Graham defends Penelas against Gore

[GSC Admin]

story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/krmiami/20040607/lo_krmiami/grahamdefendspenelasagainstgore

Graham defends Penelas against Gore

U.S. Sen. Bob Graham praised Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas' Democratic credentials in response to harsh criticism from former Vice President Al Gore.

BY BETH REINHARD

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Supporters of Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas roared to his defense Sunday after former Vice President Al Gore called him ''the single most treacherous and dishonest person I dealt with'' during the contested 2000 presidential campaign.

The most powerful comeback came from Florida's top Democrat, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, whose seat Penelas is seeking.

''People in Florida who know Alex Penelas know he is a quality person and has been a Democrat under difficult circumstances,'' Graham said in a telephone interview with The Herald that was facilitated by the Penelas campaign. ``It is not easy in Miami-Dade County to be a vocal Democrat as a Cuban American.

''He's been very helpful to many Democrats, including Bob Graham, in the past, and I am proud to call him a friend and supporter,'' Graham said.

Graham did not directly address the substance of Gore's remarks, which were e-mailed by a spokesman Saturday in response to a Herald inquiry about Penelas' role in the 2000 campaign.

Gore supporters say Penelas broke a promise to rally the Hispanic community in the crucial homestretch. National fundraisers solicited money for Penelas, who faced his own reelection in September 2000, so he could avoid a runoff and help the national ticket.

The day after Gore issued the reproach turned into a contest of Democratic firepower between Penelas and U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, a Senate rival who has accused him of abandoning Gore in 2000. For every high-profile Democrat the Penelas campaign cited as a supporter, Deutsch's staff referred to another party leader who would criticize the mayor.

But the harsh words from Gore himself are likely to tarnish the mayor's credibility with party loyalists who typically dominate primary elections. Penelas' leading rivals in the Aug. 31 Democratic primary are Deutsch and former Florida Education Commissioner Betty Castor.

''I think this makes Alex Penelas run third,'' said U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings of Miramar, who is supporting Deutsch. ``If what goes around comes around, Alex Penelas is looking it in the face.''

Asked about the potential impact of Gore's reproach, Bill McBride, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2002, said, ``I think Vice President Gore is very well respected, so this is not helpful to Alex Penelas by any means.''

But Graham subtly criticized Gore for issuing the statement. ''I think it would be desirable to focus on the real goal, which is to see a Democrat in this seat,'' he said.

Some Penelas allies went further, arguing that Gore's strident remarks may backfire and generate sympathy for the mayor.

`SHOCKING'

''For that to come from a vice president of the United States is shocking,'' said U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami, who has endorsed Penelas. ``If it was intended to bury Alex Penelas, I think people will think it was over the top.''

Penelas said Gore has refused overtures to discuss the events of 2000. The mayor was taken off guard by the statement.

''I can't help but think of Joe Lieberman and how he must have felt when he found out through the press that Al Gore was endorsing Howard Dean instead of him,'' Penelas said, referring to the endorsement during the presidential primary season. ``I think this will further solidify the people who are with me.''

Penelas and Meek campaigned statewide together in 2002 for constitutional amendments to lower class sizes and guarantee public pre-kindergarten. He has also helped raise millions of dollars for Democrats in and outside Florida, including Gore when he ran with Bill Clinton in 1996 and when he was the top of the ticket in 2000.

But Gore and Penelas had a falling out after 5-year-old Elián González was rescued at sea on Thanksgiving Day 1999.

Many from Penelas' political base, the heavily Republican, Cuban-American community, were enraged when federal agents raided the Little Havana home where Elián was staying with relatives and sent him back to his father in Cuba in 2000.

A NO-SHOW

Gore supporters knew that strong emotions among Cuban exiles would make it difficult for Penelas to tout the vice president's campaign until he won his own race. But on Oct. 18, one day after his swearing in, Penelas didn't show up at a rally aimed at boosting Hispanic turnout. Later that day, he and his wife went to Spain for 12 days on a trip that was part county business, part vacation.

Deutsch has been blaming Penelas for Gore's loss for a full year. The vice president's statement is vindication.

''It is disingenuous of Alex Penelas to take the position that he did all that he could for the Democratic Party,'' Hastings said. ``I think he should be chastised for that. Florida was ground zero. We lost by 537 votes, and if Alex Penelas had been on the ground in Miami-Dade, it would have made a difference.''

The vice president said in his statement: ``Not all who claim to have been supportive and loyal truly were.''

He also heaped praise upon Deutsch, a big supporter in the media and his campaign treasury. Deutsch was an outspoken Gore ally at the Broward and Miami-Dade recounts, and he donated $250,000 from his congressional account, one of the largest contributions of its kind to a national campaign.

[GSC Admin]

Send your messages to this traitor's campaign:

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Also, send a message to Bob Graham, who apparently is sticking up for this traitor instead of the President.

[ErinB]

I used to have respect for Bob Graham. Surely he is aware of everything Penelas had done to Al Gore. He is turning a blind eye to it just because Penelas is a Democrat.

[GSC Admin]

Apparently Nelson is supporting Graham and Penelas:

Florida Senators Rebut Gore's Comments

By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer

MIAMI - Florida's two Democratic senators defended U.S. Senate candidate Alex Penelas on Monday, a day after Al Gore (news - web sites)'s published comments calling Penelas "the single most treacherous and dishonest person I dealt with" during the 2000 election.

Sen. Bill Nelson questioned Gore's decision to inject himself into the race, saying it hurts the party's ability to keep retiring Sen. Bob Graham's seat and threatens a key state for presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites). Graham called Penelas, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, "a good Democrat."

Both Graham and Nelson have said they will not endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary but that they felt compelled to come to Penelas' defense in light of Gore's remarks.

"This slash-and-burn politics has gotten us to the point that it is causing gridlock in America," Nelson said.

Several Democrats spoke on Penelas' behalf after Gore issued a statement to The Miami Herald published on Sunday praising one of Penelas' two main rivals, Rep. Peter Deutsch.

The statement added: "One of the other candidates in this race became in 2000 the single most treacherous and dishonest person I dealt with during the campaign anywhere in America." A Gore aide confirmed he was not referring to Betty Castor, who has led in recent polls.

A spokeswoman for Gore declined comment Monday on Graham and Nelson's reaction.

Some Democrats criticized Penelas for failing to actively support Gore during the final months of the 2000 election. George W. Bush won the White House after winning Florida by a mere 537 votes following a 36-day recount in some counties that was stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites).

"The truth is, Alex Penelas hurt us in the 2000 election," said Mitchell Berger, a Fort Lauderdale attorney and top fund-raiser for Gore.

Pelelas attacked Gore and Deutsch, accusing them of using "the politics of yesterday — slash and burn."

In response, Deutsch released a statement saying the dispute is not about politcs.

"Vice President Gore's words speak for themselves. And if those words help put Mr. Penelas into clearer focus for some voters, I would consider that an important development."

[Judith]

Here is my letter to Bob Graham. I sent one to Bill Nelson too.

Dear Senator Graham,

I have a great deal of respect for you and feel that you have a great deal of integrity, but I must tell you that I have been completely discouraged by the Democrats in both the House and the Senate since the 2000 selection of George W. Bush without even so much as a whisper from you or the rest of the Democrats as to the crimes that brought that selection on. What you keep pretending is that it didn't happen. That George W. Bush is legitimately in office. That the trashing of our Constitution doesn't matter. But it does matter. Either we live by it or we don't. We can't have it both ways. And if we don't then we should stop pretending we do.

Al Gore isn't the only American Democrat who feels betrayed by Mr. Penela, or by you and all our representatives. In the last 4 years our country has been brought to the brink of a dictatorship because of the complicit betrayal of our representatives to our Constitution, to international law, and to our civil rights.

If not fighting for Al Gore then you and all decent and true Americans should be fighting hard for our Constitution and our law driven Democracy. Where was your outcry in 2000? And since then, where is your Party's outcry now? A High Crime has been committed against us. It is a sad thing that you would now defend Mr. Penela when the person you should be defending is Al Gore.

Sincerely,
Judith Foster

[Patriot For Gore]

Why would Al Gore really care about the Cuban exiles in Florida voting for him? THEY ARE REPUBLICANS. HE WON WITHOUT THEM ANYWAY. I personally think it is despicable how the RIGHT WING Cuban community plays politics with EVERYTHING there, and so much so in 2000, that they illustrated the very fascism they claim they came here to escape! I personally don't give a damn about what may or may not have transpired in regard to Elian Gonzalez. It was NO EXCUSE to trash the constitution and deny this country its rightful President over a personal vendetta.

www.afrocubaweb.com/miamimachine.htm

The Miami Machine:
Cuban American Terrorists Triumph in Election 2000
by Felix Martinez 12/13/00


The terrorist minority in the Cuban American community have long had an influence disproportionate to their numbers and this has proven especially true in Election 2000. One major event they helped engineer was the decision of the Miami Dade Canvassing Board to stop the recount -- this was at the heart of the case in front of the Supreme Court and was thus decisive for Bush, who asked the court to enforce that decision.

The Cuban right wing is very close to Jeb Bush, who has maintained ties with major Cuban American criminal figures, including the author of the largest HMO fraud in US history. The building that houses the all-powerful Cuban American National Foundation's headquarters happens to be owned and managed by IntrAmerican Investments, whose president is Jeb Bush. Bush and the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) are allies in the effort to end affirmative action in Florida, the "One Florida" intiative. The CANF has had documented involvement in several narcoterrorist operations, including those of Luis Posada Carilles over the years and the 1997 attempt to kill Fidel Castro where a CANF board member was indicted. After the Elian affair, the Cuban right had it in for the Dems and vowed to seek revenge for what they perceived to be a massive insult to their cause.

There was substantial Miami Cuban right wing involvement in the Miami Dade Canvassing Board decision to stop the recount: the mob which intimidated the Board was urged on by no less than two Cuban American members of Congress over the radio and on-site, in effect giving them the green light. The Gully reports that Congresswoman "Ros-Lehtinen, who is Cuban-American, was protesting against the recount outside the Miami-Dade county building last week while Sweeney was getting ready to utter his fateful phrase inside. Both she and Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, the other Cuban-born Republican in the U.S. Congress, had called on Cuban-Americans to join the protest, in on-site interviews granted to Radio Mambi, Miami's biggest Spanish-language station." Both members of Congress support and are supported by the all powerful Cuban American National Foundation, the CANF.

The mob consisted of a mix of Cuban American thugs and Republican politicos from out of town, a mix reminiscent of Watergate. Whether they actually intimidated the commission or not is of course disputed but it is irrelevant for as the Gully reports, "two of the three canvassing board members ... county judges Myriam Lehr, an Independent, and Lawrence D. King, a Democrat, were re-elected to the bench thanks to the cut-throat political consultant Armando Gutierrez, last spotted as the 'spokesman' for Elian's Miami relatives." You'll remember Gutierrez as the political consultant who was paid $10,000 by the Family Court judge who ordered Elian into the custody of his Miami relatives. Gutierrez was very busy citing human rights abuses in Cuba as a reason for Elian to stay in Miami, land of the free.

We also have word from Peter Dale Scott that "Elections supervisor David Leahy of the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board, one of the three who voted to stop the recount, works for [Miami Mayor Alex] Penelas." Mayor Penelas also featured prominently in the Elian affair, siding with the hard liners. Scott is the co-author of Cocaine Politics and of an informative memorandum on Jose Basulto, another CANF ally who is at the heart of the current US Cuba phone dispute.

After their victory in shutting down the recount, Republican operatives had a party and Wayne Newton crooned the song 'Danke Schoen,' German for thank you. This victory has proven crucial for Bush, who personally called to thank the Republican operatives at that party but kept the Cuban American participation in low profile.

Note the role of Radio Mambi in mobilizing the Miami mob, the same role it played in the Elian case. The term Mambi is a despicable use of the name of the Mambi, a Congo term that was applied to the Army of Liberation that freed Cuba from the Spanish crown in the 19th century. After the 80% black Mambi army led by General Antonio Maceo defeated the Spaniards, the Spanish Cubans sided with the US and encouraged the US intervention in the Spanish American War in 1898 to steal the fruits of the Mambi victory. After that, they worked with the US to control Cuba and concocted the pretext for destroying the Independents of Color, the first all black political party outside of Haiti in this Hemisphere -- the 1912 massacre in which 6,000 AfroCubans, many of them Mambi veterans, were liquidated, including the entire leadership of los Independientes. This set the tone for years to come. The Miami Machine is the spiritual heir to this sorry history and their use of the word Mambi is the most cynical of ploys.

Persuing Election 2000, the present day version of 1898 and 1912, we note that Cubans in Miami transferred the skills they had in Cuba around elections to elections in Miami, which are replete with the dead voting and numerous instances of electoral fraud. One former mayor of Miami, Xavier "Mayor Loco" Suarez, an ally of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), was tossed out of office in 1998 after it was proved he tampered with absentee ballots. The "erided ex-mayor of Miami, Xavier Suarez ... now sits on the executive committee of the Miami-Dade Republican party and was specifically involved this year in helping get out the Republican vote... and in filling out absentee ballot forms." Feed Daily goes on to report on "Mayor Loco" Suarez's trajectory in Election 2000.

An article in the London Times on 11/13 had the Gore camp asking the FBI to investigate voter fraud in Miami, largely in the 440,000 strong African American community. This story was completely ignored in the US. Curious, since the London Times is a well known and respected publication. Well, perhaps not so curious. We hear that the New York Times newsroom, the gatekeeper for much of the news in the US, made a conscious decision to downplay racial issues in the election debacle. Perhaps it was said, "We're all Americans here!"

There may have been less than total interest on the part of the CANF and their allies in the outcome since Senator Lieberman is a solid CANF backer -- he owes his first senate victory over the venerable Lowell Weicker to the CANF and their money. Weicker, a Connecticut Republican, had come out against the embargo... For more on this see Lieberman a close ally of Miami's Cuban exiles, 8/11/00 and Lieberman a friend to Cuban-Americans, 8/8/00.

Nevertheless, emotions in little Havana ran very high over Elian, and many of the nearly 1 million Cubans in Miami Dade voted against Gore because of that. Interestingly enough, Gore still probably actually won Miami Dade (if there is ever an accurate count), as there are so many other folks besides right wing Cubans -- moderate Cubans, 200,000 Haitians, 700,000 non-Cuban latinos, 440,000 African Americans, and other voters who don't follow the Miami Machine but have to live under its rule.

We have not even touched upon the CANF and their allies' funding of US elections across the country, sometimes using government subsidies to in effect bribe the government.

Nor have we tracked the moves made by CANF funded politicians to tear down the Dems effort to contest the Bush coup d'etat. Robert Torricelli, Democrat of New Jersey, is heavily funded by the CANF and crafted legislation tightening the blockade against Cuba. He broke ranks with the Dems and called for Gore to give up a week or more before the Supreme Court ruling. Bob Graham, the democratic senator from Florida and another recipient of CANF largess, figured prominently on news shows following Gore's concession speech. Curious also how Ed Rendell, the prosecutor who framed Mumia and later became mayor of Philadelphia and Chairman of the Democratic National Comittee, was the first party official to call for Gore to pack it in after the Supreme Court ruling. He was immediately repudiated by his party.

All in all, the Cuban daily Granma's editorial "Banana Republic" on November 8th proved remarkably accurate -- the comrades know their enemy well. With a core support of 30% of the people (not only voters) according to independent surveys in Cuba, Fidel Castro now boasts stronger internal backing than George Bush, who was "elected" with less than 25% of the vote, given the 50% absentee rate in the national election. The Supreme Court had their chance to decide whether the United States would continue to be dominated by the curious alliance between Cuban American terrorists and US conservatives. Now it's on to the next made in Miami spectacular as the artful heirs of 1912 enjoy an increased measure of influence over the US government.

See also USA's Major Electoral Scandal Occurs in Territory of Right-Wing Exiles, Radio Havana, 12/9/00

[MProffitt]

Deutsch (sp) was the only person on any news during the 2000 election demanding ANYTHING on behalf of the voters in Florida. Graham and Nelson both were pretty much no where to be found. Pinalles - he was a joke! Al Gore was right on the button on that!