Photo credit: Dave Davidson – Prezography.com
In what must be a slow news day for the New York Times since they published an article focused the driving records of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and his wife Jeanette.
First, their collective record is pretty bad – 17 traffic violations that include speeding, running red lights and careless driving. I’d hate to have their insurance premiums.
Second, it’s important to note that the actual candidate has only four violations. Alan Rappeport and Steve Eder wrote in I’m *sure* will be a Pulitzer Prize contender:
Mr. Rubio’s troubles behind the wheel predate his days in politics. In 1997, when he was cited for careless driving by a Florida Highway Patrol officer, he was fined and took voluntary driving classes. A dozen years later, in 2009, he was ticketed for speeding on a highway in Duval County and found himself back in driver improvement school.
Things got more complicated in 2011 when Mr. Rubio was alerted to the fact that his license was facing suspension after a traffic camera caught him failing to stop at a red light in his beige Buick. His lawyer, Alex Hanna, paid a $16 fee to delay the suspension and eventually it was dismissed.
That was not the last time Mr. Rubio was ticketed. In 2012 he was caught failing to obey a stop sign, but the infraction was dismissed.
Florida has some stringent traffic laws. In Iowa traffic enforcement cam tickets don’t end up on your record let alone having one ticket put your license at risk. I’ve also never heard of anyone having to take driver improvement school as a result of one speeding violation.
Third… I’m curious why an 18-year-old traffic violation is still on his record? Are his number of violations really outside of what is average? How many people can say they have never gone over the speed limit? Marco Rubio certainly isn’t alone in getting caught by a traffic cam. Which brings me to my next point…
Fourth… who cares? I mean really? His wife’s driving record is frankly irrelevant. I would only be concerned if they racked up tickets and didn’t pay the penalty. The simple fact is this. The New York Times failed to properly vet President Barack Obama. They have given Hillary Clinton a pass on Benghazi. There are far more important things to consider with a candidate than their driving records.
The fact the New York Times is even spending time and resources looking into this just demonstrates their bias. I highly doubt they will give Democrat candidates the same level of scrutiny. Voting records and past statements are far more important than driving records.
Presidents and First Ladies don’t generally drive anyway.