Help with Squire 20th Anniversary whammy bar

I have my girlfriends old beater guitar that her dad fixed up for her. It has a whammy bar but it seems that it is stuck - there is a piece of rubber running underneath the bridge and it seems like it might be keeping the bridge from being able to pivot. Here is a picture (terrible quality but you can see the piece of rubber under the bridge)

Anyone have any idea how to bring the whammy bar back to life?

Thanks snackerfish