Marco Rubio’s compelling family story embellishes facts, documents show

[kpete]

Source: Washington Post

Marco Rubio’s compelling family story embellishes facts, documents show



By Manuel Roig-Franzia, Thursday, October 20, 1:31 PM

During his rise to political prominence, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) frequently repeated a compelling version of his family’s history that had special resonance in South Florida. He was the “son of exiles,” he told audiences, Cuban Americans forced off their beloved island after “a thug,” Fidel Castro, took power.

But a review of documents — including naturalization papers and other official records — reveals that Rubio’s dramatic account of his family saga embellishes the facts. The documents show that Rubio’s parents came to the United States and were admitted for permanent residence more than 21 / 2 years before Castro’s forces overthrew the Cuban government and took power on New Year’s Day 1959.

The supposed flight of Rubio’s parents has been at the core of the young senator’s political identity, both before and after his stunning, tea-party-propelled victory in last year’s race for the U.S. Senate. Rubio — now considered a prospective 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee and a possible future presidential candidate — mentions his parents in the second sentence of the official biography on his Senate Web site. It says Mario and Oriales Rubio “came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover.” And the 40-year-old senator with the boyish smile and prom-king good looks has drawn on the power of that claim to entrance audiences captivated by the rhetorical skills of one of the more dynamic stump speakers in modern American politics.

The real story of his parents’ migration appears to be a more conventional immigrant narrative, a couple who came to the United States seeking a better life. In the year they arrived in Florida, the future Marxist dictator was in Mexico plotting a quixotic return to Cuba.

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/marco-rubios-compelling-family-story-embellishes-facts-documents-show/2011/10/20/gIQAaVHD1L_story.html?wpisrc=al_politics

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Marco Rubio takes a hard line on immigration

Marco Rubio takes a hard line on immigration

[Enrique]

2. so it's more accurate to say they were fleeing Batista

why did they hate the capitalist pre-Castro Cuban paradise?

[AlphaCentauri]

14. sounds like they did sympathize with Castro

“while they were prepared to live here permanently, they always held out the hope and the option of returning to Cuba if things improved.” They returned to Cuba several times after Castro came to power to “assess the situation with the hope of eventually moving back,”

[UpInArms]

3. yawn - more lying rethuglicans - same song - different dancer

crappy music

[Ineeda]

4. Lies are usually found out.

But will it make a difference?

[Chipper Chat]

5. Doesn't matter to the Tea Party.

They don't care about facts. He will still be their "Palin junior"

[alp227]

6. viewing WaPo articles by page will bring up a login

here's the full page version: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/marco-rubios-compelling-family-story-embellishes-facts-documents-show/2011/10/20/gIQAaVHD1L_singlePage.html

and wow, Republicans lying? wow!

[Historic NY]

7. Sure sounds like they didn't want to stay here....

In 1961, Oriales Rubio took her two children back to Cuba “with the intention of remaining permanently.” Mario remained in Florida “wrapping up the family’s matters.” But within weeks of arriving there, “it because clear that Cuba was headed full speed towards Communism and they decided to return to the U.S,” the statement said.

Was this before the Bay of Pigs? Castro was already in power.

[Scurrilous]

8. Heh.

Lying POS exilio thuglican.

[peacetalksforall]

9. Exaggerating the 'story' of how they came to the U.S. - many Cubans go all the

way. Some will tell you about their grand 'estates'. Pure exaggeration.

It has to be recognized that some came for better work, some to safeguard their treasures, some because of their political and income connection to Batista, some because they were connected to the CIA or the mafia (who had to leave the island once Castro succeeded, some because of family or lover separations and plenty came just before, during, and after Castro took over because of the hyped up stuff about communism and all the benefits the U.S. was offering.

After the U.S. hung their hat with the exiled Batistans who were the perfect targets for instilling and maintaining fear and hate of the Communists, the entire U.S. felt sorry for them. That sympathy is at the heart of the exaggerations. Everyone wanted to be an exile and there were monetary benefits once they arrived in the U.S.

Whether the parents fed him this exile fleeing stuff is open to more discovery.

The story is -

Rubio:- both parents came to the U.S. and didn't obtain citizenship prior to his being born.

Obama:- one parent was on a visa, the other was natural born before Obama was born.

If there is going to be a birther fight - Rubio loses, but he IS a citizen by geography of birth.

THESE FACTS and COMPARISONS ARE GOING TO DRIVE THE MEXICAN HATERS CRAZY. Absolutely CRAZY - if challenged on their logic. An Executive Office contender whose parents were non-citizens for many years before his birth.

(By 'Mexican', I mean Mexicans PLUS Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, etc. = hated intensely by many right wing shouters.)

[trumad]

15. LOL---

I grew up in Miami and every Cuban exile that I met were Millionaire land owners in Cuba.

Seriously... I heard this all the time.

[peacetalksforall]

18. Yes, I was involved in the 'exile'. movement. Even lived in Little Havana.for awhile.

Good people, good hearts, loving family relationships, excellent entrepreneurs, upbeat, creative, fun, noisy, lousy drivers until they got too many tickets and were in too many accidents, operate on expresso loaded with sugar. Some incapable of learning English, some incapable of using English. Both ends of the education line - super educated and not well educated. Most stuck for decades on their plight as exiles. Others established themselves well and integrated. Never ending hate for John F. Kennedy. Most never planned to stay. Never ending exaggerations by some/many.

Would you agree with the rest?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. Sounds like all the old timer Irish my dad would talk about in his day.

They were all ex IRA who had the leave because the British had a price on their head.

[Turbineguy]

10. He's a repub.

gilding the lily is to be expected. I watched the Herman Cain interview last night. I kept waiting for him to say he'd grown up in a log cabin.

[SoapBox]

11. Liar, Liar...Pants on Fire!

...I just KNEW something was skeezy about this guy and his story.

I posted and posted and posted during the election, that something didn't feel right
about what was on his campaign page. Now I think, part of that feeling was that it was
simply TOO GOOD of a story.

Dirt bag.

[lunasun]

12. One more example of how the RWs do not speak ONE ounce of truth!!!!all lies all lies nt

[BlueStater]

13. And they seriously want to run this douche as a VP candidate?

Good grief.

[Joe Bacon]

16. I wouldn't be surprised if The Post sat on this story until now.

Might have made a difference when it counted, but then again, Florida was dumb enough to throw out Grayson and put a convicted felon in as Governor.

[No Elephants]

17. Oh, no, not a lying Republican! Say it ain't so, Joe!

In fairness, Obama's autobiography had a few embellishments, too.

The Republicans made a big deal of those 2007-08.

[maxrandb]

19. Holy "Liberal Media Bias" Batman

No! Washington Post...his story was not "embellished". It was a "fricking" lie!!

Anyone have any doubt that, if Rubio were a Democrat, the headline would read; "Rubio family story is a lie!"

[DesertRat]

20. Paul Begala tweeted this about it:

"Rubio's "embellishment" no big deal, right? My father, Jor-El, wanted to flee Krypton, but saved me instead."
:rofl: