Why the GOP should retire its 'big government' attacks on Obama

The shopworn formula to attack the president is well past its expiration date

Marco Rubio: A young Senator spouting the party's old ideas.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Sen. Marco Rubio's response to President Obama's State of the Union address will not only be his tryout for the prized role as the GOP's de facto leader — it is also supposed to reflect a new and improved Republican Party, which is still in the midst of a rehabilitation project following Obama's near-landslide re-election victory. Rubio is the face of that makeover, a Cuban-American who will deliver his response in both Spanish and English in a bid to make the party more appealing to Latinos, as well as more inclusive in general. At age 41, he is also a full 10 years younger than Obama, and a symbol of the GOP's deep well of fresh ideas and vigor.

That's why it was somewhat puzzling when Rubio, in a preview of his remarks, told the Associated Press that he would use his response to cast Obama's second-term agenda as more "big government." Rubio said, "You're usually able to go as far as your talent and work will take you and that's the direct product of free enterprise and limited government. The president is basically asking us to abandon that. He's asking us to embrace the principles of more government, more government spending, more government control of our economy."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.