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Cruz, Rubio, Perry take stage at Columbus event
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Three more Republican presidential hopefuls were in the state’s capital Saturday, slamming the present White House administration and vowing big changes if elected in 2016.
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who are among the leading candidates in current polls, and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry contrasted their plans with the state of the nation under President Barack Obama.
“We are here today because America is in crisis,” said Cruz, who received some of the loudest ovations of the day. “We are here today because we’re bankrupting our kids and grandkids, because our constitutional rights are under assault from Washington each and every day and because America has receded from leadership in the world.”
Rubio offered later, “Three times in the last four elections, the American people voted for change ... and nothing changed. So people are rightfully frustrated. Let’s go further – people are rightfully angry and upset. ... We cannot let that anger define us. We are not an angry nation, we are a hopeful nation.”
Perry said, “The president talks a good game, but his policies are an absolute mess.”
The three were featured speakers during the final day of the Defending the American Dream Summit at the Columbus Convention Center. The annual event is sponsored by the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity, with a focus on promoting conservative policies and candidates.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke Friday. Saturday’s agenda included comments from Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman.
The themes of the presidential candidates’ speeches were essentially the same: Obama’s signature health care law and other policies have hurt the country, and it’s time for a conservative change. Voters such as the ones in attendance, speakers said, can bring about the latter.
“Washington, D.C., is terrified of the men and women in this room,” Cruz said.
Cruz offered a lengthy list of tasks for his first day in the White House: rescinding Obama’s executive orders, launching an investigation of Planned Parenthood, ending the persecution of religious liberty and ripping “to shreds” the Iran nuclear deal.
Rubio echoed many of those broader positions and urged to make the country more competitive globally.
“We’re not just living through an economic downturn,” he said. “We are living through a massive economic transformation. ... It is changing faster than ever ... but the policies we follow in this country are outdated.”
Gov. John Kasich, who did not participate in the summit, was not mentioned by name by the GOP presidential candidates who spoke at the event Friday and Saturday.
But Perry made the most- direct hit on Kasich’s record, specifically on Ohio’s decision to expand Medicaid eligibility.
Kasich has said the move ensured more Ohio tax dollars are returned to the state. Perry called that reasoning “nonsense.”
“The argument has been made that states should reclaim their share of federal dollars but that begs the question, what about our children’s share of the federal debt?” Perry asked. “Justifying Medicaid expansion on the grounds of returning federal money to your home state can only be done if you turn a blind eye to the fact that we are $18 trillion in debt.”