Through media coverage of his Republican celebrity, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio scored big for the GOP before he spoke even a word in response to President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night.
But the speech itself, attacking "unabashed liberalism" and the president's "Big Government" view of America's future, drew loud cheers from network-assembled focus groups around the country.
Rubio addressed the $100 trillion in unfunded entitlement liabilities, the 7.9 percent unemployment, the 7 million Americans projected to lose their preferred health care coverage as a result of Obamacare, and the fact that the economy actually deflated in the final quarter of 2012.
Rubio was emphatic that raising taxes does not create jobs, that small-business owners are succeeding not because of government but in spite of it. Government, he said, creates complicated rules and regulations that small businesses cant afford to follow -- and it leaves them "at a competitive disadvantage with corporations who circumvent the red tape using the best accountants and lobbyists money can buy."
See the full text of Rubio's response to the president's State of the Union address.
Said FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe on FOXNews.com, "Marco Rubio got it right Tuesday night."
"Senator Rubio didnt sugar coat the economic challenges that Americans will face in the years to come," Kibbe said. "... Unlike President Obama, the senator presented Americans with a national vision that empowers and unites, rather than divides. He used his own life experiences to emphasize how economic freedom benefits individuals and families in all communities, not just the privileged few."
FOX's Sean Hannity called it "the best response to a State of the Union address I've ever heard."
RPOF Chairman Lenny Curry had this to say: "In the short time that Senator Rubio spoke, he dismantled the false promise of President Obama's big government, tax-and-spend agenda and explained, in easy to understand terms, how limited government leads to more freedom and better economic opportunities, and why America must return to limited government if we want to be a prosperous nation."
Florida Republican Congressman Tom Rooney drew this comparison of Obama's speech and Rubio's response: Tonight, we heard two very different visions for the direction of our country. Senator Rubio spoke about what the American people can achieve through free enterprise, limited government and greater freedom. President Obama listed what the federal government can do with higher taxes, more spending, more borrowing, and greater control over our everyday lives."
Rooney concluded, After listening to President Obama deliver the same campaign-style speech weve heard so many times, Senator Rubios speech was refreshing. I was proud to hear a Florida senator lay out in clear terms how an agenda of limited government and free enterprise can build a strong middle class and offer every individual, family and small business their greatest shot at achieving the American dream.
Evan Feinberg, president of Generation Opportunity, a national youth advocacy organization, addressed the president's message with this message: Tonights speech indicates that young people will be screwed even more in the next four years than they were in Obamas first term. When the president talks about investing in the future, he really means stealing prosperity from young Americans to pay for a bloated, out-of-control, and unsustainable federal government.
In the days leading up to the SOTU address, much was made of the burden the Hispanic junior senator from Florida carried on his back. It was his mission to regain that crucial voting bloc, lost in the 2012 presidential race. Republicans won just 27 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2012.
In a first, Rubio gave his address in both English and Spanish.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
