Rubio Gets Introduced And Insulted At The Same Time At Michigan Stop
By Christy Strawser
WATERFORD (CBS Detroit) With Donald Trump preening in the national spotlight, fellow Republican presidential contenders are fighting for every scrap of attention.
Marco Rubio learned that not all attention, even from your supporters, is good attention during a campaign swing through Michigan. Rubio was introduced by Sen. Ken Horn, R-32nd District, and the intended hype moment went down this way:
"First, I have to be honest with you. I am so fed up at this point, with first term senators who are president of the United States. Barack Obama kind of left a sour taste in my mouth when it comes to inexperience," Horn said in his Rubio introduction.
Horn went on to note first-term Senator Rubio is different from Obama, using praise including "stunning" and "articulate."
Um, thank you?
One can only wonder if it brought to mind Vice President Joe Biden's early gaffe when he described then-candidate Obama as "articulate and bright and clean."
In this instance, Rubio bounded on stage and hammered at Obama, saying the president's speech on Sunday should never have been delivered.
"Here is the gist of the speech in ten seconds...I refuse to call this a 'war on radical Islam,' Rubio told the crowd. "We are going to keep doing the same thing we are doing now and stop being so discriminatory, end of speech."
Rubio delivered his message as a new poll emerged showing him in a distant fourth place behind Trump, at 35 percent, Ted Cruz, at 16 percent, and Ben Carson. Rubio is fourth with support from 9 percent of Republican primary voters; Jeb Bush is supported by 3 percent in the latest poll, and Carly Fiorina is at 1 percent.
Rubio stopped in Michigan to underscore recent endorsements from local and state legislators, including Horn, and deliver a speech about the military and his plan to revitalize the economy.
Political watchers noted the weight Michigan Republicans carry for the candidates, with the state's March 8 primary. "Michigan's place in the legislative calendar makes it especially important," said GOP consultant Stu Sandler to MLive.
"You have the early states in February, then you have what's being called the SEC primary with mostly southern states. But Michigan could be what separates the wheat from the chaff. It's the last week before all-or-nothing states like Ohio and Florida, so it really is a spring board into those," he added.
