Raul’s Crocodile Tears

(Cross-posted from 26th Parallel, with an added Babalu-only bonus at the end of the post).
Raul Martinez is upset that Radio Mambi programming director Armando Perez-Roura doesn’t like him too much and isn’t shy about it. The Herald has the scoop here.
Grow up, Mr. Mayor. Last time I checked, radio commentators had the right to express their opinions on issues and political candidates. Not everybody has to like what they have to say, but a veteran politico such as Martinez can’t be serious when he claims that he’s upset that Radio Mambi commentators are critical of him.
Martinez claims that it’s the unsubstantiated attacks on him that he’s upset about, and that he hasn’t been given “equal air time” to dispute the attacks. OK, I think radio commentators have a responsibility to not allow or encourage the broadcast of unsubstantiated attacks without an appropriate response. Martinez has a point there. But in the end, this is less about that and more about a fight for votes in an election where he rightly sees himself as the underdog. That’s my feeling.
Should Radio Mambi have invited Martinez himself to appear on the show instead of Alberto Milian? Perhaps, but Milian is an intelligent and influential person in South Florida politics. He’s no slacker. Martinez himself called into the show a few days later, and I have seen and heard him numerous times on local TV and radio, more so than his opponent Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
My conclusion to all this is that Raul is whining because he’s no longer the big shot mayor who ruled over Hialeah for many years. He can no longer run around and sucker-punch and verbally insult constituents anymore. He’s running for a bigger prize, and with that comes the occasional pot shots and accusations that, whether in good taste or not, are part of the game that Raul Martinez has known and played all too well.
Raul Martinez: cry me a river.