SALON

Thursday, Mar 14, 2013 5:54 PM UTC

Rubio at CPAC: Liberals are “freeloaders”

In a rousing CPAC speech, Rubio mocks climate change, says life begins at conception, and declares he's not a bigot

By

Topics: Abortion, Marco Rubio, Florida, CPAC, Climate Change, Gay Marriage,

Rubio at CPAC: Liberals are Marco Rubio (Credit: Jeff Malet, maletphoto.com)

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., offered up a serving of red meat to the audience at CPAC, reiterating his support for “traditional marriage,” calling liberals “freeloaders,” and stating his opposition to tax increases and abortion. “Science has proven that life begins at conception,” he told the cheering crowd.

“Just because I want to define marriage in a traditional way does not make me a bigot,” Rubio said, adding: “Just because I believe that life, all life, at all stages of development, deserves to be protected,” does not make him closed-minded.

“The people who are closed-minded in our society are the ones who love to preach about climate science” but ignore that “science has proven that life begins at conception.”

Though he did not mention immigration reform, Rubio did throw in a plug against Obamacare (“we need a healthcare reform that empowers Americans”) and tax increases (“there is no tax increase in the world that will solve our long-term debt problem”), before telling an anecdote about a family that just wants a better life for their children: “They’re not freeloaders. They’re not liberals,” he added.

Before he ended, Rubio got in a (third) reference to the famous “water drinking moment” from his rebuttal to the State of the Union. “I’ll tell you what the criticism from the left [of the speech] is going to be. Number one: ‘That he drank too much water.’ Number two: ‘That he didn’t offer up new ideas.’ We don’t need new ideas. The idea is called America, and it still works.”

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com. More Jillian Rayfield.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • This photo. President Barack Obama has a laugh during the unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tx., Thursday. Former first lady Barbara Bush, who candidly admitted this week we've had enough Bushes in the White House, is unamused.
    Reuters/Jason Reed

  • Rescue workers converge Wednesday in Savar, Bangladesh, where the collapse of a garment building killed more than 300. Factory owners had ignored police orders to vacate the work site the day before.
    AP/A.M. Ahad

  • Police gather Wednesday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to honor campus officer Sean Collier, who was allegedly killed in a shootout with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects last week.
    AP/Elise Amendola

  • Police tape closes the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy in Libya Tuesday. The explosion wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage to Tripoli's upscale al-Andalus neighborhood.
    AP/Abdul Majeed Forjani

  • Protestors rage outside the residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday following the rape of a 5-year-old girl in New Delhi. The girl was allegedly kidnapped and tortured before being abandoned in a locked room for two days.
    AP/Manish Swarup

  • Clarksville, Mo., residents sit in a life boat Monday after a Mississippi River flooding, the 13th worst on record.
    AP/Jeff Roberson

  • Workers pause Wednesday for a memorial service at the site of the West, Tx., fertilizer plant explosion, which killed 14 people and left a crater more than 90 feet wide.
    AP/The San Antonio Express-News, Tom Reel

  • Aerial footage of the devastation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province last Saturday. At least 180 people were killed and as many as 11,000 injured in the quake.
    AP/Liu Yinghua

  • On Wednesday, Hazmat-suited federal authorities search a martial arts studio in Tupelo, Miss., once operated by Everett Dutschke, the newest lead in the increasingly twisty ricin case. Last week, President Barack Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R.-Miss., and a Mississippi judge were each sent letters laced with the deadly poison.
    AP/Rogelio V. Solis

  • The lighting of Freedom Hall at the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday is celebrated with (what else but) red, white and blue fireworks.
    AP/David J. Phillip

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 109 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Would we give up burgers to stop climate change? New study suggests if we reduce our intake of animal products by 25%, we can halt climate change
651 points652 points | 285 comments
vote
Facebook has been used to find ex-lovers, childhood BFFs or the one who got away. He used it to find the guy who, without his consent, made him his drug mule.
242 points243 points | 23 comments
vote
“This could be a career ender for Michele Bachmann”
145 points146 points | 63 comments
vote
Poll: 3 in 10 voters say “armed revolution might be necessary” - 29% say they believe they'll have to act "in order to protect our liberties" in the next few years
46 points47 points | 16 comments
vote
Capitalism, not feminism, killed home cooking–and fixing our broken food system is gonna take a lot more than some privileged women embracing “new domesticity”
37 points38 points | 19 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Shelter Cycle": Raised in a cult

Recommendations