Marco, we hardly knew ye!

                           Marco, we hardly knew ye!

       If you live outside the state of Florida and see the "paid for by....." political promos running currently, you might almost be fooled into believing that Marco Rubio is simply the clean cut kid he so desperately wants to be seen to be. Warning! As in "Jaws", the movie, what is most troubling about "Rubio" the Presidential wannabee is below the surface.  

        Let's begin with activities which, while legal, cast doubts on his fiscal responsibility.   In late 2004, he decided to move from the $175,000 house he had purchased in 2003 to one twice the size he was having built a few blocks away for $550,000.  Rubio wrote in his  autobio, "An American Son"  that he needed the space for his growing family—two children already and another on the way. Yet even though the house was built to his specifications, Rubio in 2005 quickly secured a $135,000 home-equity loan on it. Also that year, Rubio and his close friend and political ally David Rivera bought a $135,000 house together in Tallahassee to use when the legislature was in session.

        For the record, Rivera, who Rubio can't seem to put far enough behind him is currently under federal investigation for bribery in connection with campaign finance shenanigans.  He is also under investigation for failing to report income from a consulting firm connected to his family for work related to a pro- legalized gambling  campaign. In April 2012, state investigators concluded that Rep. Rivera had used campaign funds to pay personal expenses and reward companies connected to his friends and family, among other violations. In August 2012, reports showed  that Rep. Rivera had supported a candidate in the four-way Democratic primary for his House seat, allegedly providing envelopes stuffed with cash.  Rivera has been named as one of the 2011 "most corrupt" representatives in Congress, by CREW which is non-partisan (their list is about 50-50 between parties). This, then, is the company that Rubio has chosen to keep!

        When the state’s real estate market eventually tanked, Rubio's  net worth did as well, falling from over $300 thousand in 2005 to just over $8000 in 2008!  In 2010, as Rubio started running for Senate, his Tallahassee home was almost foreclosed upon because he and Rivera went five months without making a payment; Rivera, coughing up the past due balance at the last minute to stop the bank’s foreclosure.

        Why is this take on Rubio’s misfortunes potentially political dynamite ? It’s simple: There is a strong conviction among conservative Republicans that the entire financial crisis that devastated the U.S. economy in the last decade was essentially the product of minority Americans taking out mortgages they could not afford, (see "The Big Short") egged on by ideologues in the federal government and government-backed lending institutions.  Rubio’s own “story” comes uncomfortably close to that stereotype. And it’s all the more dangerous because, unlike the bankruptcies undertaken by Donald Trump’s companies, the choices Rubio made are quite familiar to the middle class. Cashing out a 401k ( which Rubio also did) to pay the bills is truly a middle-class nightmare, something to be avoided at any cost, and arguably an immoral act that could impose future obligations on one’s children. The whole profile sits uncomfortably with a picture desired by the  conservative Senator who routinely attacks government overspending and debt, and deplores the current condition of retirement programs.

        A more legally troubling issue for Rubio supporters  should  be his frequent and egregious misuse of a credit card issued by the Republican party of Florida for party related use.

As a U.S. Senate candidate, Marco Rubio charged grocery bills, repairs to the family minivan and purchases from a wine store less than a mile from his West Miami home to the Republican Party of Florida while he was speaker of the Florida House, according to records obtained by the St. Petersburg  Times and Miami Herald.

Rubio said Wednesday that he paid for all personal expenses billed to an American Express card given to him by the party to use from 2005 to 2008, when he left public office. The rest of the charges, he said, were legitimate party expenses.

Those expenses include a $1,000 charge at Braman Honda in Miami for repairs to the family car in January 2008. The party also paid $2,976 for him to rent a car in Miami for five weeks. Rubio said the party allowed him to put personal expenses on the card (why?) and the party reviewed his bill monthly.  Rubio said in a written statement, "There was no formal process provided by the party regarding personal charges."(why?)

      Party spokeswoman Katie Gordon, however begged to differ when confronted with Rubio's activities, saying the card was not supposed to be used for personal expenses. "The RPOF American Express card is a corporate card and is meant to be used only for business expenses," she said when asked about the party's policy. Note: this is his own partisan specifying his use as inappropriate. IRS rules for political parties, which are tax-exempt (why?), require that their donations go exclusively toward influencing elections.

Records show Rubio sent payments to American Express totaling $13,900 for his personal expenses during his tenure as House speaker. But those payments were not made monthly. He made no contributions to the bill during one six-month stretch in 2007, the records show.

Charges covered by the party as political expenses include:

• $765 at Apple's online store for "computer supplies."

• $25.76 from Everglades Lumber for "supplies."

• $53.49 at Winn-Dixie in Miami for "food."

• $68.33 at Happy Wine in Miami for "beverages'' and "meal."

• $78.10 for two purchases at Farm Stores groceries in suburban Miami.

• $412 at All Fusion Electronics, a music equipment store in Miami, for "supplies."

        Rubio's campaign could not find records to explain these expenses, but Rubio stressed that GOP staffers also may be responsible for some expenses, since they also had access to the credit card.(Why?)  Though Rubio claims he tried to pay all his personal expenses, at least some ended up on the party ledger, records show. Three payments to a Tallahassee property management group, which Rubio described as personal, were paid by the party, totaling $1,024, state and credit-card records show. Rubio also booked six plane tickets for his wife using his GOP credit card. It was unclear how many, if any, of those trips his wife actually took; in some instances, she did not fly and Rubio was credited by the airline

Rubio was among at least a half-dozen high-ranking Florida lawmakers given GOP credit cards in recent years, allowing them to spend donations to the party outside public view. Revelations that former chairman Jim Greer and executive director Delmar Johnson charged chartered planes and lavish meals to their cards sparked a grass roots rebellion and the election of new leadership.

Rubio and Greer worked closely together while Rubio was Florida house speaker. Greer and his wife, Lisa, owe $1.5 million to more than 60 creditors. Greer served  15 1/2 months  in prison after pleading guilty in 2013 to four counts of theft and one count of money laundering related to his role as chairman of the Florida GOP from 2007 to 2010. He was accused of stealing $125,000 from the state party. His sins are akin, to albeit worse, than Rubio's. In 2008 alone, the GOP paid $1.8 million in American Express charges, state records show. More than $100,000 was spent on Rubio's card from November 2006 to November 2008.

Rubio flew to New Hampshire in 2008 to campaign for Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and went to the party's national convention that year in Minneapolis.

Rubio also billed the GOP for expenses in Tallahassee during the legislative sessions in 2007 and 2008. The bills include nearly $4,100 in restaurant tabs during the 2007 and 2008 sessions — from a $409 bill at a Macaroni Grill to a $7.09 charge at a Chick-fil-A.

When Rubio became speaker, he spent about $400,000 in tax dollars to remodel offices and build a members-only dining room so lawmakers rushing to meetings or in the throes of negotiations would not have to leave the Capitol to eat.

In his statement, Rubio said he "erred on the side of caution'' to save taxpayer dollars by charging these items to the party, however, election law experts say party credit cards should cover only expenses aimed at influencing elections — fundraising, voter registration and candidate recruitment — to adhere to IRS rules for tax-exempt organizations.

      Rubio taught in various capacities at Florida International   university from 2008 through April of last year, coming on-board just as he was term-limited out of his position as speaker of the Florida House.

        In view of Rubio's well documented   financial difficulties and perhaps to help alleviate them, He was given the sinecure of a "Visiting Distinguished Service Professor" at the Metropolitan Center at Florida International University He worked less than 10 hours a week and missed three-in-10 classes during his first semester of teaching - all while making more than most part-time visiting professors.  For that, he would earn $69,000 — a salary that was considerably more than the $52,000 another part-time visiting professor at the center was making. According to his office, from August of 2008 - November of 2009, Rubio raised approximately $125,000 for the Center — enough to cover his salary and then some. A sizeable chunk of that, $100,000, came from Norman Braman — the wealthy auto magnate who's been a longtime benefactor to Rubio, is helping to bankroll his campaign and whose charitable foundation employs Rubio's wife.

So, let's review: Bad financial manager, abuser and illegal user  of  credit cards issued by own party, extravagant spender in Tallahassee with taxpayer dollars, whole feigning fiscal conservatism. Leaves Florida House, "given"  high pay, low work, teaching job, paid more than real professors, but gains "contributions" to the school from political ally who also employs Rubio's wife. Smell it yet?

 On the National scene, forget election year absences. As a US Senator in 20011 and 2012 , Rubio still missed 28.6 % of votes (2012) and 24.5% (2011). So why elect a guy who can't manage his own money, illegally manages others' money,  and can't be bothered to show up for work one fourth of the time?