Marco Rubio’s Boat vs. John Kerry’s Boat

 

Marco Rubio once bought a fishing boat and the New York Times is on the case. Fresh from their scoop that the Florida senator had four (FOUR!) speeding tickets in the past two decades, the Gray Lady has revealed his shocking financial record.

“For years, Senator Marco Rubio struggled under the weight of student debt, mortgages and an extra loan against the value of his home totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.” (Boo, poor people! — ed.) “But in 2012, financial salvation seemed to have arrived: A publisher paid him $800,000 to write a book about growing up as the son of Cuban immigrants.” (Boo, rich people! — ed.)

And what did Mr. Rubio do with his dirty, filthy publishing fortune? He bought a BOAT. And not just any kind of boat, but a “luxury speedboat.”

[H]e splurged on an extravagant purchase: $80,000 for a luxury speedboat, state records show. At the time, Mr. Rubio confided to a friend that it was a potentially inadvisable outlay that he could not resist. The 24-foot boat, he said, fulfilled a dream.

Twenty-four feet of White Hispanic privilege. So what if Sen. Barack Obama got a book advance of $1.9 million and Hillary Clinton got $14 million? They didn’t go frittering away their well-deserved windfalls on frivolous aquatic transportation.

To prove that Rubio is an out-of-touch nouveau riche spendthrift, I have compared his opulence to that of an everyman, salt-of-the-earth recent Democratic presidential candidate.

John Kerry’s Humble Yacht Marco Rubio’s “Luxury Speedboat”
Senator-John-Kerrys-Yacht-Isabel-1 245cc_rotating_4
Friendship 75 Edgewater 245cc Deep-V Center Console
Length: 75.95 ft. Length: 24.5 ft.
Beam (max): 19.08 ft. Beam (max): 8.5 ft.
Displacement: 108,676 lbs. Displacement: 3,500 lbs.
3 sails 0 sails
Harbored in Rhode Island to avoid taxes Located in Florida according to state tax records
Made in New Zealand Made in United States
“She is the largest size boat confidently handled by two, yet sacrifices nothing towards interior volume and finish which are unmistakably the essence of luxury living.” “Safety-minded family boaters and avid anglers will love this boat’s deep v hull, perfect for those choppy seas.”
CHFJhnBWgAM56ix 6cc7c0977bdfae287a0308fc91b8bdd3245cc_det01
$7,000,000 list price $80,000 list price

And those fat-cat Republicans think they can win over long-suffering middle class voters. Tsk, tsk.

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  1. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    It’s the Rubioyacht of Omar Sulzberger!

    • #1
  2. Ricochet Member
    Ricochet
    @OldBathos

    Core Clinton donors use boats bigger than Rubio’s just to transport underage girls from the dock to the main yacht.

    • #2
  3. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Like.

    (Even Politico is making fun of the Times on this one.)

    • #3
  4. Tom Meyer Member
    Tom Meyer
    @tommeyer

    Wow.

    • #4
  5. Ricochet Inactive
    Ricochet
    @Odysseus

    What nobody is saying is just how shocking it is that this maritime version of a Skoda retails at $80,000. One could purchase a ludicrously fast car for a fraction of that price. Shocking.

    • #5
  6. user_75648 Thatcher
    user_75648
    @JohnHendrix

    Excellent!

    • #6
  7. Ricochet Member
    Ricochet
    @JudgeMental

    Reminds me of Dexter’s (also in Miami).  Not to suggest Rubio is disposing of bodies.  Dexter also used his to to take the kids fishing.  But it looks like the same general class of boat.

    • #7
  8. user_75648 Thatcher
    user_75648
    @JohnHendrix

    Observation: the Dems and the MSM (pardon the redundancy) undertook demonizing the milk-drinker of the 2012 election cycle.

    This nonsense was inevitable. The difference, this time, is that the absurdity-factor is now totally over the top.  Consequently, all NYT has accomplished is attracting ridicule.

    • #8
  9. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    My son is a plumber and has a nicer boat than Marco and it’s paid for. He does not have one of those blow boats like severed in Vietnam Kerry. It will take my son a while to ketchup up to blow dry John in the wife department.

    • #9
  10. Marion Evans Inactive
    Marion Evans
    @MarionEvans

    Odysseus:What nobody is saying is just how shocking it is that this maritime version of a Skoda retails at $80,000. One could purchase a ludicrously fast car for a fraction of that price. Shocking.

    That was my first reaction. Maybe we don’t want Rubio in charge of Treasury :)

    Kerry (or his wife) can afford a much more expensive boat btw. I guess he is not that into boating, only $7m into it.

    • #10
  11. Ricochet Inactive
    Ricochet
    @Odysseus

    Marion Evans:

    Odysseus:What nobody is saying is just how shocking it is that this maritime version of a Skoda retails at $80,000. One could purchase a ludicrously fast car for a fraction of that price. Shocking.

    That was my first reaction. Maybe we don’t want Rubio in charge of Treasury :)

    It certainly raises questions, like “senator, who precisely did you imagine you could impress with this… er… vessel”.

    • #11
  12. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Odysseus:What nobody is saying is just how shocking it is that this maritime version of a Skoda retails at $80,000. One could purchase a ludicrously fast car for a fraction of that price. Shocking.

    A Boston Whaler with similar options would be even more expensive.

    • #12
  13. tabula rasa Inactive
    tabula rasa
    @tabularasa

    Lest one justify Kerry’s yacht over Rubio’s boat on the grounds that the former is purely a wind craft, the specs (here) for the Friendship 75 point out that it has 250 hp diesel engine (not to mention another generator).

    Oh, and the yacht has a 542 gallon fuel tank.  When that baby’s running you can make a heck of a carbon footprint.

    • #13
  14. tabula rasa Inactive
    tabula rasa
    @tabularasa

    One more thought.  According to the NYT, Rubio is too poor and Romney was too rich.

    I suppose that means that Kerry and the Clintons are just right.

    The NYT is exposing itself yet again as the northbound end of a southbound horse.

    • #14
  15. Mark Coolidge
    Mark
    @GumbyMark

    Not only that – Kerry, a Massachusetts resident, saved $437,000 in sales tax and $70,000 a year in excise taxes by keeping the boat in Rhode Island!  I believe the NY Times would spin this by claiming it shows that Kerry’s financial acumen is better than Rubio’s.

    • #15
  16. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    Misthiocracy:

    Odysseus:What nobody is saying is just how shocking it is that this maritime version of a Skoda retails at $80,000. One could purchase a ludicrously fast car for a fraction of that price. Shocking.

    A Boston Whaler with similar options would be even more expensive.

    I want a Boston Whaler. Thanks for reminding me I still can’t afford it :(

    • #16
  17. user_139157 Inactive
    user_139157
    @PaulJCroeber

    What’s the difference between the NYT and Marco Rubio’s boat?

    The boat will still exist in ten years.

    • #17
  18. Guy Incognito Member
    Guy Incognito
    @

    Odysseus:

    What nobody is saying is just how shocking it is that this maritime version of a Skoda retails at $80,000. One could purchase a ludicrously fast car for a fraction of that price. Shocking.

    True, the only real scandal here is that Rubio does not seem to much of a haggler.

    • #18
  19. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Odysseus:What nobody is saying is just how shocking it is that this maritime version of a Skoda retails at $80,000. One could purchase a ludicrously fast car for a fraction of that price. Shocking.

    That $80K could have gone a long ways towards buying a decent RV for their senior years.  Instead he splurges on a boat, with no thought for the future.

    • #19
  20. user_82762 Inactive
    user_82762
    @JamesGawron

    Paul J. Croeber:What’s the difference between the NYT and Marco Rubio’s boat?

    The boat will still exist in ten years.

    PJC,

    Amen.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #20
  21. Ricochet Member
    Ricochet
    @EustaceCScrubb

    Does Rubio’s boat have a name? For nostalgia’s sake, we must recall the name of Demoncrat candidate Gary Hart’s boat.

    • #21
  22. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    This is not quite up there with the NYT’s very serious investigation into traffic tickets but it’s close shave to tell the difference.

    Clearly the best and the brightest.

    • #22
  23. Concretevol Thatcher
    Concretevol
    @Concretevol

    I think this and reporting Rubio was forced to go to traffic school shows a complete lack of understanding how people live when they don’t live in New York. who the hell would call that a speedboat?

    • #23
  24. user_82762 Inactive
    user_82762
    @JamesGawron

    Concretevol:I think this and reporting Rubio was forced to go to traffic school shows a complete lack of understanding how people live when they don’t live in New York. who the hell would call that a speedboat?

    Gone Fishing.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #24
  25. Concretevol Thatcher
    Concretevol
    @Concretevol

    So according to the NYT:

    -A F150 is a luxury SUV

    -4 tickets in 18 yrs is excessive

    -Going to traffic school to avoid points on your driving record is unheard of.

    -It’s a bad thing when a public official DOES NOT use their influence to get out of tickets.

    -A modest center console fishing boat is now a luxury speed boat.

    Where do I pull the lever for Rubio???

    • #25
  26. Matty Van Inactive
    Matty Van
    @MattyVan

    Mark: “Not only that – Kerry, a Massachusetts resident, saved $437,000 in sales tax and $70,00 a year in excise taxes by keeping the boat in Rhode Island! I believe the NY Times would spin this by claiming it shows that Kerry’s financial acumen is better than Rubio’s.”

    Isn’t Rhode Island the state that had a thriving yacht building industry? And then they decided that the buyers of those yachts were so rich they wouldn’t mind contributing a hefty sum to goverment, so they added a luxury tax? And killed an industry that included many middle class craftsmen?

    If I have the state right, they revoked the tax the next year, realizing it’s better to have a vibrant industry, even one that serves the rich, than luxury taxes on an industry they have driven away. Just goes to show, even the rich care about taxes on themselves.

    • #26
  27. Concretevol Thatcher
    Concretevol
    @Concretevol

    The NYT writers aren’t doing a lot for my opinion of New Yorkers and yankees in general. :)

    • #27
  28. user_653084 Inactive
    user_653084
    @SalvatorePadula

    I’m loathe to approve of anything Kerry does, but the Friendship 75 is a great boat.

    • #28
  29. user_138106 Member
    user_138106
    @LidensCheng

    Senator Rubio should send the Times a thank you card for their diligent reporting.

    • #29
  30. Ricochet Inactive
    Ricochet
    @Odysseus

    Salvatore Padula:I’m loathe to approve of anything Kerry does, but the Friendship 75 is a great boat.

    I think we can agree on that, although in practice Rubio’s “luxury speedboat” is probably better if you’ve been on a failing-to-come-to-a-complete-stop crime spree and need to get away from the cops/coast guard in a hurry.

    • #30
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