Legal Commentary

Rivera Is Desperate Already?

By Professor University of Miami School of Law

Going on Spanish-language radio to call a popular Democratic politician an agent of Castro is a pretty standard tactic for South Florida Republicans. What's slightly weirder is to do it while promising in English to run a clean campaign. What's very weird is lying about it when caught. Watch as the Naples Daily News commits real journalism:

Florida race for Congress: David Rivera labels Joe Garcia an agent of Fidel Castro: On Thursday, two staff members from the Daily News and Vista Semanal, the Naples News Media Group’s Spanish weekly, met with Rivera at his Miami campaign headquarters. The staffers didn’t immediately disclose they had a copy of the radio interview.

Initially, when asked in general about mudslinging in the race, Rivera said he was trying to remain above the drama.

“I have way too much respect for the voters and for the intelligence of voters to get mired down in false allegations and negative campaigning,” Rivera said, noting his pledge to stick to the issues. “We have some monumental challenges facing this nation, and I think the voters deserve enough respect that at the very least candidates should speak to those issues _ particularly the economy and job creation.

“The voters aren’t interested in gutter politics, not interested in mudslinging. They want a different type of politics, particularly in this day and age when we have such important issues facing the country,” he said.

When asked whether he thought accusing Garcia of being an esbirros was extreme, Rivera denied using the term.

[MF note: an esbirros is a term translated as “henchman” for Castro. It's South Miami Cuban gutter politics.]

…

Asked by the Daily News if he categorically denied ever calling Garcia an esbirro, Rivera reiterated his statement.

“What I’m saying is that your information is totally wrong,” Rivera said. “I have never called him an esbirro.”

Rivera then was informed the Daily News and Vista Semanal had a recording of the Spanish radio station interview in which he called Garcia an esbirro.

Joe Garcia had a pretty good response,

Garcia said Friday that Rivera's tactics are what has been typical of Miami-Dade's political system, and that Rivera assumed people would be too ignorant to translate Spanish into English.

Rivera's lying fits a pattern that has seen him dubbed as a “Mark Kirk Republican.” See Joe Garcia Hits the Ground Running, which shows Rivera's “promise to God” that he would run a “positive and clean campaign.” I guess that only applies in English.

From this, do we conclude that Rivera is just working through the usual GOP playbook, or that he's running scared?

See also:

• More Bad News for David Rivera (9/3/10)
• Joe Garcia Leading in Early Poll (9/2/10)
• David Rivera - Candidate as Demolition Derby Driver (8/18/10)

Full post as published by Discourse.net on September 13, 2010 (boomark / email).