Marco Rubio - won't release the AmEx record

Fiscal integrity, who's got it. Look over to Marco Rubio - the former Speaker of the House in Florida in a 3-way contest for a U.S. senate seat - who scolds the federal government for sponging off funny money and binging on credit. Reports have emerged in the Florida press that Rubio has been doing the same thing all along, and under wraps.

His campaign team won't answer – or release Amex statements of the GOP campaign – to clear up charges from September that Rubio simply crossed a threshold between a home kitchen makeover and a Republican Party campaign charge account.

He's tried to brush off claims, made by a former backer of his, that Rubio used the RPOF (Republican Party of Florida) American Express card for $4,000-$5,000 of kitchen flooring supplies. The party, meanwhile, has released the RPOF card statements for Rubio for 2007-08 but officials are holding back on most months of the prior 2 years for the RPOF card they issued Rubio for 2005 & 2006.

"The Florida Times-Union questioned Rubio earlier this week after allegations that he charged kitchen flooring on the card, but Rubio declined to address that question specifically."

Read the exchange between Rubio and the Times-Union editorial board on credit card statements. More detailed coverage is given here.

[RPOF] "Party spokeswoman Katie Gordon said the card was not supposed to be used for personal expenses. 'The RPOF American Express card is a corporate card and is meant to be used for business expenses,' she said when asked about the party's policy" in earlier coverage (February) about credit card use, including $765 from the Apple online store for computer supplies.

Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation asked Rubio if he would make public the statements to clear up questions about his spending on the party campaign credit card. Rubio would not agree to release them. He told the Florida press the statements are an "internal party matter" that RPOF can decide.

A Rubio spokesman has firmly stated "no further credit card records would be released", according to the St. Petersburg Times.

The Florida ex-Speaker is not the only one taking heat for use of campaign accounts. There's Delaware candidate Christine O'Donnell with no satisfying explanation for having applied campaign funds to her personal living expenses (in non-election periods) and to her housing rent.

These Senate wannabes haven't gotten to Washington, and they've raised concerns already of gross abuse of funds supplied by the public. And these are the candidates who preach they would balance the budget for the rest of us?

Mama mia. Ay caramba. Oy vey. It's turning into quite an election season.