Marco Rubio at the Reagan Library

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/08/marco-rubio-at-the-reagan-library

The new Republican Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, spoke last night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. YouTube video embedded below:

Mr. Rubio spoke of the importance of "defining the proper role of government." While paying tribute to Reagan, he also nodded to President Clinton ("work hard and play by the rules") and George W. Bush ("compassionate America"). He said the growth of government "crowded out the institutions in our society," "weakened our people," and happened without taking into account how programs would be paid for.

"The no. 1 objective of our economic policy, in fact the singular objective of our economic policy, from a government perspective, is simple, it's growth. It's not distribution of wealth. It's not picking winners and losers. The goal of our public policy should be growth, growth in our economy," he said.

If you don't have all 23 minutes, check in at 11 minutes and again at 18 minutes, where Mr. Rubio's speech takes an anti-Communist turn and also gets into the Declaration of Independence — "all people are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights." Mr. Rubio also talks about his grandfather, an immigrant from Communist Cuba. He ends with a quote from Matthew.

This guy is 40 years old, and the Obama experience will make some people justifiably wary of lawyers with little-to-no private-sector experience and little-to-no public-sector executive experience who are good speechmakers. One can quibble with his delivery or with certain passages. But something about the way Mr. Rubio talks has a certain resonance with me. Maybe it's a generational thing, or a grandchild of immigrant thing.

by Editor  |  Aug 24, 2011 at 11:15 am Related Topics:  Immigration, Income Inequality receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list