Florida Senator Marco Rubio blasted what he described as the Democratic Party’s shift to the far left, telling a Republican audience that “I’ve known liberals my whole life. I’ve never known this insanity.”
Rubio also addressed Democratic supporters in his state, telling them that the party has “abandoned” average people in favour of an extreme progressive ideology.
Speaking at a Florida GOP primary event in Hialeah, Florida, Rubio warned that the Democratic Party has been taken over by "radical, left-wing lunatics, laptop liberals and Marxist misfits" who have brought extremism into mainstream political discourse, Fox News reported.
"Listen, you can’t live in Miami and not know Democrats," Rubio said. "We’ve known Democrats our whole life. I’ve known liberals my whole life. I’ve never known this insanity."
Rubio cautioned that the midterms could radically alter the direction of the country, accusing all Democratic candidates of giving way to the radical left in their party.
"You think all these people that are actually elected … actually believe some of this stuff? They don’t have a choice," he said. "They do it because they’re afraid of their own base, and it’s a radical base. And so they go along with it."
Rubio explained the difference between socialism and Marxism, saying one is a failed economic system and the other is a dangerous totalitarian ideology that seeks to control every aspect of society.
"Socialism is a system of economics, and it doesn’t work, and we have boatloads of refugees to prove it,” he said. “But Marxism is about more than just economics. It’s about controlling everything. Marxism cannot tolerate competition of any kind. It cannot tolerate competition from parents and the family, so it teaches children, ‘Your parents don’t know what they’re talking about, listen to us.’ It can’t tolerate a debate, so it tries to stifle speech. It has to use the schools to indoctrinate, not teach."
Rubio said that he longed for the days when the United States had “two normal political parties” that engaged in debates about issues such as tax rates.
"But that’s not what we debate anymore," he said. "We debate crazy things. Insanity."
Rubio accused Democrats of having "left behind millions of Americans" as they succumbed to their far-left base.
"I have a message tonight to our Democrat friends who are out there. Your party has abandoned you," he said.