The New York Times is facing conservative blowback for an article on Marco Rubio’s driving record.
The Times published a report Friday on traffic violations by the 2016 presidential candidate and his wife. Dig the lede: “Senator Marco Rubio has been in a hurry to get to the top … But politics is not the only area where Mr. Rubio, a Republican from Florida, has an affinity for the fast track. He and his wife, Jeanette, have also shown a tendency to be in a rush on the road.”
Conservatives on social media immediately heaped scorn on the story, making contrasting Rubio’s driving record with Ted Kennedy’s. Only four of the 17 driving citations since were actually against Rubio himself, with one looming license suspension fought off with a $16 fee, suggesting we are not dealing with high crimes and misdemeanors here.
Twitter users began the hashtag #RubioCrimeSpree to parody the report. Examples included removing tags from mattresses and returning VHS tapes without rewinding. (The latter may contradict Rubio’s “yesterday is gone” campaign theme — what is a VHS tape?)
The Washington Free Beacon pointed out that the New York Times piece came shortly the Democratic operatives at American Bridge pulled the Rubios’ driving records. The subheadline? “All the Democratic oppo fit to print.” American Bridge is not mentioned in the Times story.
The Federalist published a story titled “The 4 Stupidest Things About The New York Times’ Hit On Marco Rubio. The NYT “knew ‘Marco Rubio has had four driving infractions since 1993’ was not a story,” Mollie Ziegler Hemingway wrote. “That’s why they had to combine his driving record with someone else’s.”
The Rubios’ driving incidents are fine fodder for a mildly interesting human interest story. But the senator’s comments about nation-building probably deserve more attention than his failure to obey a stop sign.
