Senator Marco Rubio took the stage at CPAC Thursday morning a little after 10:30 to a completely packed house. American Conservative Union Chairman, Al Cardenas, gave him a glowing introduction, likening Rubio’s rise to a “Magical Mystery Tour”, ending at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The title (and theme) of Rubio’s speech, “Is America Still An Exceptional Nation”, is nothing new for the senator. During his senatorial run in 2010, Rubio released an ad highlighting his background as the son of Cuban immigrants.
The moment Rubio took the stage, he was greeted with huge applause and a standing ovation, before he even utter a word. When the crowd finally calmed, he looked around and joked: “It’s hard to get a teleprompter in this town, one guy uses a lot of them!” His remarks were peppered with humor and completely engaged the crowd.
He began with talking about elections—specifically that elections are about choices, they’re not popularity contests. He reminded everyone President Obama is in election mode and was very frank about his feelings on the President. “He cannot run on his record,” Rubio said. Obama’s strategy, he declared, is to pit Americans against each other. The idea people can only be successful at the misfortune of others is what other countries believe, and what people in those countries want to get away from.
He continued, saying Obama has been in office for three and a half years and hasn’t dealt with the three issues that Rubio believes to be the most important: simplifying the tax code, using the energy that the United States owns, and reducing the massive debt the United States has acquired. Rubio is particularly concerned about our debt and the unsustainable path that we’re heading on: we are simply spending much more than we’re taking in. Rubio said to look at Europe and the financial crisis going on. “That’s our future,” Rubio claimed.
What received the biggest applause was Rubio’s statement on the Obama Administration’s recent controversial mandate, requiring coverage of birth control. “The First Amendment still applies, religious freedom still exists,” said an impassioned Rubio. He expanded and said the United States Government shouldn’t be telling institutions, like churches and synagogues, what to do.
He continued with stating America must be strong both economically and with national security and defense issues, and that America derives its strength from our people—that we have the ability, opportunity, and freedom to pursue our dreams. He looked into the crowd and stated that he believed that within that very room there were people that have either had dreams and ideas they’ve turned into reality, or people that have dreams and ideas they are trying to turn into a reality. America is the best example of how free enterprise and opportunity can make a nation great because America believes in it. It also makes the WORLD great. “The world is what it is because of the American Century,” Rubio claimed.
He ended his remarks by cautioning that if America diminishes, a space is left for someone else to take. And right now the only countries that could possibly fill it are China and Russia, who do not hold the same belief in free enterprise and freedom that America does. “Being an American is a blessing, but it also a responsibility,” he said.
“The greatest thing we can do for the world is be America,” he concluded.
