Congressman Connie Mack IV came to downtown Fort Myers on Monday night and a lovefest broke out.

A number of House members around the country have been hammered by their constituents in townhall meetings during this congressional recess, but at Harborside Event Center, a crowd of about 500 was mostly in Mack's corner.

The Republican from Fort Myers briefly touted his "Penny Plan," then left the stage to work the crowd. He explained how the legislation that he introduced about 10 weeks ago works.

The bill calls for a 1 percent cut in spending for the next six years. In the seventh year, spending would be capped at 18 percent of the gross domestic product. The eighth year would see a balanced budget, and in the 10th year, Mack said there would be about $7.5 trillion sliced off the nation's debt.

After explaining the plan, Mack took 23 questions in 90 minutes. They ranged on topics from President Barack Obama to immigration to regulations to a balanced-budget amendment to oil drilling and pipelines.

The most passionate moment of the evening, however, was not a question but a statement - one that brought long applause from the audience.

It came from Cape Coral resident Edward Benet, a Brooklyn transplant who brought his father Gabriel to the event.

"We have to reduce the size of government," Benet told Mack. "I am unemployed. Just because I do not have a job doesn't mean my neighbor should have to pay for me.

"You go, man."

Mack promised he would pass along Benet's plea. "I will take it to Washington, and you can bet I will be telling that story to a lot of people."

Afterwards, Benet explained why he feels the way he does. The story begins a half-century ago in Cuba, where Gabriel Benet, who was a chemist, worked at a nickel mine.

"This is no sob story," Edward Benet said. "He left his wealth in Cuba in his search for freedom."

Although stricken with ALS, Gabriel Benet spoke with an eloquent style about his adopted homeland.

"America," he said, "has a different DNA. What matters is the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."

Which, in essence, was the tone of how Mack answered many of the questions: less government, fewer regulations, less spending, no new taxes. Those topics came across in many answers.

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