Not a Way to Start a Congressional Career

The Miami Herald has the story:

The Miami-Dade state attorney's office is investigating more than $500,000 in secret payments from the owners of the Flagler Dog Track to a company tied to Congressman-elect David Rivera, The Miami Herald has learned.

Most of the money was paid in early 2008, weeks after Rivera -- then a member of the Florida House of Representatives -- helped run a political campaign backed by the dog track to win voter approval for Las Vegas-style slot machines at parimutuel venues in Miami-Dade County.

The dog track -- now called the Magic City Casino -- made three payments totaling $510,000 to Millennium Marketing, a company currently co-managed by Rivera's 70-year-old mother. Investigators are still trying to determine if Rivera himself received any of the money, or if anything about the transaction was illegal, according to sources close to the inquiry.

More than anything, this story reminds us that despite the fact that the Republicans forged a relatively large majority in the House of Representatives last month -- and perhaps also because they did -- that majority is far from invulnerable.

Two years is a long time in politics, and it's possible that this story peters out while David Rivera is able to build a better name for himself within the South Florida community. But if it doesn't, Rivera might find himself out of a job after a single term -- along with a whole host of other soon-to-be freshman Republicans who only eked out bare majorities even in this GOP-friendly cycle.