Daytona Beach News-Journal - U.S. Senator Rubio Wows Crowd

News Article

By Derek Catron

As Marco Rubio stood alone under the bright lights of the News-Journal Center stage Wednesday morning, Florida's junior senator remarked on the unusual setting for a political meeting.

"I almost feel like I have to tell some jokes or sing a song," he quipped.

But judging from the crowd's reaction -- including two standing ovations -- Rubio was right at home on a big stage.

Even as some of the Republicans swept to victory in November have come home to mixed receptions during Congress' spring recess, Rubio's star power has not dimmed. Wednesday's crowd of about 250 people -- who were asked to RSVP to Rubio's office before attending -- seemed disappointed only twice: when Rubio apologetically made his farewells and when he deflected suggestions he'd be on a presidential ticket in 2012.

"Please, no," the 39-year-old said with a broad smile. "There are media here and my wife wouldn't take the news well."

Rubio -- who was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives before conservative Republicans pushed him to what at one time seemed an unlikely victory over former Gov. Charlie Crist -- spoke for about an hour before heading off to a similar event in St. Augustine. He touched on a range of topics, but focused most of his remarks on America's "debt crisis" and the threat it poses to the way of life for future generations.

"Every generation of Americans before us has had challenges ... They decided that rather than pass on their problems to their children, they would pass on their dreams," he said. "The great question of our time is are we as a people willing to do these things? ... What's more important -- America's future or our own political future?"

A fan of the FairTax plan, Rubio thinks the country needs a simpler tax code and an amendment that would require a balanced federal budget. The only way to ensure a smaller government, he told his audience, is to shrink its revenues.

"If all we do is raise this debt limit, it will be catastrophic," he said. "If we don't do anything else, the message to the world will be: America has a debt problem that's unmanageable, and they do not have the political courage or political will to do anything about it.

"This has to be dealt with right now."

Progressives would prefer to put off severe budget cuts until the economy rebounds, and even Rubio said stimulating the economy was the key to solving the crisis.

While he got big applause for agreeing to a need to reduce the size of government, Rubio doesn't fall in line with those who hope to dismantle Social Security, Medicare and other progressive institutions. At every speech on the topic, he mentions how his Cuban-born mother depends on both programs, which he hopes to preserve for the future through careful reform.

"The good news is America can afford to have a safety net," he said. "The bad news is we can't afford what we have now."

Rubio's fans took to his message wholeheartedly.

"You really know where his heart is and where he stands," said Lynda Kroeger with the Republican Executive Committee of Volusia County.

Larry McKinney, the president of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce who introduced Rubio, understood why Rubio generates such enthusiasm.

"He's got immense charisma," McKinney said. "The senator has a real command of the facts, too. He's got it all."

Source