A Cup of Joe

Joe Garcia drinks coffee with FIU students

2008-09-09T17:57:00.000-04:00

by The Beacon

On the morning of Sept. 4, FIU students at the University Bookstore's Starbucks enjoyed a different cup of joe.

Democratic Congressional hopeful Joe Garcia made an appearance to mingle with students and exchange ideas, while enjoying some coffee.

Garcia came in, shook hands with students and proposed some of his ideas for change if elected to Congress. He is currently running against Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who has held the congressional seat for the 25th District of Florida since 2003.

Garcia's visit to FIU was a chance to connect with the younger people of his district and offer some alternatives to issues that are important to them, such as budget cuts affecting academic programs and the soaring tuition costs. Garcia proposed that the government should invest particular attention and resources in funding education.

"Our country's wealth does not lie in the economic resources we have, rather in our intellect, our patents and our ability to produce innovative thought," said Garcia, who used Google as an example of an innovative thought that gives the country its technological edge. Garcia also said he believes the government should have special interest in funding education as the breeding ground for innovation that steers our economy forward.

"For every one dollar that goes into education, you get six dollars back," he said. "Therefore, there is an incentive for government to channel funds toward education."

If elected, he hopes to expand college loans and reduce interest. He also addressed another common complaint among college students: the lack of career opportunities and debt after graduation. He offered a solution he claims will directly steer money toward the local economy.

According to Garcia, education and economy are two factors that are inextricably linked, and small businesses can act as an effective liaison for both. He proposed there should be more of an incentive to prepare a future task force of new hirees in small businesses. "Some small businesses offer tuition reimbursement for newly graduated employees," said Garcia. "And consequently, it will boost the local economy and help students pay off debt."

Garcia vowed that students would be informed of these career opportunities. For his constituency, Garcia hopes to invest in the individual and the community as the root of change, much like education is the foundation for fueling the economy.

"Homestead is one of the most productive agricultural lands in this side of Florida, but it's the people that make it productive," he said. Therefore, Garcia puts particular emphasis on giving people incentive for public service, especially teachers, who have long been underpaid.

The problem, he says, is that the government is spending more than it has to on two main areas: the energy sector and health care. However, restructuring these two will guarantee more money used for education.

"If a child gets a cavity, health care does not cover that; if the child develops an abscess, it does not cover that either. Once that abscess turns into a tumor, then [health care providers] are willing to pay the $40,000 for treatment," Garcia said. "It is unnecessary to pay that amount, when the problem can be tackled from the beginning." Garcia concluded that this leads to funds used improperly, as in the case of education.

Overall, Garcia attempted to touch base with young voters, who may be the deciding factor in his run for a congressional seat. "I was very impressed with the ideas he offered, especially those for education. I was actually even considering being involved with campaigning," said senior Onex Salva, a liberal arts and science major.

After Garcia spoke with students and drank some coffee, he headed over to FIU's radio station Radiate FM, where he was interviewed. The interview can be heard at FIUSM.com.

Joe Garcia is Here to Win

2008-09-01T22:15:00.001-04:00

The Miami Herald -- Julio Sanchez Cristo

It's not hard to guess why Mario Diaz-Balart prefers to avoid Joe Garcia these days. He doesn't want to bump into him at social gatherings at the Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana, much less on the radio, television or here in the Herald. Things happen when, after so many years of a family holding political power, all of a sudden, there is fatigue of the repeated speeches, the passing of days, generational shifts or the moment of political realignment in the country sounds several alarms that warn that the trendy word, change, is not only coming to the White House, but to the Congress as well. And this is going to happen to good ol' Joe.

Let's go piece by piece. Nepotism, regardless how nice the brothers of a dynasty may be, creates antipathy, whether it be in Florida, California, Texas, China or Vietnam. You also have to add that the same anti-Castro focus of the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, no longer resonates in 2008. On the contrary, there is a boomerang effect, and you can no longer duck your head or use the same old story that generated votes in the past. Cuban-American voters clearly want change in their homeland, along with liberty and democracy, so they can once again breathe the breeze that stayed behind in Havana's piers. There is no disagreement on this issue, but alongside this exiled voting bloc, there is now a new voter. There is the young Cuban American that was born in the United States, and despite the love he may have for the grandparents and uncles he may or may not have met, he has a different vision of the problem. His origins may be in Cuba, but his school, university, wife, kids and future are in the United States. His first language is English, and he almost doesn't understand the rhetoric that dates back four decades of exiles talking about the death of the tyrant or the fall of the regime.

These young Cuban-Americans are affected by the drama of their peers, and the nostalgia less than 90 miles from Florida, but what they're more interested in is that a young politician, that speaks their language, is ready to solve their daily problems here in the United States. This has been the focus of Mr. Garcia's campaign. Aside from this generational dilemma, the Diaz-Balarts' and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen's problem, is that their Democratic opponents for Congress have surfaced while the country has been inspired by the optimistic change that Barack Obama signifies. During such a political climate, the standard-bearers of exile politics represent the exact opposite.

Some things happen when a candidate arrives that was born on Miami Beach; has longer hair; is known for being a good guy; is linked to the University of Miami; is well prepared; and close to various groups of Cuban Americans, prefers to speak less about the 'Cuba libre' we all want, and focuses more on speaking to voters, whose lives are committed to the country we live in, about pocket-book issues and their daily lives.

I'm not sure if there will be a electoral dethroning of the congressional Republicans, but what is felt in forums, letters to the media and in polls is that change is not only a perception, but rather a real possibility, with a candidate that shows personal respect toward his opponents and thinks they are not efficient and that the time for another option is now. Certain things happen when a veteran politician that follows the line of Diaz-Balart begins to understand that we find ourselves in a year where China changes, and that Florida will not be an island in this cry for change, and that's why he'll find every possible excuse not to be in the same place where he may have to debate, confront or analyze his rival. Joe Garcia is here to win.

Watch this video

2008-08-28T11:38:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to tell you about the incredible reception Joe Garcia received yesterday at the Democratic Convention in Denver.

Watch this video:

This is what the National Journal had to say:

"Joe Garcia may have stolen the show as he earned a wild and prolonged applause from the Florida delegation."

Your voice is being heard loud and clear across the country.

South Floridians are fed up with politics as usual in Washington, and want a new direction for our country and our District.

Our community wants lower taxes for working families, a responsible end to the War in Iraq, and a solution to the foreclosure crisis plaguing South Florida.
But remember, we have 11 weeks left and it's going to take a lot of work.

That's why we need you to stay engaged and help make Joe Garcia the next Congressman from Florida.

Can you make a contribution right now?

http://joegarcia08.com/contribute

Thanks,

Giancarlo Sopo

Candidate Forum!

2008-08-25T15:44:00.001-04:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Pictures from Office Opening!

2008-08-25T15:40:00.000-04:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Mario Sweats During Talk and Avoids a Debate

2008-08-25T15:31:00.001-04:00

Mario Diaz-Balart Continues to Hide from Debate with Joe Garcia

(Miami, FL) — The last time Joe Garcia shared a stage with his opponent, Mario Diaz-Balart, he made the Republican sweat. Diaz-Balart, who has not faced any real opposition during his time in Congress, displayed how out of touch and uncomfortable he is with the concerns of the voters. At one point, he claimed that our healthcare system is working because it is used by European athletes and celebrities.

And the event wasn’t even a debate—it was a bloc party celebrating the youth vote. It is no wonder then that Diaz-Balart continues to avoid facing the voters.

“If Mario can’t hold his own at an event where the questions had been given to him weeks in advance, then of course he is going to continue to run away from debating Joe Garcia,” said Melissa Agudelo, spokesperson for Garcia. “The problem with this is the voters deserve a real debate on the issues, and Mario continues to avoid them.”

Joe Garcia has extended numerous debate invitations to Mario Diaz-Balart, all of which have been denied or ignored by the Republican congressman. Mario Diaz-Balart accepted then declined an offer to participate in a town-hall debate organized by union leaders. He has refused to appear on radio with Joe Garcia, claiming he needs to check his schedule. Diaz-Balart also refused to appear in a series of town halls alongside Garcia to discuss the worst problems South Floridians face—high energy prices and home foreclosures.

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Democratic resurgence in Miami-Dade

2008-08-18T23:41:00.005-04:00

We all should study these numbers as we campaign our hearts out for our three congressional candidates, and the DailyKos article is the best place to get it in full detail and nicely laid out with hyperlinks to the official sources.

For this blog I’m only going to report the three districts’ Democratic deficits and show how they’ve shrunk.

District 18, where Annette Taddeo challenges long-time Republican rubber-stamp Ileana Ros Lehtinen. The Democrats are only behind 7,129 souls, much better than the deficit of 18,006 in January.
District 21, where Raul Martinez has what Kos regards as the hardest role to oust Lincoln Diaz-Balart. The Democrats are behind 24,643, against a deficit of 31,045 in January. It sounds like a big deficit until it’s clear that Republicans always have voted like crazy for Raul Martinez in the district, where he was mayor of Hialeah for many terms.
District 25, where Joe Garcia is taking on Mario Diaz-Balart (he who brags untruthfully that our two Democratic congressmen won’t support Garcia). Here the margin has narrowed the most of the three districts, down to 3,624 from 13,348 in January.

No excuses will be accepted for slowing our efforts to recruit new Democratic voters.

Joe in our community!

2008-08-13T11:39:00.000-04:00

Team Joe! would like to thank Covenant Missionary Baptist Church for
inviting us to take part in a wonderful and meaningful event his past
Saturday. At the Church's Back to School Book Bag drive, Joe Garcia
provided school supplies to over 400 children in Florida City. We would
like to thank our dedicated members of Team Joe for assisting in the
project. Team Joe! walked South Florida in two locations this weekend,
Perrine and West Kendall. Thank you to all our members who helped reach
our community. We look forward to meeting the Cutler Bay community in
the coming weeks and taking part in more community events. Look for the
white shirts! Thanks again for your support. We are walking towards
victory!

Mario Plays Hide-And-Go-Seek

2008-08-12T13:11:00.003-04:00

Here is the most recent press release sent out by the campaign. I know all supporters are waiting to find out when a debate will be held ... the wait continues.

Melissa

Mario Diaz-Balart Continues to Hide from Joe Garcia and the Voters

(Miami, FL ) – For months now, Mario Diaz-Balart has been bobbing and weaving his way out of many debate proposals made by Democratic Candidate Joe Garcia. Now, it appears that Diaz-Balart is attempting to squirm out of his promise to attend a debate organized by Spanish network Univision on Wednesday, September 17, 2008.

“This is yet another example of how Mario Diaz-Balart is a typical Washington politician, showing utter contempt for the voters of the 25th District,” said Garcia. “He has no problem giving himself a raise five times, or voting against health insurance for our children. But ask him to explain those choices to his constituents, and he’s nowhere to be found.”

In fact, Diaz-Balart accepted—then declined—an offer to participate in a town-hall debate organized by union leaders. Just last week, Diaz-Balart refused to appear in a series of town halls alongside Garcia to discuss the worst problems South Floridians face—high energy prices and home foreclosures.

Congress is currently in the middle of a five-week-long recess. The town-hall debate would have been “a great opportunity to address the urgent issues which affect the District’s Hispanic community,” said Garcia. “Apparently, Mario Diaz-Balart can’t make time for his constituents, even when he is on vacation.”

When pressed on his reluctance to debate Garcia, Diaz-Balart touts his participation in a GenerationEngage event as evidence that he is not dodging Garcia. While this forum is a great way to introduce candidates to the youth, its audience is limited to those in attendance because it is not televised. It also does not allow interaction between the candidates.

“The voters deserve an honest and thorough debate on the important issues affecting South Florida,” said Garcia.

We are Marching!

2008-08-04T17:24:00.003-04:00

This weekend Team Joe reached over a thousand residents from the Homestead, Perrine, and West Kendall areas.

With every walk, we gain more volunteers and more momentum.

This weekend was especially important because Joe Garcia held a Community Meet & Greet BBQ at West Perrine Park, where the now famous Joe Garcia grill rolled out over 300 hot dogs and hamburgers to the community.

Joe spoke to concerned residents about important issues like rising gas prices and home foreclures, and shared his plans to revitalize the community by cutting taxes.

Also present were Mayor John Hornbuckle, Councilman Curtis Lawrence and three of the four candidates for State House seat 118: Dwight Bullard, Tan Johnson, and George Grace.

Joe Reacts to Current Economic State

2008-08-02T08:19:00.002-04:00

Yesterday afternoon Joe Garcia sent out two media releases. They were a reaction to two important economic news articles. First he spoke out about the irony that while we are paying over $4.00 at the pump, oil giants like Exxon are reaping in record breaking profits. Secondly, he reacted to the unemployment rate spike, which has not been this high in years. Below you will see what the campaign sent out to the media.

Thanks,
Melissa

Exxon Mobil Profits While Floridians Suffer at the Pump

Miami, FL – In spite of the economic downturn, the oil giant Exxon Mobil reported record setting second quarter earnings of $11.68 billon. Clearly, based on today’s disclosure, oil companies have profited while Florida’s families have suffered. This reality is particularly egregious given that Exxon Mobil donated thousands of dollars to the Diaz-Balart campaign.

"For far too long, oil companies and their lobbyists have set the agenda in Washington while politicians, like Mario Diaz-Balart, continue to accept thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from oil PAC's. Mario Diaz-Balart accepted $70,000 in big-oil campaign donations, while concurrently voting against anti-price gouging measures in June,” said Joe Garcia. “Unlike Mario Diaz-Balart, I do not take campaign contributions from oil companies. It's time for a new energy policy that provides families with immediate relief and offers long-term solutions that free us from the tyranny of oil."

Background Information

Just three weeks before opposing an important House measure which would have enforced civil penalties on oil companies guilty of price gouging, Mario Diaz-Balart accepted a $2000 check from Exxon-Mobile.

On June 24, Rep. Diaz-Balart voted against H.R. 6346: Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act, to protect consumers from price-gouging of gasoline and other fuels. The act would have been enforced by the FTC via civil and criminal penalties against a gas price that (1) is unconscionably excessive; or (2) indicates the seller is taking unfair advantage of the circumstances of an emergency to increase prices unreasonably.

To date, Diaz-Balart has accepted over $70,000 from energy companies. (Center for Responsive Politics)

Diaz-Balart has received a total of $8,000 from Exxon-Mobile since 2002 (Federal Election Commission)

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Washington Mismanagement Leads to another Spike in U.S Unemployment Rate

Miami, FL – The US Department of Labor today announced that the number of new lay-offs rose to 448,000 employees last week, which represents the highest figure in five years. This news illustrates what Floridians already know: Washington is broken. Unemployment is on the rise, and Floridians are suffering from Washington’s continued mismanagement of the economy.

"Today's news is an indication of how out of touch Washington is with the needs of working families. While the unemployment rates rose, Mario Diaz-Balart sent his constituents a newsletter letting them know that job opportunities were increasing,” said Joe Garcia. “We need a new direction for South Florida, with immediate relief for homeowners, tax-cuts for middle-class families and investment in small businesses that will create thousands of new, better jobs in our community."

Background Information:

The unemployment is at its highest point since March 2004. (Bureau of Labor and Statistics)

Wages and salaries of American workers, adjusted for inflation, fell 1.7% in June from a year earlier, the fourth decline in the last five years. (Bureau of Labor and Statistics)

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June 2008 is 5.5 percent, which represents 508,000 jobless people. (State of Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation)

Both Collier County and Miami Dade County have cities ranked within the top 20 cities for unemployment. (State of Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation)

David Wyss, Chief Economist for New York’s Standard & Poor, stated that "The basic pattern is clear; this is becoming a W-shaped recession."

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Listening

2008-07-30T09:10:00.007-04:00

Last night, the Young Dems hosted a meeting with Annette Taddeo and me at Gordon Biersch.

It was great to meet so many young people committed to working for change and a better South Florida.

In particular, I would like to recognize Cedric McMinn's diligence and efforts in putting this event together.

- Joe

Party Politics

2008-07-28T10:11:00.002-04:00

There was a pretty cool article in yesterday's Herald about an organization we've worked with in the past, Party Politics.

"This, to be exact, is Party Politics Inc. -- the latest, but not the first or only effort to engage 20-somethings in politics by appealing to their inner party animal.
The idea is simple: host parties with a two-hour open bar about once a month at South Florida nightclubs. Post fliers at local colleges and send messages to friends on Facebook and MySpace."

Kudos to Anthony Joyce, and the other organizers of Party Politics, for the good work they do getting young people engaged in politics.

Weekend Pics

2008-07-28T00:46:00.008-04:00

Had a great weekend canvassing.

The excitement on the ground is pretty amazing.

South Florida is ready for a leader like Joe Garcia that will fight to change the broken ways of Washington.

Here are some pictures, by Alex, of one of the canvasses in Kendall:

Welcome!

2008-07-27T23:59:00.001-04:00

Hi --

Welcome to our official campaign blog.

We know that Washington is broken. Lobbyists set the agenda and the voice of regular folks get drowned-out in the process. The goal of our campaign is to change that and put the needs of South Florida's working families first.

That's why we created this blog. Whether it be to chat about news or current events, we want you to use this as a place to share your thoughts, ideas and concerns with our campaign.

Remember, we can't do it alone. This is a bottom-up campaign that's powered by people like you.

I'm counting on you to create the change we need.

Thank you so much,

Joe