Rubio Campaign Press Release - This is What You Need To Tell Your Friends About Hillary Clinton

You know we have to stop her

When Hillary Clinton campaigns in South Carolina today, she will do so with the belief that it is her turn to be president of the United States. This will be apparent in the way she continues to do the bare minimum required of a presidential candidate, taking little care to explain her vision, offer new ideas, respond to the concerns of voters, or even sit for interviews with reporters. This approach may be convenient for her, but it does a grave disservice to the people of South Carolina and our nation.

A campaign for president should be a vibrant contest of ideas in which voters run the show, ask the questions, weigh the proposals, and test the mettle of those who ask for the privilege of leading them. No one is entitled to the presidency, and no candidate has the right to skip the process of laying out a vision simply because he or she has the deepest connections in Washington or the most money in big-dollar donations. The office must always go to the candidate with the best vision for the future of America, as decided by the voters.

The presidency, in many ways, reflects what is most special about America. In this country, what your last name is, what life you were born into, or how much money you have does not determine who you can be, where you can go, or what opportunities you can enjoy. I know this because I've lived it. I was blessed to be born in the one country on earth where my parents — a bartender and a maid — could give me all the opportunities necessary to become a candidate for the highest office in the land.

This is not my story alone. It is our story. It is the story of the American Dream — a Dream that is not about wealth or power, but rather about having the opportunity to build a better life for yourself and your children. The question facing the voters of South Carolina and our entire nation in this election is this: Will we save and extend the American Dream to reach more people in this century than ever before, or will we become the first generation in history to leave our children worse off than ourselves?

I am running for president not because America owes me something. It does not. I am running for president because I owe America a debt that I must try to repay. And the only way I will ever repay it is by ensuring that everyone in this nation enjoys the same opportunity that my family has enjoyed: the opportunity to earn better lives, better pay, and better futures for themselves and their children. That goal can only be achieved if we, together as one people, look to the future.

Rather than attempt to bring back yesterday's jobs, we must create the better-paying jobs of the new century. Rather than cling to yesterday's higher education system, which was designed when only a small percentage of our people needed degrees, we must create a new system of higher education that is accessible and affordable for all our people. Rather than rely on yesterday's economic policies, we must embrace the promise and potential of our globalized, technology-driven economy.

As president, I will look to the future because I believe with all my heart that it is even brighter than our past. Unfortunately, I am not convinced Hillary Clinton has even asked herself what might be required to secure America's future. From the looks of her campaign so far, she is too busy dreaming of her path to power to ask what she will do with that power should she attain it.

During her visit today, I encourage the people of South Carolina to hold her to a higher standard, and I encourage Hillary Clinton to lay out a serious vision for her presidency. I look forward to continuing to do the same with each visit I make to the Palmetto State. The people of South Carolina deserve to know the choice before them in this election, which I believe is a choice between the past and the future.