Game on!

by

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Raul Martinez, pictured above, has just announced his intentions to run against Lincoln Diaz Balart for Florida’s 21st congressional district.
By the way he was just on TV talking about how the average person is tired of the war in Iraq. I’m not Martinez’ adviser but I don’t know how smart it is to second guess a war that took down a vicious tyrant of a dictator in a place where the greatest hope is that the United States would act similarly against another vicious tyrant of a dictator.
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20 thoughts on “Game on!”

  5. Martinez Should Resign (Editorial)
    The Miami Herald
    July 11, 1991, p. 22
    THE PENALTY is stiff, but in no way harsh. And the 10-year prison sentence dealt suspended and convicted Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez is eminently justified. U.S. District Judge James W. Kehoe’s sentence was a fraction of the maximum possible, but more than sentencing guidelines recommend.
    The sentence ought to send the precise message that Judge Kehoe intended, and it ought to be given thorough, thoughtful consideration wherever it lands: The message is that power conferred by a trusting, reliant public must be inviolate. Public officials who contort that power until it is no longer recognized as the public trust that it is cannot be condoned.
    Martinez is a sad case of that abuse, and the judge correctly made him an example.
    When he was ascendant, Martinez was a political star imbued with the shining talent, commitment, and integrity to make a difference in his city and, it was envisioned, beyond. Instead, he got corrupted. In March a Federal jury decided that Raul Martinez put his vote on zoning matters up for bid, taking land and almost $1 million from developers in exchange. He was convicted of six of eight counts of racketeering and extortion.
    For that, Martinez deserved the 10 years in prison to which Judge Kehoe sentenced him on Tuesday. Judge Kehoe allowed Martinez to remain free while he exhausts the appeals process, which could take years.
    It’s no surprise that Martinez maintains that he is innocent. Nor is it surprising that he vows to exercise his legal right to appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary. But he cannot dismiss the gravity of his conviction and its repercussions.
    Therefore Martinez, suspended by governor’s decree, should resign. Only that way can he leave Hialeah, riven and immobilized by its opposing loyalties to his administration or to that of acting Mayor Julio Martinez, free to choose a new mayor, a new vision.
    If Martinez insists on retaining the office that he has dishonored, he must remember that both a jury of his peers and now Judge Kehoe have spoken, with ringing clarity.

  7. Rip him all you want, he is a scumbag after all, but who kept him in power? Who idolizes him? Why does he have a legitimate chance? “The people” love that idiot, fortunately as the Herald noted, “he doesn’t travel well out of Hialeah.”

  9. Michael: …Well when Johnny was first starting out, he was signed to a personal services contract with this big-band leader. And as his career got better and better he wanted to get out of it. But the band leader wouldn’t let him. Now, Johnny is my father’s godson. So my father went to see this bandleader and offered him $10,000 to let Johnny go, but the bandleader said no. So the next day, my father went back, only this time with Luca Brasi. Within an hour, he had a signed release for a certified check of $1000.
    Kay Adams: How did he do that?
    Michael: My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
    Kay Adams: What was that?
    Michael: Luca Brasi held a gun to the bandleader’s head, and my father assured him that either his signature or his brains would be on the release.

  12. Cardinal,
    There’s no denying that Raul is a master of retail politics. If you had a pothole on the street in front of your house and called the mayor’s office, the next you were likely to see a road crew working on it and have the mayor pay you a visit to make sure everything was to your satisfaction. But there’s a big difference between making sure the garbage is picked up on time as an executive and being a negotiating legislator.
    People trash the Diaz-Balarts all the time, and I know I’ve been fielding emails from people accusing them of being dumb, of being former fidelistas, all kinds of crap. But the fact is if you look at the record, Lincoln has been very successful in creating coalitions in congress, reaching across the aisle to do so and has been an effective legislator for his constituents.
    In particular he has helped a lot of non-Cuban immigrants over the years. In this campaign they are going to try to portray Lincoln as some sort of cartoon character. That’s fine. We’ll see if it works.
    I wonder if Raul Martinez is going to get Hank Goldberg’s endorsement. Back in the 90s Martinez assaulted Hank at the Hialeah racetrack because of remarks Goldberg made on the air about Hialeah. Martinez is a hothead.

  13. George:
    That “Separated at birth?” has Henry’s ideological fingerprints all over it. He is the lightning rod of the leftists and pro-Castro stooges, to the point that they hijacked his name on the Miami Herald comments section. Henry is a truthful, stand-up person who blogs under his own name and chooses his own battles.

  15. I truly believe Raul was a good mayor for Hialeah….The city looks great crime has never been a problem parks and recreation is #1 in the state, for heavens sakes there are water parks in Hialeah…Oh and Henry get your facts straight Hank Goldberg was not assualted by Raul simply asked Hank to step outside after the Hammer said they should put Hialeah race track out of it’s misery. Also they only reason Raul was accused of anything was the Ileana Ros wanted the Pepper seat and her husband the then Fl state attorney tied him up while he was free to run for the seat…how convenient!

  16. I read Hank Goldberg’s denunciation of Raul Martinez in the section “Raul Martinez’s Violent Temper” at
    http://www.raulmartinez08.com/
    There are also articles on how Martinez spit on a political rival and pummeled a skinny balsero protesting in the street the return of other balseros to Cuba. It’s not just Goldberg complaining. Martinez needs anger management therapy. He is certainly not suited for the job of representative.
    I am also impressed with the close resemblance of Martinez to mafioso Luca Brasi.

  17. Taking into account Raul Martinez’s criminal background (and the kind of “company” he keeps) the U.S. government needs to be careful about where his campaign contributions $$$$$$$ come from.
    Martinez is a slimeball that associates with other pro-castro slimeballs. While he was major of Hialeah he made sure to keep those “friends” in the closet.

  18. El Migue,
    I guess that conspiracy against Raul included all the agents and attorneys that put together the case, the judge and the jury that originally found him guilty.
    Sorry. You’re gonna have to better than that.

  19. Henry
    You can find something on any politician that can tie them up in a litigation while your wife runs for Peppers seat. Why all the mis-trials? why did’nt the charges stick were there not judges and lawyers at those trials? You mention his temper as if you’RE not discribing about 80% of the male Cuban population. Hank Goldberg is an ass and anyone that’s heard his show knows he is. If it would have been me and he said something bad about Hialeah i probably would have smacked him around alittle. 😉

  20. Henry Gomez: You are very wise and fortunate to acknowledge a disclaimer on that “Separated at birth?” collage. Otherwise, you would be sleeping with the fish.

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