Joe in our community!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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: