Posted on 11/04/2015 1:04:16 PM PST by jimbo123
Marco Rubio's routine use of a Republican Party of Florida credit card for personal expenses while speaker of the Florida House brought renewed calls Thursday for the party to disclose charges racked up by former and current elected officials.
Rubio, who is battling Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for the party's U.S. Senate nomination, says he repaid all personal expenses to American Express in 2007 and 2008, amounting to $16,052. The party picked up the rest of the $93,566 charges on Rubio's card, including nearly $4,000 in costs to repair his family minivan and rent a car for five weeks. Rubio said the minivan was damaged by parking attendants at a political event.
Records show the personal expenses included a $134 trip to an upscale Miami barber. Crist, called the charge "pretty disturbing.'' Rubio accused Crist of "desperate smears.''
An outcry over Republican Party spending has spiraled for months. Revelations about chartered jets and lavish meals charged by the former state party chairman, Jim Greer, and former executive director Delmar Johnson spurred party leaders to sweep in new leadership last week.
Asked whether the party should release credit-card records to clear the air before the 2010 election, former state party chairman Tom Slade on Thursday said, "Hell, yes.''
"We should not under any circumstances attempt to make this not totally transparent,'' Slade said. "We've got to take a hit for it because we have mismanaged money that people gave us and used it for purposes they did not intend it to be used.''
Miami lobbyist and Rubio donor Ana Navarro said he should have released the card statements himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
“At the moment he had to pay for the hair cut he made a choice. He chose to use other peoples money, embezzlement in fact.”
nonsense, if he got it before a political event it would be covered under political costs.
really?
Try that with the IRS, deducting something you would normally do for yourself.
Do it all the time with my CPAs approval.
“There are things to rag Rubio over, but an expensive haircut is a poor choice.”
The haircut is but only a very small, albiet visible, part of Rubio’s profligate spending of party money. As for Trump’s haircuts costing more, he’s paying for them himself so it’s not germain to the discussion.
“I was glad Rubio beat Crist but there has always been something about the little fancy boy I couldnt trust. This kind of thing lends clues.”
Yeah, Rubio isn’t Orange!
Women spend that kinda money all the time on their hair.”
If it’s their own money that’s one thing, if it’s from taxes I pay that’s something else. The guys in our family get great haircuts at a cost of $8 each from a local barber. Mine is way more expensive - $35 every six weeks.
If its GOP its not tax money.
Who gives a shit about $135 in tax money anyway. I care about the $399 BILLION they borrowed in one day.
I, too, care about the $399B. But bottom line it’s all about a pervasive culture of entitlement, dishonesty and fraud.
I don’t think I pay $134, total, for all the haircuts I get in a year.
Why, for all that is good, are these people not paying for their own haircuts?
Politicians have gone to jail for using expense account money for personal purposes.
The ten thousand for a family reunion is excessive.
As of today, I have been with the same beautiful woman for 44 wonderful years. With the exception of about 6 haircuts, she has cut my hair for all of those years. At $134 a cut, I am going to be in big trouble when she figures out what I must owe her. ;>)
On those few occasions when I went to a barber, I think I paid about $3.50, $8.00 and $13.00 plus tip. Of course, unlike Rubio, I am extremely good looking so it really doesn’t matter how my hair is cut.... maybe it’s my long eyelashes.
So you expect presidential candidates to go on stage in front of thousands with a $13 great clips haircut?
I heard a bit of Rush today. He was talking about the use of credit cards and one of his off microphone personnel was questioning whether Trump’s criticism of Rubio’s use of credit cards would offend credit card users. I think that the controversy over Rubio’s use of credit cards pertains to his use of company credit cards, not necessarily his own.
Personal hair stylists and make up artists of the stars..my guess is that a lot of them deduct the costs.
That’s funny,you paint a vivid picture,LOL
So you expect presidential candidates to go on stage in front of thousands with a $13 great clips haircut?”
I’m really not into external appearances like many people are. If it’s their money, they can spend $500 for a haircut and I couldn’t care less. I do know that you can get a good haircut for a whole lot less though so spending so much for something that is available for less tells you a lot about the candidate’s value system and how they might spend our tax money.
Have generally found that someone who has “old” money and/or who has worked for a living versus being a lifelong politician and never had to truly labor for a paycheck tends to be far thriftier.
He overpaid by about $133.
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