Looking to boost his chances in his homestate, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took the stage in Orlando, the first of 14 Republican presidential hopefuls to speak at the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit.
Calling President Barack Obama’s presidency, a “disaster” for the country and people across America, Rubio insisted the 2016 presidential election was a “generational choice.”
Jabbing both parties in Washington for leading the nation astray--including labeling the $19 trillion national debt as “bipartisan”--Rubio called for “another way forward” with new ideas and insisted current policies were not working.
“We are running out of time,” Rubio said. “The bad news is we are on the road to decline.”
Taking aim at the leading Democratic candidates, Rubio reminded the crowd that former U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, was under investigation while her primary rival U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was a Socialist.
A member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Rubio ripped into Obama’s international policy and called for increasing the military budget, insisting the world has grown far more dangerous under the current administration. Praising Israel, Rubio said, if elected, he would end Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear program. Rubio also called out the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under Obama and backed more accountability for its officials.
Calling for more free enterprise solutions and tax reform, Rubio called for a smaller federal government including the repeal of Obama’s federal health-care law. Rubio also said the federal government had grown too large and was involved in matters it had no business in tackling.
“The federal government wasn’t supposed to be involved in K-12 education,” Rubio said. “That’s why we don’t need Common Core.”
Rubio ignored his Republican opponents besides offering a tip of the cap their way early in his speech.
“We as a party are blessed to have so many good candidates,” Rubio said, contrasting that with the Democratic field.
Turning to social issues, Rubio called for religious freedom and stressed his opposition to abortion and his support for religion in the public square. “Religious liberty isn’t just the right to believe whatever you want,” Rubio said, saying it also included “the right to exercise it.”
The senator also urged the GOP to stand behind the Second Amendment.
Rubio was introduced by U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., who has endorsed his presidential bid. Rooney noted he and other conservatives across Florida backed Rubio in 2010 when he was running for the U.S. Senate against then Gov. Charlie Crist in the Republican primary.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
