Mario's "Howard Dean Scream" Moment

If you haven't seen wild-eyed crazy Mario yet, you should:



And this guy represents Florida in Congress? Shame on South Florida if they don't replace this guy with Joe Garcia.

FL-25: A Diaz-Balart raver catches TV attention

Hey, Mario, you forgot to take your pills.

Narration by Michael Putney, senior reporter for ABC Channel 10 in Miami.

Now I wonder if the editorial board over at the Miami Herald might reconsider their failure to endorse our calm and collected Joe Garcia for the US House in District 25.

Fla. Dems Good on Environment, Reps Not So Much

The League of Conservation Voters released their scorecards for Congress. Can you guess what the pattern is? Of Florida Republicans, only Ileana Ros-Lehtinen does as good as any Democrat and that's only one person. Beyond that, all Democrats do way better than all Republicans. No shocker there.

Alcee Hastings (D), 92%
Ron Klein (D), 92%
Timothy Mahoney (D), 92%
Kendrick Meek (D), 92%
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), 92%
Bill Nelson (D), 91%
F. Allen Boyd (D), 85%
Corrine Brown (D), 85%
Kathy Castor (D), 85%
Robert Wexler (D), 69%
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), 69%
Vern Buchanan (R), 62%
Gus Bilirakis (R), 38%
Ginny Brown-Waite (R), 38%
Mario Diaz-Balart (R), 38%
C.W. Bill Young (R), 38%
Mel Martinez (R), 36%
Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), 31%
Ander Crenshaw (R), 15%
Ric Keller (R), 15%
Connie Mack (R), 8%
John Mica (R), 8%
Adam Putnam (R), 8%
Dave Weldon (R), 8%
Tom Feeney (R), 0%
Jeff Miller (R), 0%
Cliff Stearns (R), 0%

Esquire Endorsement

Esquire endorsed Joe Garcia over Mario:

Lincoln Diaz-Balart's younger brother Mario suffers the same fate. It's well past time for south Florida politics to move beyond Fidel.

DCCC Takes on the Diaz-Balarts

Joe Garcia debates the rubber-stamp 10 a.m. Sunday on Univision

Message from the Joe Garcia campaign:

I want you to tune in tomorrow morning to the final debate between Joe Garcia and Mario Diaz-Balart and encourage your friends and family to watch as well.

Here are the details:
Sunday, October 19 at 10 AM
Univision 'Al Punto' with Jorge Ramos
(A version with English subtitles will be available online shortly after)

The differences in this election are clear:

• Joe Garcia will fight for economic relief for families and small businesses -- Mario Diaz-Balart will give billions in tax give-aways to the big oil companies that fund his campaign.

• Joe Garcia has a plan to make healthcare more affordable and accessible -- Mario Diaz-Balart wants to deregulate insurance companies and do to healthcare what he and George W. Bush have done to Wall Street.

• Joe Garcia will bring a safe and responsible end to the Iraq War -- Mario Diaz-Balart will vote to prolong it.

The truth will win. Gotta listen to know the truth.

Mario Hates Ethics, Again

The Miami Herald and the New York Times today reported that Republican fundraiser Harry Sargeant cost taxpayers $180 million by inflating profits on contracts to provide fuel to the U.S. military in Iraq. Sargeant, who is the finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party, has given Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart $18,400. [Miami Herald, 10/17/08; New York Times, 10/16/08].

“Mario Diaz-Balart needs to return the thousands he got from Harry Sargeant immediately,” said Andy Diaz, spokesman for Joe Garcia. “Then Diaz-Balart needs to explain to the people of the 25th District the extent of his relationship with Harry Sargeant, who scammed American taxpayers out of $180 million.”

In August, the McCain campaign returned $50,000 in donations from Harry Sargeant after it was discovered that Sargeant was funneling money from Mideast Oil interests into American campaigns. Mario Diaz-Balart has refused to return any of Sargeant’s contributions. [Miami Herald, 10/17/08]