Disclosure: Member of Joe Garcia’s media team.
I spoke with Joe earlier and he is very appreciative of the enthusiasm and support from the Dailykos, Open Left, and Swing State Project communities on the Blue Majority endorsement and wanted to say thank you. This campaign started in the Netroots and he wants to actively involve the blogosphere and progressive community in his campaign and if elected, in Congress.
Today the campaign released the following statement.
We are at a transformational moment in South Florida history and Joe is leading the way with a new vision for our community.
– Revitalizing our economy
– Quality healthcare that's affordable, accessible and reliable
– A real plan to save our Everglades and combat global climate change
– Fixing a Washington that's broken
– A safe and responsible end to the Iraq War
These are the issues that Joe is talking about. This is why a local campaign is now turning into a national movement.
There are many reasons why Joe and this district are a perfect match for progressives. Here are some of my reasons.
The Cuban-American community of South Florida remains one of the last Republican strongholds in the country. A loss here would be detrimental for Republicans and would mean their time with Hispanics is up. A loss here would also be detrimental to the conventional foreign policy thinkers in Washington who gave us the family travel restrictions. Unlike other policitians on the Democratic side in Florida, Joe has shown courage on the Cuba issue and called for the easing of travel restrictions and allowing for the unification of families. This is a stand Rep. Wasserman Schultz and others have refused to take in 70% blue districts, yet Joe is making his case in a 54% Republican one. A victory here would be a clear rebuke of the Washington style of foreign policy.
With the Everglades in the district, Joe wants to make the environment and taking on climate change one of the most important issues in the race. It would be tremendous symbolically to have someone who cares about the environment and will work to protect the environment, representing the region. Mario Diaz-Balart received a terribly sad 15% rating from the League of Conservation Voters, not a record any Congressman should be proud of, especially not one from such an environmentally important area. The environment hasn’t necessarily been a top issue among Hispanic voters in the past, but in this race, progressives can begin to reach out and speak to them on the topic, particularly in relation to the Everglades.
Joe has also taken courageous stands on the general issues of importance to every progressive.
On the Iraq War, he’s not going to give into Bush, he’s going to take them on.
Our brave men and women have performed honorably. They have done everything asked of them. But the solution in Iraq is not a military solution. I would have voted for funding only if it included a requirement that removed our brave men and women from policing a civil war, brought them home and shifted the responsibility of security in Iraq to the Iraqis. Part of what has to happen is for grassroots and netroots activists to play a bigger role so the Democratic Party finds its courage again. We’ve lost courage in the biggest issues of the day. We tend to be scared off by Iraq, rather than truly supporting our troops by bringing them home.
On Retroactive Immunity he makes a very good point and stands firm against any kind of immunity for telecom companies that broke the law.
The type of broad retroactive immunity advocated by the Bush Administration is not acceptable. The legal purpose of immunity is to use the protection granted by such immunity as an inducement to divulge information about what occurred. Immunity in this case would do the opposite: it would shut down any investigation into what actually occurred.
As the son of two Cuban-American immigrants, Joe also believes it’s critically important we act responsibly on immigration policy. Joe has continuously worked with members of Congress to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. Joe will add diversity to the Democratic Party and be a valuable spokesperson on issues relating to Latin America.
In this election we can accomplish two things. We can elect someone who’s going to lead the progressive cause in Congress and we can send the Republicans packing out of South Florida for good.
Let's make that happen together. Get involved in the campaign and contribute today on Blue Majority's page.