Scoop from CPAC: Marco Rubio Brought Down the House
The enormous meeting room at the Gaylord National Hotel where Marco Rubio gave his speech on this first day of CPAC 2013 was packed to standing room only, with loads of young enthusiastic voters, and supporters of all ages and backgrounds. Rubio energized the crowd with simple, straightforward observations about what is happening to America and what is needed to fix our problems. He gave a stirring, eloquent, optimistic, hopeful and powerful speech.
Rubio’s big points on America were:
- Our debt problem must be solved. There is no tax increase in the world that will solve the debt problem. Fiscal discipline and rapid growth are required.
- School choice and education reforms designed to meet the needs of students who should have options to pursue a wide range of careers and trade opportunities/industry certifications that lead to genuine middle class jobs and fill the needs of our society, are imperative.
- Don’t ignore the significance of the breakdown of the American family.
- We have obligations to each other—voluntary organizations do great things every day—Americans do care about each other.
- We need health care reform that allows every American to buy insurance from any company that wants to sell it to them.
- Student loan debt is staggering. Create more options like information about likely debt before entering educational programs and creative and less costly means of providing some aspects of education, and many other options, need to be explored.
Other highlights from Rubio:
- He continued the water bottle humor. The crowd loved it.
- Our government can make you pessimistic, but America has never been our government. America has never been our politicians. America has always been our people.
- Stakes are bigger than America. The race is on about whether China can supplant America as the world’s leader. The Chinese government provides no Internet access for its people, imprisons its people without recourse, coerces and tortures till the accused confess, and if you escape China, they put pressure on other governments to return you. They are still forcing abortions and sterilizations. They use forced labor. This is what they do to their own people. We do not want China to be the leader of the world.
What we have in America is different and special—don’ t take it for granted. In the vast history of humankind, almost everyone born has been poor, disadvantaged, with no ability to get ahead. What’s made America different is that here people have a real chance at a better life. Don’t underestimate what that has meant for the world.
The standing O point was that Rubio anticipated the Left’s criticism of his talk--- that he didn’t offer any new ideas. But that’s a fallacy, he said. There is a better idea, and that idea is America.
Proof that America is the best idea, that it still works, comes from looking around the world. Who do other countries copy? Always, America. They are not copying Russia, USSR, or China. Free enterprise is still helping lift people around the world into self-sufficiency and a better life. As Marco Rubio said, they may claim to hate us, but they sure would like to be us.
This speech alone was worth the trip to CPAC.
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