Marco Rubio Pushes Against Obama on Economy and Russia

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took to the national airwaves on Wednesday night to slam President Barack Obamas economic policies and his handling of Russia.

Appearing on Greta Van Susterens show on Fox News, Rubio hit Obama for using the same rhetoric of class warfare which Obama and his allies always rely on.

The truth is, he has been president for six years, Rubio said about Obama. The very people he ran claiming to want to help are worse off today than they have ever been. Record numbers of people on food stamps. Record numbers of people dependent on government. Those are the facts. So now, desperate to try to create a counternarrative, their argument is that the only way some people can be better off is if we make other people worse off.

The good news is that in America we have free enterprise, Rubio added. And free enterprise means everyone can be better off without making anyone worse off. That's what has made us different from the rest of the world. I wish we had a president that actually believed that.

You have a new bill that youve introduced having to do with stepping up the pressure on Russia, said Van Susteren. Are you dissatisfied with what the president is doing?

"Yeah, I am, Rubio said. And here is why. Because Vladimir Putin has made a decision. He wants to restore Russia and what he thinks would be a great power. And the way to do that is to be able to invade and intimidate their neighbors and their immediate near abroad. He has calculated that the benefits of doing what he is doing now, first with Crimea and now in eastern Ukraine, that the benefits outweigh the costs. We have to change that calculation. And that's what these sanctions are all about, is imposing costs to sectors of the Russian economy and individuals in the Russian economy, including Vladimir Putin, so they can finally determine that the price they're paying is too high.

All right, said Van Susteren. If it doesn't go your way with the increased sanctions, but if we stay with what the president has done, what do you expect will happen?

I think what I expect to happen is what's already happening, Rubio replied. Russia is using agents in eastern Ukraine to destabilize the government there to take over government buildings and entire cities -- all in anticipation of what's going to be a fraudulent vote that potentially could ask as well to be annexed, separate from Ukraine and potentially even become a part of Russia. This is the direction they're headed. Its the same strategy they used in Crimea. That's what they're employing now because theyve calculated that the costs are not high enough to stop doing it.

How is that a national security issue for us? Van Susteren asked.

It's actually an economic issue for us, Rubio insisted. "We cannot allow any country in the world to be afraid to engage us commercially, as Ukraine tried to do in engaging the West, because they are afraid of a more powerful neighbor. In the 21st century, we have to be able to sell our products and our services to any market in the world without being intimidated by a powerful neighbor. If we allow this to stand undeterred it will set an example, not just for Russia, but for China, for Iran, for North Korea, for other countries with hegemonic aspirations to intimidate their neighbors and tell them, If you grow closer to the United States and the West, this is what will happen to you. So its a direct threat, actually, to our economy.