Rubio Campaign Press Release - Marco Draws Huge Crowds in Iowa

October 6, 2015

Marco's campaign is gaining momentum, and it was easy to see this during his swing through eastern Iowa toward the end of last week, drawing packed crowds in three different cities.

Marco Rubio takes pitch to restore the American Dream to Cedar Falls, Iowa.

A photo posted by Sabrina Siddiqui (@sabrinasiddiqui) on Oct 1, 2015 at 4:51pm PDT

Marco got a standing ovation for his talk, about the American Dream, his plans to restore American strength, tax reform, and more.

On Friday, it was off to Dubuque, where he also drew a big crowd. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports:

Marco Rubio shared his vision for "a new American century" during a stop in Dubuque today, saying the U.S. is "still a great country, but it is on the road to decline."

"Change is not going to come from the Democratic Party, at least not the kind that we need," said Rubio, a first-term Republican U.S. senator from Florida. "And it will not come from the Republican Party if we do not turn the page and open it up to for new generation of leadership with new ideas that are relevant to the 21st century."

Rubio attracted an audience of more than 200 people at Grand River Center.

After the event, Marco took some questions from reporters, and he was asked what he thought of President Obama's suggestion that the mass shooting that morning in Oregon should prompt politicians to push new gun control policies:

I don't think that the solutions he's proposing will create a solution; I don't think it solves the problem. Again, this is a complex issue that may not have a federal solution. We need to learn more facts about this specific shooting, but in general, the question is why are people committing acts of violence, irrespective of what instrument they are using.

I think there are deep societal issues involved here — for example, values. No one is born with values, they have to be taught and instilled in you at a young age. And when you have a breakdown of the family, it has an impact on the society at large. That might very well be a leading contributor to some of these.

What can the federal government do to make parents better parents, or better husbands, or better wives? Not much, other than to ensure that we're not doing anything that [undermines] the families or the institutions that instill values in our families. This is a much deeper thing than some law we can pass. Not every problem before America has a federal solution.

Then, that evening, Marco headed to Cedar Rapids for a forum hosted by Americans for Peace, Prosperity, and Security, a local national-security group. With Russia stepping up its operations in the Middle East just last week, it was a great opportunity for Marco to highlight his understanding of the issues at hand and his specific plans to address them. A couple pictures from the event, courtesy of the Cedar Rapids Gazette: Missed Marco on this trip? He'll be back to the state soon!