The Marco Rubio Rally in North Fort Myers, FL - Photos & Videos

It's no secret that I am a Marco Rubio fan, so it's no surprise that TCGuy and I headed over to the Marco Rubio Rally at the Shell Factory in Fort Myers on Saturday, October 16.   I have been keeping my eye out for a Rubio appearance close to home and was happy it wasn't an event that we had to pay to get into...although we dished out $20 for Rubio tee shirts.

Speaking of tee-shirts...I made my own with a bumper sticker.  Stop laughing.  I started a trend because after the rally we went to lunch and met two folks who had been to the rally, too.  They noticed my shirt and we struck up a conversation.  After lunch, TCGuy and I went shopping at BJ's and guess what?  Those two people from lunch showed up at BJ's with Rubio stickers on their backs.  It's said, "immitation is the sincerest form of flattery"...so there!

But I digress...

The rally was held in a restaurant on the Shell Factory property.  They cleared the floor of tables and set out folding chairs.  There was standing room only by the time Rubio arrived.

The guy standing on the left with the white shirt and the microphone is Trey Redal, a local conservative radio talk show host.  He said a few words before the rally.  This view is only half of the room.

I had our camera at the ready to provide photos and videos for the blog.  I tried to catch the important parts of the speeches and categorize them to give you the gist of Marco's message.  Please excuse any shakiness in some of the videos as I used a hand held digital camera.  They are all posted at the TCL YouTube Channel, too.

If you didn't already know, Rudy Giuliani has been traveling around Florida with Marco Rubio.  To our delight, Rudy arrived with the Rubio bus and made a short introduction speech.  It's funny, so take a few minutes to watch if you can.  The pretty lady sitting next to Marco is his wife, Jeanette.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was pretty excited to see Marco Rubio in person.  I've had him plastered all over my blog for way over a year already.  He didn't disappoint me, either.  His message is one that I sincerely hope the people of Florida hear LOUD and CLEAR.  If Marco stays true to his principles (more on that later), and Floridians make the right choice, then we will have one terrific U.S. Senator-elect come election day, November 2nd.

Below are the videos I took of Marco's message.  It was hard to figure out when to turn the camera on/off  and I didn't have enough memory to record the entire speech, so you'll notice some words missing in the beginning of the videos.  Not to worry, you'll get the message as they go on.  I hope you can take a few minutes to watch.  Marco Rubio is a wonderful speaker (even without a teleprompter)...engaging, funny and right on the money!  Remember, he will not only represent Florida in the Senate, but his votes in Congress will affect the entire country.

American Exceptionalism:


Repeal ObamaCare:


National Debt:


Americans Have a Common Heritage:

I want to preface the last video.  On the day before the rally, I kept thinking about what I wanted to hear from Marco Rubio that would make me believe that he meant what he's been saying and not just paying lip service like so many other candidates we've been fooled into voting for over the years.  Marco came through at the end of his speech.  Of course, only time and his actions will tell if he is really sincere in his words.

At the end of his speech Marco touched on what I, and so many of us who have been disenchanted by RINOs and fair weather conservatives, fear.  We fear that the "conservative" candidates who get elected in November will not stay true to their conservative principles once they get to DC.  We fear that they will be manipulated by the "ruling class elitists" who fill the halls of the Capitol.  We fear that, after all of the good intentions and promises made before the election, they will fall prey to the DC cliques and the Washington machine.  Maybe I'm asking too much, but our future depends on these folks staying true to themselves and to their words.  Marco refers to this issue in the last video (below): 

Candidates & Conservative Principles:


To top the event off, I had the opportunity to shake Marco's hand and wish him well.  TCGuy got the shot.

 Here's the photo of the day, which I took after the rally was over and they all headed to the campaign bus:

 Marco Rubio & Rudy Giuliani smiling for the cameras...

...and I'll be smiling all the way to the polls.

Slideshow of photos from the rally: Click on the bottom bar to start the slideshow.

Click the bottom bar to start slideshow.

Donate to the Marco Rubio campaign here.

More reports on the Rubio Rally:
http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=13336057
http://www.news-press.com/article/20101016/NEWS0107/101016021/Rubio-Giuliani-join-forces-at-local-rally
http://www.fox4now.com/Global/story.asp?S=13336645
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010101016021