Marco Rubio denies $130 hair cut

Marco Rubio was on south Florida's WFTL radio this morning where for the first time he said the $133.75 tony hair salon charged on his state party credit card was not for a hair cut.

Q: What do you tip on a $134 haircut, Marco?

Rubio: "That’s not, that’s not even accurately reported, that’s not what that was. And, uh, unfortunately as I said, it’s been misrepresented, misreported. In some respects, in key aspects of it that have been left out.  But look, that was a card secured in the corporate division under my personal credit. If you read the policies of American Express, it clearly says that uh if personal expenses get on there you have to pay them. Those are charge cards, not credit cards.  You’ve got to pay it at the end of every month, which we did, and I paid for it out of my own pocket, all of it. So those are just charges that appeared on the statement, doesn’t mean the party paid for it, in fact the official state documents show that the party didn’t pay for it, and I wish that had been highlighted more prominently by the Miami Herald and others who covered the story. But, you know I think there job is to kind of write the story the most, uh, attention grabbing way possible. I get that. It’s uh, it’s unfortunately part of politics. We deal with it and move on. You know this is an election about a country that owes trillions of dollars, a lot of it to foreign debt holders, I doubt this election is going to turn on some $138 charge on my personal credit.

Q: Well uh, but you didn’t answer my question, what do you tip on a haircut that expensive? 

Rubio: But uh, I’ve never had one, I’ve never had one that expensive, so I can’t tell you. 

Q: So you did not get a haircut that expensive? That’s what you’re saying?

Rubio: No, that’s not what that was, that was a bunch of other stuff that was for a silent auction and all of that. We paid for that out of my own pocket, we were just charged there on the charge card, but you’ve got to come back and pay for it at the end of the month. So, but like I said, the bigger issues of this campaign, and that’s what we’re focused on.

Rubio has declined to itemize personal expenses for which he reimbursed the state party. And Rubio's credit card statements show that, in fact, he did not always pay off the bills every month. There was at least one six month period when he did not pay, and the party picked up his late fees several times.

*

Comments

[ufalumni]

I doubt it was really for a haircut, but its fun to say. It was probably for the first lady of the Florida House... most likely a spa treatment of haircut for her. Have to keep her happy or else he can't be an effective legislator.

[Talk about a costly haircut]

Who cares anyway? Clinton stopped Air Force 1 on a runway in California for an hour to have a stylist come abord to give him....(don't let your mind wander here) a $400 haircut.

Total Cost: Unknown because you have to consider what it costs to idle AF1, have all those staff hanging around, security and of course the skys are closed around AF1 so no one can take off or land. Lets just call it a gazillion dollar haircut..

[...]

I'm sure his haircut bill pales in comparison to Charlie's tanning bills

[Why Do We Have to Pick Between Two Idiots]

eenie meenie mienee moe

[afterthought]

unless he owns his own bed

[.]

unbelievable that these two bit media "professionals" continue to harp on such stupid things. how about asking your boy Charlie about his hand picked incompetent blubbering fools and how they managed to blow through all the funds that the RPOF had on hand? oh, that's right, none of you care about THAT since it's related to the tan freak.

[ruby, ruby quit living on Republican contributions]

I have a corporate credit card and the corporation pays for it and I would never use it for personal charges or I would be fired. It's not the amount it's the balls thinking he could get away with it! Doesn't he have his own American Express card? Maybe he doesn't have the credit with everything he owes. just saying

[Nelsa]

Is this a joke? Are we still talking about haircuts that may or may not have happened? Really!!?

What is this the Zapruder film of AMEX expenditures? The colonoscopy of hair product purchases?

Florida needs JOBS and lower taxes. Charlie Crist has been AWOL since McCain flew in to town.

It would take a lot more effort to look in to Charlies 430K (AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE) European vacation but I guess that is not worthy of an in-depth analysis.

Not that it has not been covered here. More along the lines as to whether it was copasetic...

[Rubio not the Messiah after all]

Looks like Rubio is caught in a lie.

[KilroyFSU]

"But, you know I think there job is to kind of write the story the most, uh, attention grabbing way possible."

Well done, Times. I've seen hundreds of Barack Obama and Charlie Crist quotes, and I've never seen you transcribe verbal pauses such as "uh".

Oh, and your blogger/reporter might want to go back to third grade and learn the difference between "there" and "their". But you sure showed Marco who's boss, didn't you, Times.

[lynne88]

KilroyFSU, uh, you beat me to it.

[Bob]

CRIST = GREER

Find Greer's excesses ... ah ... I mean expenditures... and they are ALL attributable to Goodtime Charlie Crist.

[Alex sets the record straight]

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Rubio Responds to Crist [NRO Staff]

From the Rubio campaign:

Gov. Charlie Crist’s latest reinvention into a “frugal” spender was on full display in today’s National Review Online. Actually, that is partially true — by all accounts, he might be frugal when it’s his own money. But he is more than happy to spend the taxpayer’s dime on things like lavish European trips for himself and his entourage.

When he endorsed and campaigned for the $787 billion stimulus, Floridians saw firsthand how Charlie Crist’s personal frugality does not translate into fiscal restraint with taxpayer money.

But before that, Floridians saw it in Crist’s 2008 European junket, which came complete with a two-dozen-person entourage, an official photographer to chronicle the governor at “work,” a $2,100-a-night luxury suite in London, $1,300 in room service and mini bar charges for Crist alone, and first class airfare at $8,000 per ticket. Total cost? Over $430,000, with nearly $30,000 in personal expenses for Crist, picked up by special interest groups.

“Charlie Crist might be frugal when it comes to his own money, but he loves spending taxpayer money on a failed stimulus, on $2 billion worth of tax hikes, and on a luxurious lifestyle for himself and his buddies,” said Rubio for Senate spokesman Alex Burgos. “Floridians are not going to take lectures on frugality from a guy who embraced the largest spending bill in American history, stays in $2,000-a-night luxury hotel suites where he racks up $1,300 in mini bar charges, and doesn’t pay for a dime of it himself.”

“The record is clear,” added Burgos. “While Marco Rubio was fighting to eliminate property taxes in Florida, opposing Charlie Crist’s big government cap-and-trade energy tax plan, and saving taxpayers $30,000 in travel costs, Charlie Crist was gallivanting around Europe on a lavish junket. The hypocrisy coming from Charlie Crist these days is stunning.”

[Straight Talk express]

150 word explanation to deny a haircut. Sounds like a school kid caught in a lie.

[John Dickinson]

Churchill is for men only.

Rubio must have received a pedicure and a manicure.

This is getting stranger and stranger.

[Jonathan]

"Hair cut": $130
Catching a Republican lying: Priceless.

There are some things money can buy, for everything else, there's Fox News.

[First MA, then USA]

I support Rubio over Crist any day. I support Bozo the Clown over Crist. That said, Marco, don't crusade on change and then dance around the status quo.

Use your own credit card to pay for your own personal expenses, period.

If you used the party card in the past, ADMIT IT, say it was a mistake and move on. It is really ridiculous to let this continue to fester.

[Common Sense]

OK Crist people you win, Marco spent $130 on something and paid it back, so lets support RINO Crist - You guys are nuts!!!!!! Our country is going down the tubes, Obama and his henchman & henchwoman want to put us in international bankruptcy spending over a TRILLION dollars($1,000,000,000,000.00) in taxpayer money that we don't have, and you think that the Republican primary voters really care about $130 IN PARTY Money; then you people are really nuts.

[Common Sense Too]

Is Rubio gay too?

[Gator(R)]

3:59

Corparate charge cards are handled different ways by different companies for different types of employees.

Whether you would be fired by your particular company for charging personal items is not relevant.

[give me a break!]

Gator, threesome you, Rivera and Rubio

[Real threesome]

Crist, Greer, Delmar or Crist, Rothstein, Obama!

[Hand in the Cookie Jar]

Some state agency employees are allowed to get a "P-card" so that they can charge travel and other work-related expenses to the state on the spot instead of having to use their own credit card. They would face discipline up to termination if they incurred personal charges on the P-cards (regardless of whether they reimbursed the state for the expense). As an elected official using a credit card paid for by campaign contributions, Rubio should be held to at least the same standard as state employees. Unfortunately, it appears he is just your typical politician who feels entitled to do whatever he wants with other people's money, at least until he gets caught.

[L Jones]

This guy is a Florida tea party hero, that is a joke ? right? We have 3 choices and they all are bad decisions but this guy is the worst of the 3. Why vote at all. And when is this guy going to talk about his connection to Ray Sanson?

[SoINeedAName]

Rest assured, there's no doubt that Rubio got "trimmed" by some of the oldest "professionals" on record.

[...]

I have a corporate card too. I use it for alot of travel as well. If situations arise where I have made a mistake or something I charged on it was considered a "personal" expense, I write my boss a check to reimburse the company for it and it's fine. Never been an issue or close to fired. See, I'm a valued employee who my boss trusts ad I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that trust. I assume with Marco being set to become Speaker of the House and in the middle of raising the RPOF $12 MILLION, they cut him some slack on the use of his card and as it turns out, for good reason, since he paid his personal part directly to the card company or reimbursed RPOF. Definition of a non story.

[zenator]

Politics is a contact sport. Now, Marco is taking a few punches. The real question is what else, if anything, is coming next. If the answer is nothing, then Marco will escape with nothing more than a bloody nose. If the answer is more and more then Marco is in trouble. Time will tell.

[Had to be all smooth for the silent auction? WTF?]

Marco put his Brazilian on the RPOF Card??? OMG!

[Make me look like the little guy with the arm bands]

I think Marco was going for a certain look on the upper lip, but just couldn't pull it off. Maybe when he grows up a little more.

[...]

Zenator

I agree 100% that politics is a contact sport, but you obviously don't know Marco. Him and his boy Rivera are from Miami-Dade. Charlie doesn't know what's about to hit him. Those guys are guaranteed to bring a knife to this fist fight.

[- --- .- -.. -.--]

Zenator

Looks like they already brought a toad.

[zenator]

10:01 &10:09:

The game has changed. Marco is now the front-runner so is subject to the press scurtiny afforded that status. It is no longer about Charlie, it is about Marco.

[Johnny]

I charge personal stuff to my corp cards all the time. As long as all funds are reimbursed, I don't see a problem at all.

[Johnny McToady]

11:10 So Grover and Karl are OK with that?

[Rubio wins]

Another day closer to 8/24!

[Eric]

Can you say happy ending?

[echo chamber minion]

8:02 Only if FOX says it first.

[steve]

It is not the haircut. It is that he was irresponsible in the use of a corporate card. Corporate cards are for business use. They are not for your personal use. If he was this careless with the party's money, will he be better with the peoples?

[whasup]

Between Rubio and Crist, which is more likely to go to Washington and support borrowing a whole bunch of Chinese, Japanese, and Arab oil mogul money to pay $130 bucks for every American to look prettier for a while, whether it's by getting a haircut or a tan?

That would be the Obama-hugging, stimulus-loving Crist, wouldn't it?

Yep, thought so.

[Crybabies All]

Marco and his followers can't take it. You love to trash talk Crist, but when somebody does it to you, you just scream about how unfair it is, and try for a week to shift the blame to something, anything, throw it all up and see what sticks. Time to grow up, which also means paying for your own personal expenses.

[Andy]

Obviously, the Teaparty poster boy is a metrosexual. Maybe he had some serious waxing done or an apple and paprika exfoliating facial. Just saying.
If you want to be a Senator...you need to be a problem solver. Rubio created this problem for himself when he used the RPOF card for personal charges. Could he not qualify for his own personal AMEX card or Mastercard or Visa? If you can't act responsibly and ethically when no one is watching you, don't expect the news organizations to give you a pass when the race is on.

[.]

What I find most humorous about all of this is that the same people who are making such a damn big deal of Rubio's charges AND HIS SUBSEQUENT PAYMENT OF PERSONAL EXPENSES don't seem to breathe a squeak about the blatant abuse and waste of funds that Crist's buddies participated in as cardholders. Talk about a bunch of pathetic hypocrites. Curious as to whether or not you'll be so upset and distraught when you finally see the truth. And yes, Charlie is right in the middle of it given that they paid for all of his stuff like his sugar daddy or something. And what about Carole? Exactly WHAT did she need a RPOF card for? You seriously want to try convince any of us that she was fundraising for the party? You Cristies are the ones that are pathetic. The desperate freak will be done on August 24th and it can't get here soon enough.

Gator(R) - agree with you!

[Disgusted]

How do we say, " MORE GOP DOUBLE TALK "?

[boss]

Last year one of my employees used his credit for personal expenses against the rules. Yes, I was remibursed. He no longer has a company credit card.

[Smiley :)]

I'm sure this is the same excuse Delmar gave for his spending issues:

You’ve got to pay it at the end of every month, which we did, and I paid for it out of my own pocket, all of it.

[.]

Yea, except ole Delmar will have to prove to the IRS that he paid those 100K bills - as will Greer.

Rubio will win and then Charlie can slither off to NY where he will fit right in...

[Citizen of the World]

9:09, how do you make a "mistake or something" with your company credit card? You don't know which card is which? 11:10, if your boss lets you use the company card for personal expenses then fine...if it's his money. Marco borrowed donor money. It's like joy riding in a stolen car. Returning the car doesn't change the fact that you have committed theft.

[...]

12:26

You must be a clairvoyant citizen of the world to have a such clear understanding of the business relationships and the various understandings they have regarding the use of other private entities own money. You and 10:37 should get over yourselves and stop thinking all businesses run according to your own personal rules and regulations.

[Victoria]

MARCO RUBIO WILL WIN!!!!

[Victoria]

When is the next date for the goverment to throw a little more crumbs,to keep the people quiet for a while,instead of offering them jobs?