Establishment Republicans so against Rubio a year ago will now defend him. The problem is Washington is full of pathological liars.
By Chris Ingram
There is an article in today’s Tampa Tribune about my concerns with Marco Rubio’s trustworthiness as it relates to his much-talked-about RPOF American Express card charges. It is important to note that Marco Rubio doesn’t deny the allegations I make against him (and which we both know to be true) – specifically that he told me of a $4K-$5K charge on his RPOF credit card for new kitchen floors in his home.
After Rubio told me of these inappropriate charges last summer, I encouraged him to “release his own bad news, apologize for it, and assure the public it would never happen again.” Not only did Rubio not follow this advice, he dug in, made excuses, and played like he was the victim.
An important fact to consider about this case is that Rubio doesn’t deny the charge. This is because he knows that somewhere out there the records exist to corroborate my story. That is, there is an AmEx statement with Rubio’s name on it for new kitchen floors paid for by the RPOF. If Rubio wasn’t guilty/was innocent of this reckless and possibly illegal spending, he could of course prove it by releasing all of his American Express card statements. But we all know that isn’t ever going to happen because guilty people don’t release their records – only honest people do, and honesty is not an adjective that fits Marco Rubio.
So, given the facts don’t support his claims, what does Marco have left to do? Attack me.
Attack the messenger is one of the most common defensive tactics politicians who don’t have the facts on their side employ in order to divert attention from the real issues in an attempt to get back on offense.
Therefore, career politician Marco Rubio – who doesn’t have the facts on his side — is attacking me. His false and pathetic attempt to make it appear as though I somehow have called attention to his reckless behavior because his campaign did not hire me to work for him is complete bunk – and Marco Rubio knows it. Fortunately, I’ve got thick skin and can deal with the petty claims of the Rubio campaign and the expected tongue-lashings from Rubio’s Kool-aid drinking supporters. The criticism goes with the job of being a muckraker. For those of you concerned about my sensibilities, thank you, but I can handle it.
For the record, it is true I did offer to assist Rubio’s campaign with an assessment of his campaign staff’s communications operation which they never took me up on. Said offer was “gratis” and was not tied to any form of compensation.
Simply put, I did not “spill the beans” about Marco’s confession to me last summer (’09) that he had been a bad boy with the RPOF’s credit card because he didn’t hire me. In fact, I continued to consult Marco with telephone calls and e-mails long after making this offer.
In the ensuing months I attended events for Marco, raised money for his campaign, and made a personal campaign contribution all the while writing columns about Rubio – some favorable, and others which could be interpreted as less than favorable. Do you think if I had been interested in “working” for Rubio I would have written columns criticizing him? That’s what Rubio (and people like him) don’t get about normal people, the Tea Party movement, and other disaffected Americans – real people just want good government and a viable future for the next generation. Not everyone out there is like Rubio or Charlie, or the special interests wondering “what’s in it for me?”
