Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-Miami) brought his campaign for the 2010 Republican U.S. Senate nomination to BusinessForce when he appeared as the guest speaker on Oct. 29th at a BusinessForce “Insider’s Briefing” luncheon for the BusinessForce Board of Directors and their invited guests presented by host sponsor AT&T and supporting sponsor Tucker Hall.

Rubio, who presided as the Grand Master of Ceremonies at the Chamber’s 2006 HobNob, served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2002 to 2006 representing Miami-Dade County.  He capped his legislative career as the 2004 to 2006 Speaker of the House and retired from the legislature when he was term limited in 2006.

Rubio will meet Florida Gov. Charlie Crist next year in an August 24th Republican primary that is expected to be hotly contested and is already rapidly gaining national attention. 

Sharing with the BusinessForce audience his reasons for seeking the Senate seat, Rubio stated, “Never before in history has there been a society like America” but added “That will not be the case if we choose the wrong road as we will go the way of all the others and my kids and yours will be the first Americans to inherit a diminished nation.”  Rubio maintained that the tradition of limited government has set us and our economy apart and sharply criticized the economic direction in Washington today which has “saddled us and our children with debt.” 

Rubio also fielded a number of questions on current issues before Congress. On healthcare reform, Rubio called for “creating a vibrant, private insurance market” and slammed the pending healthcare reform legislation providing a ‘public option” stating it would undoubtedly lead to “government control of healthcare” and the demise of the private insurance industry.  Regarding energy issues, Rubio underscored the need to meet America’s energy needs by developing energy from a wide variety of sources, including offshore drilling.  In response to a question about Israel and the current Middle East situation, Rubio indicated he feared for the survival of Israel and warned of the danger of nuclear weapons proliferation in Iran and other countries in that politically volatile region.

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