March 23, 2010
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News: Fasano Takes A Shot At Rubio
Florida residents have a tuff decision to make in the next election. Do they take stock in the recent media attention covering Marco Rubio's excessive credit card spending, or do they wave it off to political warfare? Senator Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey) believes voters should take notice and prevent the election of politicians like Rubio who are taking free rides at taxpayers' expense. A staunch supporter of Governor Charlie Crist, Fasano didn't hesitate to add his two cents telling the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald saying "it was clear" to him that Rubio was living off the Republican party's credit card. Not surprising that Fasano would speak out against Rubio, Crist and Rubio are opponents in the U.S. Senate race. Rubio came under scrutiny last month when the Times/Herald released information pertaining to thousands of dollars of questionable transactions on the party's credit card statements and asking the party to release additional details of all the party's card statements.
A new twist to the story wedges Fasano in the middle of the controversy when he learned of another political figure facing charges of questionable expenditures on the party's credit card statement. Richard Corcoran, close friend of Fasano, has also come under scrutiny after the Times/Herald reported that he too ran up a considerable amount of credit card expenses. Corcoran, Rubio's former Chief of Staff, is also in the political race running for House District 45. According to the Times/Herald, Corcoran used the Republican party's card to pay for expensive dinners, chartered planes, $600 a night hotel rooms, personal furniture for other members of the party, and over $4,500 of electronics.
Fasano didn't back down on his support of Corcoran saying his is a very loyal party member. Furthermore, he defended his buddy by saying that several other members of the party have access to Corcoran's credit card number and used it frequently. But what about Rubio? Could he not use the same expense to justify his actions? Most of us could agree that when the bank issues us a card, we are strongly advised against handing out our card information and taking extra precaution to protect it. Is it possible that this bit of advice was overlooked by our leaders or is it just plain negligence?