Marco Rubio is not running for president.  There is no doubt about this fact; he made a big speech a month ago to make that clear.  So when the FEC sent his campaign a letter about excessive donations they accepted during the primary, the campaign responded by returning those illegal donations, right?  Not quite.

In a letter dated yesterday, the Rubio campaign let the FEC know that it was transferring the pages and pages of excessive donations from his primary account to his general election account.  But wait, you’re thinking, he’s not running in the general election.  No, he’s not.  And once the GOP convention rolls around, he’ll get another letter from the FEC asking him to return those donations.  But until then, he’s free to earn interest on those donations, free money he can use to pay off his debts or transfer to other candidates.

When people say our system is broken, this is what they’re talking about.  This is why we need real reform.  Until our politicians are willing to change a system designed to benefit them, we’re going to keep seeing things like this.  Because shockingly, all this is perfectly legal.