Sen. Marco Rubio has waited five months to deliver his maiden speech. Today, finally, the Florida freshman will take to the floor.
According to excerpts obtained by National Review Online, Rubio will call for a “new American century.”
Rubio’s key theme is American exceptionalism. “Ronald Reagan described America as a shining city on a hill,” he will say. “America never wanted to be the only shining city. We wanted our example to inspire the people of the world to build one of their own. You see, these nations, these new shining cities, they can join us, but they can never replace us. Because the light coming from them is but a reflection of our own.
“The light of an American century that now spreads throughout the earth,” he continues. “The world still needs America. The world still needs our light. It needs another American century.”
Reflecting on the history of the United States, Rubio will note that though America did not seek to be a world power, “that is exactly what the American economic miracle made her.”
“Most great powers have used their strength to conquer other nations,” he will says. “But America is different. For us, power also came with a sense that to those that much is given, much is expected. A sense that with the blessings God bestowed upon our land, came the responsibility to make the world a better place. In the 20th century, that is exactly what America did.”
Turning from the past to the future, Rubio will outline his political agenda. “Now we find ourselves in a new century. And there is a growing sense that for America, things will never be the same,” he will say. “That maybe, this new century will belong to someone else. Indeed, we do stand now at a turning point in our history. One where there are only two ways forward for us. We will either bring on another American century, or we are doomed to witness America’s decline.”
“A new American century is within our reach,” he will declare. “There is nothing wrong with our people. Americans haven’t forgotten how to start a business. They haven’t run out of good ideas. Americans are as great as we have ever been. But our government is broken. And a broken government is keeping us from doing what we have done better than anyone in the world for over a century: Create jobs.
“If we here in Washington could just find agreement on a plan to start getting our debt under control. If we could just make our tax code simpler and more predictable. And if we could just get the government to ease up on some of these onerous regulations, the American people will take care of the rest,” he will argue. “If this government will do its part, this generation of Americans is ready to theirs. They will give us a prosperous, upwardly mobile economy. One where our children will invent, build and sell things to a world where more people than ever before can afford to buy them.”
“If we can give America a government that lives within its means, the American economy will give us a government whose means are considerable,” he will say. “A government that can afford to pay for the things a government should do, because it does not waste money on things it should not do. If we can deliver on a few simple but important things, we have the chance to achieve something that is hard to imagine is even possible. An America whose future will be greater than its past.”
The speech will be broadcast at 2:45 p.m. on CSPAN-2.