Marco Rubio Slams Obama on Economy at CPAC

Speaking in Washington to the Conservative Political Action Conference event hosted by the American Conservative Union on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., weighed in on a number of matters, including President Barack Obama, the role of the federal government and American exceptionalism.

Rubio hammered Obamas management of the economy in his speech.

When the president took over as president of the United States, we had high unemployment," Rubio said. When the president took over as president of the United States, we had an economy that was going through some real struggles. He became president. He had a Democrat-controlled Congress. He got everything he wanted from the Congress. And guess what? Everything got worse.

The unemployment went up, the debt went up, the economy slowed down. Everything got worse, Rubio continued. So, he cannot run on his record. And so if he cant run on his record, what is he going to try to do instead? And what we have seen is unprecedented. Unlike any leader in modern American history, we are led today by a president that has decided to pit Americans against each other.

The basic argument that hes making to our nation is the reason why some of us are worse off than we used to be is because other people are doing too well, Rubio added. That the only way for some of us to do better is for other people to do worse. That the only way for some people to climb the political ladder is for other people to be pulled down. This is the argument that this president, unlike perhaps any figure in modern American politics, is making. And hes doing it because it is a calculated effort to win the election.

Heres the problem. The words do matter, especially when it comes from the highest office in the land. And that idea, that the only way for some people to do better is for other people to do worse, thats what other countries believe. Thats the kind of thought process that people come here to get away from, Rubio said. And its never worked anywhere it has been tried. And so the biggest challenge we have as a movement, as conservatives, or what I like to call the majority of Americans. You know why I know that? You know, somebody asked me: How do you know that? How do you know Americans are majority conservative? Heres why: how come liberals never admit that they are liberals? They never admit it. Theyve now come up with a new word called progressive, which I thought was an insurance company, but apparently its a label. Theyll never admit it.

Here is the full speech: