Marco Rubio Quotes


We can't ignore the fact that this country has a legacy of racism....We cannot be a leader in the 21st century if a significant portion of our population feels locked out of the future.


Context

One reason that this is such a noteworthy quote is that Rubio was in the midst of his campaign for the Republican Presidential Nomination where only the most dedicated and generally conservative members of the party turn out to vote in the primaries. And a very large part of them were Southern racists who switched parties in response to the Civil Rights Act passage in 1964. Since then the very conservative wing of the party has had a de facto veto on Republican presidential candidates. Rubio's statement was the view of the majority of Americans and a significant number of Republicans, but this courageous statement of his true belief's risked his chances in the primary.


Citations

Marco Rubio, U. S. Senator (Republican, FL), Campaign Speech, August 20, 2015

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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Lame was not opposed to civil rights as some who read this quotation sometimes conclude. He did think that much of the lack of success of minorities in America could be ameliorated by many self-improvement and individual efforts. His reference to destroying America, was an interesting rhetorical technique of assuming that what you advocate is not implemented and showing that it leads to disaster. Phrased this way, it gets and focuses the attention of an audience.


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Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio
  • Born: May 28, 1971
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Politician

Marco Antonio Rubio is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Florida. A Republican, he previously served as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Rubio unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2016, winning presidential primaries in Minnesota, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.