If Sen. Rand Paul can't become the Republican nominee for president, he at least wants to make sure that Sen. Marco Rubio isn't either. Paul's political consultants jumped on Rubio for his latest missed Senate floor vote, on whether to approve the "omnibus" bill that funds the federal government for the next year. All three Republican senators in the presidential race opposed the bill, but only Rubio missed the vote.
After explaining to viewers that there was a $1 trillion spending bill, "and Marco Rubio missed the vote ... again," the ad cuts to a CNN interview in which the reporter tells a stoic Rubio, "you keep missing votes on the Senate floor, 43 percent of the votes." After Rubio gamely makes his defense, the reporter retorts, "the other day ... you said federal workers who don't show up should be fired."
Then we see another CNN reporter recount that Paul has demanded Rubio resign, along with a Florida newspaper editorial board which said "you are ripping us off, Senator."
But if the ad won't catapult Paul into the top-tier, it may still hamper Rubio's rise. The Floridian had hoped to have put the question of his attendance to bed after batting back a debate stage attack from Jeb Bush. Yet Paul and others continue to harp on it, keeping the charge in circulation among the media.
Rubio's assumption was that voters wouldn't care about his attendance record, because he never missed a vote where he could change the outcome. That has seemed true so far. The question is whether conservatives angry about this large spending bill will extend their anger to one who didn't came back to Washington to fight against it.
Rand Paul Plays The Carmen Sandiego Card
The online ad "Where In The World Is Marco Rubio?" recalled the 1990s children's game show "Where In The World In Carmen Sandiego," even using a snippet of the show's theme song, made famous by the band Rockapella.After explaining to viewers that there was a $1 trillion spending bill, "and Marco Rubio missed the vote ... again," the ad cuts to a CNN interview in which the reporter tells a stoic Rubio, "you keep missing votes on the Senate floor, 43 percent of the votes." After Rubio gamely makes his defense, the reporter retorts, "the other day ... you said federal workers who don't show up should be fired."
Then we see another CNN reporter recount that Paul has demanded Rubio resign, along with a Florida newspaper editorial board which said "you are ripping us off, Senator."
Marco Rubio Can't Shake Attendance Issue
The ad has a cut-and-paste feel to it, with abrupt cuts and minimal polish. That only seems to underscore Paul's poor fundraising and lack of resources.But if the ad won't catapult Paul into the top-tier, it may still hamper Rubio's rise. The Floridian had hoped to have put the question of his attendance to bed after batting back a debate stage attack from Jeb Bush. Yet Paul and others continue to harp on it, keeping the charge in circulation among the media.
Rubio's assumption was that voters wouldn't care about his attendance record, because he never missed a vote where he could change the outcome. That has seemed true so far. The question is whether conservatives angry about this large spending bill will extend their anger to one who didn't came back to Washington to fight against it.