Rubio Ripped by St. Pete Times

For Immediate Release: April 10, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Quickly souring on Empty Chair Charlie Crist - poll numbers for the 'Teflon Don' are dropping - media reports have now turned their attention to the rancid deal cooked up by House Speaker Marco Rubio.

A St. Petersburg Times editorial today makes plain just how corrupt Rubio's turnpike favor really is. Rubio is accused of helping steer Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) contracts to a political friend via language he secretly inserted into the state budget. The covert action has drawn the scorn of Republican colleagues and FDOT officials.

The newspaper criticizes how Rubio chose not to involve "staff analysis, committee hearings or any legislative scrutiny," covertly placing it so "no one would call attention to it." [St. Petersburg Times, 4/10/08]

After a Miami Herald reporter uncovered the legislation, Rubio responded with more delusional excuses and said that his relationship with Alvarez was irrelevant. The dizzy spin centered on how a big business contract might foster a monopoly. Never mind that Rubio, Jeb Bush's anointed protégé, has never frowned on the potential savings offered by major corporations - or the dollars they'll flood into his campaigns.

The Times summarizes the corrupt tale precisely, arguing "This is the kind of 'political gamesmanship' Rubio once urged his House colleagues to rise above. If the speaker is truly on the watch for 'cozy relationships' between businesspeople and state government, he can begin at home." [St. Petersburg Times, 4/10/08]

"Republicans in Florida have broken the public trust time and again, but now this Republican recession is hitting Floridians hard where it really hurts - the wallet. It's too bad that we can't trust the Speaker of the House to do what's right," Florida Democratic Party spokesman Alejandro Miyar said. "All of Rubio's legislative efforts now have to be seen through a skeptical lens."

The Miami Herald summarized in picture what the St. Petersburg Times elucidated in words. Click here to see how Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jim Morin illustrates the Rubio turnpike scandal.

Click here to read the full St. Petersburg Times editorial.