A Florida Republican is increasingly in the national spotlight as he prepares to launch a new book as buzz builds about possible presidential campaigns in 2016.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who has generated much buzz about a future presidential bid since emerging on the national stage in 2010, will release American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone on Jan. 13, 2015. This marks Rubios second book.
My parents came to the United States in 1956, Rubio noted in promotional material for the new book. The country they found was truly a land of opportunity, where hard-working people with grade school educations could afford a home, a car, and college for their kids. A country where maids and bartenders could raise doctors, lawyers, small-business owners, and maybe even a U.S. senator.
That was the American dream -- our countrys central promise to its people: If you work hard and play by the rules, youll find tremendous opportunities and an even better life for your children, Rubio continued. Yet today, I look around and see the American dream on life support. Seven years of government-centered, tax-and-spend liberalism have failed to lift the poor or sustain the middle class. Fewer Americans are working than at any time since Jimmy Carter was president. New business creation is 30 percent lower than it was in the 1980s. The stock market may be surging by the time you read this, but millions of everyday Americans will still be left behind by an economy that doesnt value their skills and a government that would rather give a handout than a hand up.
I wrote this book because we stand at a critical juncture, Rubio added. What kind of country are we going to be? Will we surrender to Obamacare and other laws that crush innovation and entrepreneurship? Will we accept a powerful nanny state and the erosion of family values? Will we allow politics to kill the American dream? Or will we rise to the challenge -- and take back our legacy as the only nation on earth that offers unrestricted opportunity to all?
I believe we can restore the American dream and expand it to reach more people than ever before, Rubio insisted. But to do so we must restrain our power-hungry, debt-ridden federal government. We must help businesses create more stable middle-class jobs. And we must help our families stay healthy and secure. In this book youll meet an overregulated small-business man, a struggling single mother, an out-of-work and in-debt college graduate, and others who want nothing more than their own shot at the American dream. Their stories are our stories; their challenges are our challenges.
Of course no book or politician can single-handedly restore the American dream, Rubio concluded. But a movement, working to promote the values and can-do spirit that made our country exceptional, can turn everything around. My goal is to provide a road map for that movement and inspire Americans to reclaim their rights: to dream, to work, to build a better life for their children. I hope you will join me as we build that movement and restore the land of opportunity.
Even as he garners grumbles from the right for his prominent role with the Gang of Eight on immigration reform, a writer for one of the leading conservative outlets insists Rubio ranks as the GOPs best hope to pick up the White House in 2016.
Cliff Smith from the American Spectator argues Rubio matches up well against former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, noting his youth and experience on foreign policy match up well against her.
The word is that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will decide within weeks whether or not to seek the presidency, Smith noted in an article published on Wednesday by the American Spectator. The dynamic young senator has been talked up as a potential presidential candidate ever since Florida voters sent him to Washington. However, if prominent pundits are to be believed, his White House prospects have been on a roller coaster: down when he voted for an immigration reform bill that angered some conservatives, up when he outlined an innovative new approach to dealing with poverty, and so on. Yet Rubio remains what he always has been: a top-tier candidate with a few vulnerabilities but numerous strengths that could make him the best candidate in 2016.
Rubios pluses are fairly obvious, Smith continued. Hes young -- only 45 by Election Day -- not to mention handsome. He hails from one of the largest swing-states in the country. As a Hispanic, hes part of the fastest growing ethnic group in America. He is also one of the most dynamic speakers in politics today in either party, and he has an inspiring rags-to-riches story, as the son of immigrants who made their living as a bartender and a maid. This sort of optimistic, positive, everyman demeanor has great appeal to swing-voters, as Sen.-elect Cory Gardner demonstrated quite clearly in his nearly perfect take-down of soon-to-be ex-Sen. Mark Udall.
In the meantime, Rubio also has to think about running for a second term in the Senate come 2016. He got some conservative cover on Wednesday as the Club for Growth PAC announced it was backing him along with other Republican senators -- Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania -- in 2016.
The pro-growth class of 2010 has done excellent work in the United States Senate. Our members want to make sure they stay there for another six years, said Chris Chocola, the president of the Club for Growth.
The Club for Growth PAC is ready to stand by these members of Congress all of whom have a consistent record of voting for pro-growth policies. Chocola added. Americans deserve to have representatives who stand on principle and fight for economic freedom, and the mission of the Club for Growth PAC is to elect them to Congress, regardless of their party affiliation.
Chocola praised the senators for having outstanding pro-growth records, earning higher than 90 percent lifetime scores on the Club for Growths key vote scorecard. and calling them champions of economic freedom.'"
But with Rubio and Paul looking at running for president in 2016, Chocola insisted the Club for Growth would stop helping their Senate campaigns if they jumped in the race for the White House.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
