http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-marco-rubio-senate-attendance-20151028-story.htmlPresidential candidate Marco Rubio deflected questions about his poor attendance record in the U.S. Senate by offering up examples of past presidential hopefuls in both political parties who missed votes while seeking the nation's top job.
Rubio was prepared for the question that came early in the CNBC debate among presidential candidates. He smiled and used the opportunity to go on the offense by attacking what he sees as bias in the mainstream media.
Rubio has the worst attendance record of any of the four U.S. senators running for president. On Wednesday, an editorial in the South Florida Sun Sentinel criticized Rubio for his attendance record and called on him to resign if he didn't want to work at the job he was elected to in 2010.
"I read that editorial today with great amusement. It's actually evidence of the bias that exists in the American media," Rubio said.
He said U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., missed more than 30 percent of his votes when he ran for president in 2004; U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., missed 60 to 70 percent of his votes during his 2004 campaign, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., did the same thing in 2008, and then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., also missed 60 to 70 percent of his votes in 2008.
Rubio said he didn't recall the newspaper criticizing the other presidential candidates for their missed votes, and said it endorsed both Kerry in 2004 and Obama in 2008. The paper endorsed Rubio in his 2010 Senate race.
"This is another example of the double standard that exists in this country between the mainstream media and the conservative movement," Rubio said.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who's been pushing the attendance issue as a line of attack against Rubio for weeks, didn't let the issue go.
Senate candidate Alan Grayson calls on Marco Rubio to resign from Senate
Senate candidate Alan Grayson calls on Marco Rubio to resign from Senate
"I'm a constituent of the senator and I helped him [get elected] and I expected that he would do constituent service which means that he shows up to work," Bush said. "Marco, when you signed up for this, this was six-year term. And you should be showing up to work."
Bush suggested it wasn't hard for a senator to meet his work commitments in Washington, noting that the Senate has a relatively easy schedule, like the "French work week."
Floridians, Bush said, are "looking for a senator that will fight for them each and every day."
Rubio was ready for Bush too. "I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's vote record." He said the "only reason why you're doing it now is we're running for the same position and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you."
Rubio portrayed himself as someone who's above attacking others. "My campaign is going to be about the future of America. It's not going to be about attacking anyone else on this stage. I will continue to have tremendous admiration and respect for Governor Bush."
