It was more important to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to attend a fundraiser on the “left coast,” as conservatives call it, than a high-level briefing on the recent terrorist attack on Paris.
That left the Republicans’ self-styled foreign policy candidate out of the loop on the biggest story in global news.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee went behind closed doors for a briefing titled, “The Aftermath of Paris: America’s Role.” But Sen. Marco Rubio was not there…
The absence illustrates how Rubio is not just missing floor votes but also key hearings on national security and foreign policy — issues he has presented as chief credentials of his presidential campaign. He’s also skipping a Paris briefing this afternoon for all senators. His office said he attended an Intelligence Committee meeting on Paris held Tuesday.
And as we know, even with stories this fluid, with events that are constantly shifting, and with new developments emerging all the time, there is no difference in information from one day to the next. In fact, Marco could just ignore this whole ISIS thing while he criticizes the Obama administration’s response out on the campaign trail, and it would be no biggie. At least, that’s what he seems to think.
In January, Rubio missed an intelligence briefing on ISIS and two other classified briefings because he was fundraising in California. In April he missed a closed Intelligence Committee briefing while in Texas raising money. And in September he missed a Foreign Relations hearing on the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
You know, the humanitarian crisis that produced all these Syrian refugees? The ones the Republicans want to keep out of our country’s huddled masses yearning to breathe free? The ones that an ISIS member used to gain access to Paris on Friday?
It’s fine. Little Marco has it all covered.
Rubio has said that he gets regular briefings from staff and sends surrogates to meetings he cannot attend.
That worked out great for Pres. George W. Bush. Rice, Rumsfeld and Cheney had it all under control. Just ask Bush’s dad.
Rubio joins the other Republican office-holders who seem unable to multitask. Both Govs. Chris Christie and Bobby Jindal have suffered the ire of their states’ residents, who pan them in polls as they abandon their constituents to focus on running for president.
Some in Florida have already called on Rubio to step down. A recent editorial in the Palm Beach Sun-Sentinel was magnificent in its contempt.
If you hate your job, senator, follow the honorable lead of House Speaker John Boehner and resign it.
Let us elect someone who wants to be there and earn an honest dollar for an honest day’s work. Don’t leave us without one of our two representatives in the Senate for the next 15 months or so.
You are paid $174,000 per year to represent us, to fight for us, to solve our problems. Plus you take a $10,000 federal subsidy — declined by some in the Senate — to participate in one of the Obamacare health plans, though you are a big critic of Obamacare.
You are ripping us off, senator.
True, it’s not easy to raise money and run a presidential campaign while doing your day job. But two other candidates — Sens. Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders — have missed only 10 Senate votes during their campaigns for the White House. You, on the other hand, have missed 59…
That editorial was written at the end of October, so Marco has probably reached a new personal best on missed votes by now.
The money involved in the California fundraiser wasn’t chump change, and I could see where it would be hard for Rubio to resist its allure. Tickets for the VIP photo reception were $2,700 per individual, or $5,400 per couple. And who wouldn’t pay $5,400 for a selfie with Marco? The people who paid only $1,000 for the “general reception,” I guess.
I hear Newport Beach, where the event was being held, is nice this time of year. Maybe Marco should do Floridians, and the nation, a favor and consider a permanent move.
