Another Diaz-Balart Challenged

by

First, Hialeah deity Raul Martinez decides to run against Lincoln Diaz-Balart for a U.S. congressional seat. Now, news is out that Lincoln’s younger brother Mario is facing a similar challenge from none other than occasional Babalu Blog topic of conversation Joe Garcia.
From today’s Miami Herald:

Joe Garcia, the Democratic strategist and former Cuban American National Foundation director, will challenge incumbent Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart.
Garcia’s expected announcement Thursday comes on the heels of former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez’s decision to take on Díaz-Balart’s older brother, Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart.
”This is a unique time in American history and just sitting on the sidelines and cheering isn’t enough,” said Garcia, who plans to relinquish his post as chair of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party to run for the seat. “People of good conscience have to provide leadership and that’s something we’re sorely lacking in South Florida and have been for a long time.”
Mario Díaz-Balart, a Republican, was elected to Congress in 2002 from the West Miami-Dade congressional district he helped create as chairman of the state House’s congressional redistricting committee.
He said in an e-mailed statement that he welcomed the challenge.
”Elections are a wonderful part of the democratic process,” the statement said. “As I have always done, I will base my campaign on my extensive record of cutting taxes on our families and small businesses while delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for our community’s needs, including transportation, healthcare and education.”
Diaz-Balart, who has more than $465,000 in his reelection account, is a member of the House Budget Committee, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Science and Technology Committee.
The sprawling district includes West Miami-Dade, a sliver of Monroe County and extends to Naples in Collier County.

I kind of feel left out in the Lincoln/Martinez duel because I don’t live in Lincoln’s district. However, I do have a say in the Mario/Garcia race since I live in Mario’s district, so I very much looking forward to what will undoubtedly be a very interesting campaign.
The South Florida Cuban-American Democrat delegation is putting a ton of its chips on the table in 2008. Gotta love it. Both races are going to answer a lot of questions and end any doubts regarding the state of Cuban-American politics in South Florida, circa 2008. It’s time to put up or shut up.
For pundits like us, it’s almost like heaven. Can’t wait to hear what Henry has to say about this one.

19 thoughts on “Another Diaz-Balart Challenged”

  1. Si resultan ganadores Joe Garcia , Martinez y Hilary/ Obama ticket cambiaria por completo la politica de EE hacia Cuba, quizas , quizas se comienze a abrir la cosa. En mi opinion Bush no hizo nada, veremos que hacen estos si son elegidos. Lo que NO hay que hacer es unilateralmente negociar con Castro. Debemos presionar a nuestos politicos a que DEMANDEN libertades alli.ESA ES LA CLAVE ..DANDO Y DANDO PERO NEGOCIANDO.. y por favor que la liberacion de TODOS los presos politicos en carceles cubanas este en el tope de la lista de Joe and Co.
    A trabajar se ha dicho

  2. you may not agree with bush, but to say that he has done nothing is completely untrue. he’s probably done more than any president in recent history (as far as cuba goes). and as far as the political prisoners, the doaz-balart brothers have been rather emphatic that this is one of the conditions that would need to be met in order to lift the embargo…i dont see joe and co. going any further,,and i especially dont see hillary doing anything for cuba.

  3. I’m tired of the “Bush didn’t do anything” rhetoric that comes from the quinta columna.
    Raul Martinez has a fighting chance against Lincoln based upon the loyalty of Hialeah citizens who see him as an effective politician but Joe Garcia who has ZERO experience in elected office will be toast. Mario is a better speaker than Lincoln and certainly better than the odious Garcia.

  4. I’m tired of the “Bush didn’t do anything” rhetoric that comes from the quinta columna.
    Raul Martinez has a fighting chance against Lincoln based upon the loyalty of Hialeah citizens who see him as an effective politician but Joe Garcia who has ZERO experience in elected office will be toast. Mario is a better speaker than Lincoln and certainly better than the odious Garcia.

  5. Oh, what FUN!!!! Pundit heaven — job security for the next however many months. Grab your water bottle and get an icepack, the air is gonna get even hotter when these politicos start yapping.
    I think it will be a golden opportunity for Mario and others to expose the true nature of Garcia’s ideas and leanings.

  6. Okay,
    Please help me here. While I as well feel that Bush has accomplished nothing regarding Cuba. Then tell me just what he did accomplish for Cuba. I am seriously open as I personally see nothing. If you do then please share it.

  8. I’m tired of the “Bush didn’t do anything” rhetoric that comes from the quinta columna
    no pertenezco a ninguna 5 columna
    y BUSH DID NOT DO SHIT
    it seems you got a problem with that

  14. Henry, por favor, fifth column? Stop the paranoid commentary please.
    I only hope the Diaz Balarts get a good political comeuppance. Its about time. Even in the chance that they should prevail in the elections, may it cost them millions. Just like Fidel, they too are the part of the problem, not the solution. I hope their family history and relation with Uncle Fidel and cousin Fidelito (Castro Diaz-Balart) gets fully exposed and revealed to the public, their largess on federal tax dollars (papa Rafael was an executive with broadcast to nowhere Radio TV Marti for many years – not to mention,also one of Batista’s henchmen during that other disgraceful period of Cuba’s history) [may Cuba be free of all dictators – amen] They behave like political bullies. Heck, Mario carved out a seat tailor made for himself just so he could run for Congress. And he has not much to show for legislative accomplishment in three terms.
    And with the political prisoners, they know nothing about negotiation. We do not need these kind of leaders in Congress.
    I hope and pray Joe Garcia will be a far more better Congressman than what my family is getting in south Florida. Our community deserves better than Mario, Lincoln, or Ileana.

  15. “I’m tired of the “Bush didn’t do anything” rhetoric that comes from the quinta columna.”

    Interesting, Henry, that Rush Limbaugh has become your definition of the “quinta columna.”

    2/6:

    There’s a lot of frustration in the Republican Party over this. We’ve had the White House for eight years. We’ve had a majority in the House of Representatives for most of those eight years — and what is there to show for it? And so conservatives are saying, “What the hell did it all mean? What the hell was the point? We got all these people elected, then they ran around and they stopped being Republicans — and at the same time they stopped being Republicans, they got credit for it!

    .

  16. Rick you fucking asshole. I was referring to Bush on Cuba and all the people who do nothing but complain about Bush and the Diaz Balarts as if Hillary Clinton, Raul Martinez and Joe Garcia were going to liberate Cuba.
    Go crawl back into your hole or under your government desk.

  17. Rick you fucking asshole. I was referring to Bush on Cuba and all the people who do nothing but complain about Bush and the Diaz Balarts as if Hillary Clinton, Raul Martinez and Joe Garcia were going to liberate Cuba.
    Go crawl back into your hole or under your government desk.

  18. To the Diaz-Balart haters:
    Please come up with something better than uncle Fidel and daddy was a “henchman.” Rafael Diaz-Balart was never accused of any killings by the Castro dictatorship. If you are going to talk about fathers, Raul Martinez’s dad was derisively called “Chin Perico” in the 1970s due to his alleged cocaine use.
    Joe Garcia showed himself to be a fool on election day 2004, when half hour before the polls closed he predicted before Miami TV cameras that according to his estimate, Kerry had won Florida, Ohio, and was therefore going to be the next president of the U.S.

  19. When I first read the headline, “Another Diaz-Balart Challenged,” I thought we were going to explore mental defects.
    So much for first impressions.
    *Who is going to go after Ileana’s seat, Ana Veciena-Suarez?

Comments are closed.