Jeb Bush defended his conservative credentials, tax cuts and smaller government as Florida’s governor, at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday.
“I would describe myself as a practicing, reform-minded conservative,” said Bush. “I’ve actually done it.”
Bush was greeted with a few boos from the crowd, proof that his pitch could be a tough sell to conservatives. His speech followed that of fellow Floridian, Senator Marco Rubio, who spoke about American exceptionalism.
“Our greatness was not accident,” said Senator Rubio. “It didn’t happen on its own. Or greatness in the result of God’s blessings, the sacrifices made by men and women in uniform and the choices that were made before us.”
Both Floridians have fences to mend with conservatives on the topic of immigration. Both potential presidential candidate criticized President Obama’s executive action on immigration and said that the borders must first be secured before any meaningful reform can happen.
“We should give them [immigrants] a path to legal status, where they work, whey they don’t receive government benefits, where they don’t break the law. Where they learn English and why they make a contribution to our society,” said Bush.
“We need economic driven immigrants,” said Rubio. “They come here to work, to invest in their dreams and create economic opportunity for all of us.”