While Joe Garcia has been actively reaching out to voters across the 25th district of Florida with a plan that will unite the South Florida community on bringing about the kind of change that will enact universal health care, bring a responsible end to the war in Iraq, tackle climate change and protect the Everglades, and revitalize the economy, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart has been busy pandering to right-wing groups with outlandish statements.
Just two months into the campaign Bush rubberstamp Mario Diaz-Balart has already put his campaign to the level of using fear-mongering, redbaiting, and Rovian style tactics to scare up votes. The latest attacks come from yesterday's Miami Herald in a story in which he attacks both Joe Garcia and Rep. Charlie Rangel as left-wing extremists. This comes a month after the Diaz-Balarts called Joe a sympathizer and friend of Castro.
Joe Garcia, the FDP, and South Florida grassroots supporters are pushing back strongly against these outlandish statements.
I'm disappointed but not surprised. When my family and I decided to enter this race, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart promised to run a campaign based on the issues and his record in Congress. That was a debate I was excited to have.
But we always knew that the better this campaign does–the more supporters we attract, the more events we hold, and the more small-donors who give–the more negative and desperate Mario Diaz-Balart would get. We just never thought he would sink this low, this early.
I've already strongly rejected Mario Diaz-Balart's claims, but I'm comforted in knowing that I'm not alone in this fight. I've got supporters just like you, standing up and demanding change.
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Diaz-Balart has based his career on intimidating his opponents and accusing them of being Castro-sympathizers. He can't pull that stunt on me. I've spent my entire life working for human rights in Cuba. When he was trying to find his legislative office in Tallahassee, I was already meeting world leaders and walking the halls of Congress on behalf of the Cuban people.
My opponent wants to run a negative campaign based on using the sensitivities of Cuban-Americans for his political gain. That is wrong and it's the kind of dirty politics we need to move beyond in South Florida.
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While Cuba is an important issue in our community, South Floridians also want better jobs, lower taxes and an end to the Iraq war just like all Americans. It is about time we had someone in Washington that can lead on these issues.
Not only are his attacks rediculous, but they will only hurt the district by ensuring Diaz-Balart is the last who will receive appropiations help from Rep. Rangel. This is part of the reason data shows Diaz-Balart ranking 406 out of all 435 members in terms of performance for their districts. It also helps explain his vote against SCHIP, which denied 14,500 children living in the district health care, but guaranteed tax cuts for tobacco companies who have contributed thousands to his campaign. At a time when the economy is on the decline, the 25th district needs someone who is going to be able to work with members of Congress and get progressive legislation signed into law. Clearly Rep. Diaz-Balart is more concerned about getting re-elected on one-issue than the concerns of the people of South Florida.
Today DFA and Joe Trippi joined in with the following email message:
You and I have seen this attack before.
Yesterday morning, the Miami Herald quoted Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart calling Joe Garcia and his supporters “left-wing extremists.”
“Joe Garcia continues to align himself with left-wing extremists. The latest to join the ranks is Congressman Charlie Rangel,” reads a statement from Diaz-Balart's campaign.
“He has a long and well-known history of supporting a radical left-wing agenda including supporting higher taxes on working families and appeasing our nation's enemies. Left-wing birds of a feather, tax and spend together.”
I know we will not just stand aside and let these attacks go unanswered. Let's show this Bush-Republican machine what we can do when “birds of a feather” really flock together, contribute $20.08 to Joe Garcia right now.
During our Dean for America days together, we learned to always fight back.
Now, I'm the Senior Advisor to Joe Garcia's powerful campaign to take back south Florida. The early endorsement of Democracy for America led the way in bringing us a national spotlight, and helped us grow our people-powered, grassroots campaign. DFA members provide us with boots on the ground and the small-donor, financial support to back them up.
Joe Garcia has already strongly rejected Mario Diaz-Balart's claims. We can reject them by showing our people-powered support for Joe Garcia today. Contribute $20.08 now:
We know that the more this campaign grows — the more supporters from across south Florida and the country that get involved — the more negative and desperate Republican Rep. Diaz-Balart will get. This is just the beginning. And while these tactics might have worked in the past, they won't work this time. At least, not with your strong support.
Working together, we stand for a different kind of politics.
-Joe
Joe Trippi
Senior Advisor for Joe Garcia for Congress
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