Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, criticized the U.S. for not promoting American values and morality when he headlined an anti-gay group’s annual dinner Saturday night.
Speaking at the fundraising dinner for the Florida Family Planning Council, a group dedicated to promoting an anti-gay and anti-abortion agenda, Rubio’s speech played to the conservative base whose support he lost after coming out in favor of immigration reform. “The American dream cannot be saved unless our people have the values they need for success,” he said.
Rubio’s star power faded earlier this year, and as he looks to retake ground he lost to fellow far-right conservatives Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, he aggressively pushed a focus on bringing the religious conservative buzzwords “values” and “morals” back into conversation.
“The moral well-being of our nation is our business. It’s everybody’s business,” Rubio said.
The Florida Family Planning Council successfully led a drive to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state in 2008.
Meredith Clark
Meredith Clark is a freelance writer and editor. She was previously a senior news producer for "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj," a reporter with MSNBC.com, the digital politics and culture editor at Glamour and a senior news and politics editor at Refinery29. She has written for Vulture, Rolling Stone, Self, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast and Bustle.