Rubio references fall of Rome in discussing Senate

Warning sounded on effects of weak governance, deteroriating conduct

WASHINGTON — Sen. Marco Rubio invoked the fall of the Roman Empire last week in speaking about the decision of his GOP colleague Jeff Flake to retire.

“I’m not saying America is Rome, but if you look at the history of Rome … one interesting thing about Rome at its peak, one of the things that Rome did very well was it was able to include people,” the Florida Republican said. “In essence, at the peak of the Roman Empire, they had Britons, Spaniards, North Africans, Greeks, Egyptians, they were very good at integrating people.”

Rubio identified two factors that led to Rome’s collapse, including what he described as, “kind of a recalcitrant Senate that refused to address the issues of the day.”

Comparing the U.S. Senate to the Roman Senate isn’t new. West Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia gave 14 floor speeches starting in 1993 about the history of Rome, imploring his colleagues to reject the line-item veto proposal pushed by President Bill Clinton.

The measure was ultimately determined to be unconstitutional, but it did become law. Byrd’s warning was against weakening the Senate relative to the executive (the emperor, in Rome’s case).

“The United States Senate would have set its foot on the same road to decline, subservience, impotence and feebleness that the Roman Senate followed in its own descent into ignominy, cowardice and oblivion,” Byrd said.

Rubio said the Roman Senate was only part of the problem.

“They just dug in, they wouldn’t move on anything. And so a lot of bad things got ahead of them; they never fixed it,” he said, according to a transcript posted by a CNN producer. “And the other thing that doesn’t get enough attention is there was a complete and total breakdown of societal norms and behaviors.”

Rubio made his remarks at a pen-and-pad session with a variety of journalists about the importance of the child tax credit. Some media outlets, including CQ Roll Call, were not invited to participate.

Rubio, who also ran for president in 2016, described President Donald Trump as a vessel for the frustration of many Americans about political correctness going too far, though he certainly seemed to indicate that he would not behave the same as the current occupant of the White House.

Rubio also suggested there should be more personal responsibility.

“We have to understand that a republic really can’t function unless there are some norms of behavior that are not legally prescribed or in the law; it’s just the way human beings should conduct themselves in interacting with one another,” Rubio said.