Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate

In the race for U.S. Senate we have a candidate for change, a candidate for the status quo and an independent struggling to change the political landscape.

Republican candidate Marco Rubio, a former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, is being portrayed by his competitors as a tea party extremist. To be sure, he is conservative, but not blindly ideological.

Kendrick Meek, a South Florida congressman and the Democrat's nominee, favors the Washington of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. He would continue their policies.

Gov. Charlie Crist, Republican turned independent, is an accomplished politician who can be slippery on the issues but unquestionably loves his state and is responsive to its citizens. We'd like to believe he is still the moderate conservative we've endorsed in the past, but he has been all over the map lately. And though we like the idea of a senator free of partisan theatrics, Washington doesn't usually bow to such idealism. Crist, if elected, likely would be a senator without clout.

The best choice for Florida now is Rubio.

He is a dynamic, articulate speaker who would be a forceful advocate for Florida and for conservative solutions to national problems. Yet he also appears to be open to opposing views and expresses his views with passion but not rancor.

Like most politicians this cycle, Rubio understands his first priority is to grow jobs. And he believes the surest way to revive the economy is for Washington to turn off the spending spigot. He would retain the Bush tax cuts and make them permanent. He would roll back non-military deficit spending to 2008 levels.

He understands Congress must find new revenue streams. Raising taxes or growing the economy is the crux of the economic debate, he says, and creating an atmosphere conducive to economic growth - making it easier for new businesses to start and for established businesses to expand - is a central role of government.

He knows that Washington rhetoric, close campaigns and a growing deficit have left individuals and businesses uncertain. "People understand that higher debt translates to future tax increases and higher interest rates," Rubio told us. "They consume less and invest less. That is the real uncertainty."

Rubio believes corporate tax rates are too high and says the death tax, expected to return next year, "is immoral." He would consider adoption of a fair tax - a consumption tax - with the elimination of the income tax, but he knows that's not likely to happen. Importantly, he would simplify the tax code. He knows people want it, and he understands that complexity is a burden on small businesses.

Also domestically, Rubio would focus on reforming Social Security. He does not favor making changes in the system for current beneficiaries or those 15 years from retirement. He recognizes, however, steps must be taken to ensure Social Security is solvent. This might include a gradual adjustment of eligibility age. He is taking campaign hits for his candor, but he is right that the nation needs some "grown-up" talk about Social Security's future.

Rubio would repeal President Obama's health care legislation, arguing the law has injected uncertainty into the marketplace and for the states. "The political class," he says, doesn't know what the law will really look like until the rule-making process is completed.

He mostly supports the president's Afghanistan policy and trusts Gen. David Petraeus to carry it out. He hopes it will result in the Taliban on the run, a stable Afghanistan and a less threatened Pakistan.

Rubio takes a nuanced view of immigration in America. He favors legal immigration, viewing it as an important part of our heritage and our economic future. But he also understands the reason Arizona, with unsecured borders and drug cartels, would adopt its controversial law.

That law is not a model for other states, he says, but a wakeup call for the federal government. He says any successful immigration plan must include guest worker and visa programs that function, but he doesn't support amnesty.

Rubio doesn't believe, after the BP oil disaster in the Gulf, that drilling off our coast will be a significant issue in the near term. He knows that we continue to need oil as part of our energy portfolio, but he believes in developing energy-efficient technologies. He also observes that we have been drilling in the Gulf since the 1940s and that imported oil is brought here on ships and tankers, which also pose a risk.

He should see how those facts are no rationale for drilling close to the coast that underpins Florida's appeal and economy.

Rubio parts with us on the Cuban embargo. He says it offers leverage, but there is little evidence that it has had any success easing the island's tyrannical rule.

He also too quickly dismisses the stimulus plan, which for all its faults did preserve many Florida jobs and funded some critical projects, including the I-4 connector from Tampa's port.

While he says he supports the high-speed rail project from Tampa to Orlando, he is vague about ensuring continued funding. Preliminary work already is under way. We need Florida's next senator to fight for this job-creating project.

Rubio is not a faultless candidate. We continue to wonder why he refuses to release all records dealing with his use of a Republican Party of Florida credit card during his years in leadership in the House. He has been accused of using the credit cards to sustain a lavish lifestyle. He says he paid back any money used inadvertently for personal reasons.

There is no evidence of scandal, but it is troubling that someone who is putting so much emphasis on fiscal restraint apparently was unable to restrain himself.

Nevertheless, Rubio has proved himself a smart, effective campaigner who is not afraid to challenge the political power structure.

He would stand up to Washington's agenda and offer thoughtful alternatives for a better way of governing.

For U.S. senator, The Tampa Tribune endorses Marco Rubio.