Apparently Florida has higher standards for CPAs than members of Congress.
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) reportedly has overstated some of his qualifications in while campaigning during his two runs for Congress and his current Senate campaign, CBS Miami reported.
The representative has talked about his experience as a Certified Public Accountant and a small business owner while on the campaign trail. But he reportedly has made misleading or completely false claims about his experience.
Completely false would be closer to the mark. And this was the guy whom the Dems used to get rid of Allen West.
“I believe that my background as a CPA and a small business owner is exactly what we need to put our country back on track,” he said in 2012 during his first House race.
When he ran for re-election in 2014, Murphy was asked about experiences he's had that make him qualified for the job.
“I would say my background as a CPA,” he said. “Also being a small business owner, you know someone that can relate to those concerns of small business owners I think is particularly important.”
He again repeated the claims when announcing he would run for Senate to replace Sen. Marco Rubio's seat.
There was one small problem.
Murphy reportedly never worked as a Certified Public Accountant and was never a small business owner.
Yes, that problem.
When Murphy graduated college in 2006, he worked for Deloitte & Touche as an audit assistant and did not meet the minimum requirements to be come a CPA in the Florida. Instead, he applied for a license in Colorado, a state with lower requirements. Murphy passed the Colorado exam after several tries, but it was not valid in Florida where he was working.
Unqualified to be a CPA in Florida, but qualified to be a member of Congress. Also small business owner actually meant working for dad.
But CBS Miami found Murphy was only involved in the Coastal Environmental Services for two to five months and served as its vice president, not president. The company was reportedly controlled and operated by Murphy's father's business, Coastal Construction.
And yes, daddy's money bought Patrick his current job. It couldn't make him a CPA. It did get him into Congress.
In March 2015 alone, Murphy’s father and other members of his family contributed $34,900 to his Senate campaign.
His father, Tom Murphy, Jr., has long been a big-dollar donor to his son’s political campaigns.
In 2012, Tom Murphy gave $550,000 to left-leaning Super PACs that bashed opponent Allen West. Murphy acted oblivious to his father’s support, telling a reporter asking about that donation that he had “no idea who’s behind PACs.”
He has not been able to run away from his father’s support. Financial disclosure statements show that a gift from his father at least tripled Murphy’s net worth in just one year.
This man can truly relate to the concerns of small business owners.