You know how they always say your own words can come back to haunt you?
Well, that would be Miami-Dade School Board Member and congressional candidate Carlos “Crybaby” Curbelo today, after he sees the new 30-second video 
ad the Florida Democratic Party released this morning with his own bad choice of words almost on an arrogance loop.
“If anyone has a complaint, file it,” Curbelo says, over and over again.
It ends with a call to action: “File your complaint on Election Day. Vote no to Carlos Curbelo.”
Curbelo’s words are taken sorta out of context from a CBS4 Facing South Florida show with Jim DeFede, in which the Crybaby was answering whether or not he would disclose his client list — the answer is no — which he currently and conveniently hides by putting his own admitted lobbying firm, Capitol Gains, under her name. He says, “Hey, I’m not doing anything illegal. So blow me.”
My words, not his. His are: “If anyone has a complaint, file it.
Read related story: Carlos Curbelo hides lobbying client list under his wife’s skirt
That’s what Curbelo told DeFede in regards to the lack of disclosure. But the Florida Dems — who, by the way, did file a complaint Thursday — runs with it, baby, and use the sentence like a catch phrase that almost perfectly captures Curbelo’s arrogant sense of entitlement.
What does Carlos Curbelo have to say to people who disagree with him?
“If anyone has a complaint, file it.”
When Curbelo supported ending the Medicare guarantee?
“If anyone has a complaint, file it.”
When Curbelo supported cuts to education?
“If anyone has a complaint, file it.”
And when Curbelo supported raising flood insurance rates?
“If anyone has a complaint, file it.”
The ad is just one sign that Curbelo’s financial disclosure questions and the client list at his lobbying firm are going to become a central issue of this campaign. That is likely why Florida Dems Chairwoman Allison Tant wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice and requested an investigation into the “contradictory” statements Curbelo makes on different public documents.
Read related story: Dems ask DOJ to investigate Carlos Curbelo disclosure issues
As she notes, Curbelo’s contributions to political campaigns, including a loan to his own congressional account, alternately identify him as president, owner and principal of Capitol Gains. But his own financial disclosure lists him simply as an employee of Capitol Gains, owned by his wife, earning a salary of about $125,000 a year. Which makes one wonder how much Cecilia Curbelo earns for her no-show job as pretend CEO.
Well, Mr. Curbelo, which is it? Are you a peon or the president? As if anyone would believe that you are the peon.
“If anyone has a complaint, file it,” I can imagine him saying.
Curbelo hasn’t spoken to Ladra in months, since Political Cortadito first exposed his little loophole. Back in June, we wrote how Curbelo transferred his company into his wife’s name in 2009 at, he said, the advice of Senate attorneys when he went to go work for former Senator George LeMieux. Ladra is trying to get confirmation of this through the U.S. Senate Office of Legislative Counsel, so you can imagine what a labyrinth that is. But the trouble is because he never changed it back after he left the office in 2010 and became an elected member of the school board. What nice timing, right?
He can’t say that for four years he didn’t know he was getting away with a little legal skirting of ethics and disclosure rules? Well, okay, maybe he can say he was that dumb. But when confronted with this in June, when he still liked the blog and we had a cordial relationship, Curbelo didn’t tell Ladra he would fix the matter because, ahem, it had unfortunately slipped through the cracks. He said, and continues to say, he has no need to change anything because he trusts his wife. Guess the need to be transparent and comply with the spirit of the law, which is to allow voters to know who is signing the checks for our electeds, doesn’t trump that he trusts his wife.
Por Dios! ¿Existe álguien que se creé este cuento?
Curbelo said on This Week in South Florida with Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg and Roberto Rodriguez-Tejera‘s Prohibido Callarse that he would make his list public. 
But he has not and now he answers that question by saying it is an “arbitrary” request that he does not have to respond to. Why should he have to be special, in other words. When our point is that he’s not. He’s just like every other elected official and what he isn’t is a private citizen.
The whole point of disclosure laws, like the one Curbelo is skirting, is ransparency so that voters can see who our elected officials are really representing. This transparency is a hallmark of U.S. democracy that a wannabe Congressman is thumbing his nose at.
Curbelo could have always said he didn’t realize that the business was still under his wife’s name and make the change and add an addendum to his disclosure. Wow. What a breath of fresh air that would be. But he never had that intention.
When Ladra asked him point blank who his clients were, he didn’t say it was an arbitrary question. “None of your business,” is what Curbelo actually said. Well, remember, we were friendlier then.
And I guess that’s another way of saying, “If anyone has a complaint, file it.”
Carlos Curbelo’s own words come back, haunt him in new ad added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
