two and step three.' "
Rubio said the campaign-like
approach is adopted from the tour he and other Republicans took in forming the book "100 Innovative Ideas for Florida."
So-called "Idea Raisers" were held across the state to gather suggestions from citizens about what policies to pursue.
(Critics say the ideas that actually made it into the book - including No. 96, the tax swap - were nothing more than
a Republican agenda in a populist wrapper.)
"I enjoy advocacy. I enjoy going out and talking
with people. I enjoy selling ideas," Rubio said on recent evening on his way home to Miami after TV interviews in Orlando.
Rubio's aspirations could be damaged in the same way. From his powerful position he has accused local government
of excessive waste. He has softened that language recently. The proposal for a rollback and cap of local government tax revenue
now allows officials to opt out through super majority vote.
"If he runs for statewide office.
he will both have benefited from what he has done and been hurt by what he has done," said Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale
Beach.
Rubio acknowledges he plans to stay in politics, but said he is not sure what he will do.
Term limits will force him from the House in November 2008, and there is no apparent statewide race. In the outside chance
that Crist is tapped as a vice presidential running mate, Rubio would seem a natural candidate to replace him.
Running for office while serving as speaker once would have been against the law. But lawmakers changed that this
year after approving a sweeping elections bill that was pushed by none other than Marco Rubio.
