Toward the end of Jon Stewart’s on-air interview last night with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the comic suggested tea party conservatives would reject policy ideas in his new book, “American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone.”
Rubio, who is mulling a run for president next year, would have none of it. The Florida Republican rebuffed “The Daily Show” host’s attempts to paint the tea party movement as unreasonable.
“For you to become president, aren’t you going to have to move to the right?” Stewart asked. “And this book does not strike me necessarily as that.”
Rubio didn’t appear to miss a beat.
“I believe that this is taking limited government and free enterprise and applying it to the challenges of the 21st century,” Rubio said.
“This is taking limited government and free enterprise and applying it to the challenges of the 21st century,” @marcorubio tells @TheDailyShow.
Earlier in the show, Stewart praised Rubio’s proposal to distribute Earned Income Tax Credit dollars in increments to the working poor, giving them a regular wage boost rather than an annual lump sum. But then (at the 1:30 mark in the video), Stewart advocated combining the wage enhancement with a higher minimum wage.
Rubio, who appeared twice on “The Daily Show” in 2012, didn’t bite. He said:
The concern I have about the minimum wage increase is that we have been told by both the Congressional Budget Office and independent analysts that it would cost certain jobs. In essence, some businesses will decide: ‘Well, you’ve now made our employees more expensive than a machine, so we’re going to automate.’
After a quip from Rubio about fast-food service, Stewart pretends that he is angry at the comment. Stewart defends “government intervention,” which he says is opposed by tea party conservatives.
This gives Rubio an opening (at 3:25) to begin to state what he believes tea party activism is all about – until the comic again interrupts.
Go here to watch Stewart’s extended interview with Rubio, which includes the Florida Republican’s thoughts on reforming health care and community colleges.
>>> Commentary: Young Workers Hurt Most by Minimum Wage Hikes
