Rubio inspires in Virginia Beach

That’s the word for it:  Inspires.  And what a breath of fresh air it was in an otherwise nasty and vicious campaign season.

While Donald Trump hurls juvenile insults and stokes racial and ethnic fear and resentment, and while Ted Cruz spouts off a litany of unfactual facts and plans his next dirty tricks, Marco Rubio inspires.

And he did just that in front of a crowd of over 3,500 people this evening at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The event was kicked off by a spirited and motivating speech by Virginia Beach Del. Jason Miyares, a rising star who was followed by Rep. Scott Rigell and former Governor and Senator George Allen.

But when Rubio walked out, the crowd went wild.  And the Senator did not disappoint.

He focused his speech on his family’s working class roots and on the current fragility of the American Dream.  He spoke of his parents emigrating from Cuba to the United States in 1956 without a dime in their pockets and, through hard work, buying a house within ten years.  And he sang the praises of our capitalist economic system that made that possible.

He spoke of the need to build people up and pledged never to divide the country in the way that Donald Trump does.  He gave examples of how Trump conned people with his “Trump University” scam and how he’s conning people now by pretending to have the answers to everything while actually saying nothing.  He warned that the news media that have already attacked Rubio for parking tickets and drinking beer in a park when he was 18 years old are holding their ammo on Trump until he has the nomination and then will come out with everything they’ve got relentlessly when it’s too late for the party to do anything about it.  He spoke convincingly of the fact that nominating Trump would result in the election of Hillary Clinton, the most unworthy candidate for president in our lifetimes.

And he did talk about Hillary.  About her lying to the families of the four Americans who were killed in Benghazi.  About her being investigated by the FBI.  And of Bernie Sanders, who proudly promotes a socialist economic system that has left people enslaved and impoverished everywhere it’s been tried.

But what Rubio spoke about the most was the promise of a nation that has been dragged down over the past 8 years under President Barack Obama.  He spoke of how we have not stood up to ISIS, a threat with affiliates now in twelve countries, and he pledged to engage in a Reagan-like rebuilding of the military.  He spoke of the fact that 30% of the Guantanamo prisoners released by Obama have returned to terrorist activities against our country and our allies, and he pledged to keep Guantanamo open and to continue sending terrorists who work to attack our country there.  He honored the military personnel and veterans in our area and across the country and pledged to end the neglectful and disgraceful treatment that they have received under the Obama administration.  And he praised the police who have been so disgracefully maligned by Obama and his fellow travelers.

While much of Rubio’s speech gave rise to cheers of support, a lengthy portion was relatively quiet and contemplative.  He spoke of the fact that a majority of Millennials now believe that the American dream is dead and how under Obama we are now headed toward being the first generation in American history not to leave our kids a country in which they will do better than us. He talked about his father the bartender and his mother the maid who never gained much wealth but who considered themselves successful because their kids did better than they did.  He pledged to make that possible again in America.  And he promised that as president he would support and love all Americans, including those who oppose him.

The news media have made much of the sparring between Sen. Rubio and Donald Trump since last week’s debate, but the truth is that Rubio spent only a very small amount of time talking about Trump.  While Trump has spent so much time attacking Rubio that the only thing missing is how much he’s charging for the space Rubio is renting in his head, Rubio was almost dismissive of Trump, focusing on substance and a vision of an America that once was and can be again.  In other words, he inspired.

And isn’t that what we truly want and need in a president?