Money, Mitt and Marco

In a laughable episode of either journalistic negligence or hyperbole, the Times described how the senator purchased an $80,000 “luxury speedboat” after receiving an $800,000 advance for his book. A simple Google image search would have revealed that it was merely a fishing boat. A nice piece of machinery for sure, but nothing the Times staff would be seen on during their weekends in Montauk.

Moreover, in a condescending bit of paternalism, the article characterized Rubio’s liquidation of a retirement account and lackluster sale of a property in Florida as “simply unwise.” Particularly interesting financial advice from a paper that sold the Boston Globe for $70 million in 2013 after paying $1.1 billion for it in 1991.

Had Sen. Rubio been a Democrat, perhaps the Times would have run a fluff piece touting his ability to relate to the financial problems faced by so many Americans with student loan debt, mortgages and children. Instead, the message between the lines was clear: Rubio lacks the financial prowess to be president.

Remember Mitt Romney? He was the wealthy businessman whose private-sector success came from acquiring failing companies and making them profitable again. Democrats relentlessly assailed Romney as a ruthless tycoon who could not possibly be concerned with the struggles of average Americans.

In 2012, after proclaiming that being a captain of industry is not a strong qualification for the presidency, Times columnist Paul Krugman maligned Romney’s record at Bain Capital for not actually building businesses, but preserving profits by destroying jobs. An argument rich with irony, as it was printed in a newspaper which has cut more than half its staff since 2009 to salvage its stock price.

All this might be water under the bridge were it not for the Democrats’ 2016 front-runner, Hillary Clinton. Last year Secretary Clinton infamously told Diane Sawyer that she and her husband were “not only dead broke, but in debt” when they left the White House. She remarked that the first couple “struggled to piece together the resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea’s education.”

In the course of walking back her comments the next day, Mrs. Clinton remarked that they “have gone through some of the same challenges many people have.” A Politifact investigation found that in 1999, the Clintons bought a $1.7 million home in Chappaqua, N.Y. (for her Senate run) and then a seven-bedroom house in Washington, D.C. for $2.85 million in December 2000.

As further proof Hillary Clinton understands the plight of ordinary people, the Clintons pulled themselves up by their bootstraps via six-figure speaking fees and multi-million dollar book deals that dwarf Marco Rubio’s payday. It’s a true American success story — by 2008, Sen. Clinton had become the thirtieth richest member of Congress, with a net worth of over $10 million.

Federal Election Commission disclosures from earlier this year reveal that the Clintons have earned more than $25 million from speaking fees since January 2014. To be fair, her wealth is pedestrian compared to the $200 million fortune of her successor at the State Department and 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry.

This is all expected when it comes to the Left’s views on wealth and politics. Republican billionaires are greedy capitalists out to buy elections, while Democrat billionaires doing the same are philanthropists whose motives are beyond reproach.

Perhaps, like many Americans, Rubio has at times taken on too much debt and made some less than lucrative business decisions. But the real flaw in Rubio’s financial situation is that he’s not a Democrat.

Christian B. Corrigan is an attorney working in law & public policy in Washington, D.C. Follow him at @Corrigan63. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.