Over the past several months, Marco Rubio has been striking an increasingly emotive tone on issues ranging from abortion to poverty. On Monday, he continued to build upon that.
Rubio was asked how he would go about earning more of the African-American vote than Republicans typically grab.
The Florida senator began by saying, “we always come up with labels for people. So, you would be described as an African-American, I would be described as a Hispanic American. I want to begin to focus on the American part, because we’re Americans.”
He went on to talk about how when taxes are raised, they aren’t raised on people according to race; they’re raised on everyone. He added, “when the economy isn’t doing well, everyone pays the price.”
Rubio continued, “we need to get back to that notion that … we are all truly in this together. There is no policies here that exempt people because of their political beliefs or their political registration. If there’s something that’s bad for America, it’s bad for all Americans no matter how you registered to vote or who you voted for in the past.”
He added, “that does not mean we ignore that there are communities in this country that face specific and unique challenges that need to be addressed.” With regard to minority communities, “if you have a significant percentage of the American family that feels as if they are being treated differently or left behind, that is an issue, and we need to confront it now.”
Rubio continued to discuss his personal experiences related to the issue. He talked about an African-American police officer he knows who is often pulled over by other police officers, and how he must feel. Rubio also addressed the struggles faced by kids in poor communities and possible solutions, and his experiences trying to bring those solutions to a Florida city.
He also raised the following point about school choice: “the only people in America who do not have school choice are poor people. Rich people have school choice.”
“We have to remove any impediments that exist in the lives of our people in getting access to the American dream. But I would just say ultimately I honestly deeply believe this—we cannot fulfill our destiny if a significant percentage of our population feels like it is being left behind.”
Earlier this month, Rubio was asked about his approach to discussing social issues with millennials. In his answer, Rubio refrained from disparaging those who disagree with him, without shrinking from supporting his views. He addressed the competing rights that create the divide in opinion, and explained that he prioritized life over choice.
In January, a self-described atheist confronted Rubio about the need to uphold his rights. Rubio addressed the questioner with respect, without hiding his religious pride. He said that, in addition to protecting religious rights, “We’re also gonna have a country, where no one is forced to violate their conscience. Which means, no one’s gonna force you to believe in God, but no one’s gonna force me to stop talking about God.”
