At a time when everyone is concerned about the economy, Marco Rubio received a major endorsement today from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“He has shown time and time again an appreciation for free enterprise,” said Bill Miller, the chamber’s senior vice president and political director, who will formally announce the endorsement in Orlando. “He’s earned it. It’s an endorsement about proof, that he has actually not just talked the talk, but he has actually voted the votes that were important to the people in the state of Florida.”
“We’ve got to remind ourselves every day who the job creators are: the job creators are not U.S. Presidents, they’re not senators, they’re not congressmen,” Rubio said. “The job creators in America are everyday people who will start new businesses or expand existing businesses.”
The Rubio campaign said in a press release that 213 of 265 candidates (81%) the chamber endorsed in 2008 were elected.
Miller said the chamber is launching its largest political voter-education effort in its history.
“The policies that are being driven out of Washington have created a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the decision making that companies are making,” Miller said during a bloggers’ conference call on Friday. “But it is also creating a sense of urgency that we need to do everything possible to change the numbers in Washington.”
Miller said a major issue for the business community is whether Congress will let the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the year.
Rubio slammed the economic strategy being promoted by the Obama Administration and Congress, which he says will hurt small businesses.
“They claim it’s a middle-class tax cut but they’re going to raise taxes on the rich,” Rubio said. “But what they’re not telling anyone, or everyone, is that it’s going to hit up thousands of small businesses that are organized under the “S” chapter of the IRS code, who pay their taxes on their personal rate. Twenty million Americans are employed by entities of that magnitude.”
“I think that the number of Americans who the Obama Administration considers to be the rich and millionaires would be shocked,” Rubio said.
Rubio is currently two percentage points ahead of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in a three way race with Democrat Kendrick Meeks, according to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday . Should Jeff Greene win the Democrat primary, however, polls show Crist ahead of Rubio by two points. Both Democrats trail by double digits.
