House In Chaos After Republicans Force Vote During Lantos Memorial

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The Huffington Post

"During what was supposed to be a somber memorial service in Statuary Hall for Rep. Tom Lantos, who died Monday, the House chamber became mired in chaos over procedural votes," the Politico reports.

House Republicans are upset that Democrats are voting today on contempt citations for White House aides Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten, and vowed to hold 'protest votes' to suck up time and delay the contempt proceedings.

But Democratic aides were shocked when, during the middle of a memorial for Holocaust survivor and Congressman Tom Lantos, GOP Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart demanded a procedural vote on the floor, forcing members to leave the service early, even "while dignitaries were still giving tributes to Lantos."

"The disrespect that has been shown by a Republican member of Congress in calling a political procedural motion during the memorial service for the late Chairman Tom Lantos is incomprehensible," said Stacey Bernards, a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). "It is unjustifiable, and Republican leaders should restrict their members from further such action."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/14/house-in-chaos-after-repu_n_86639.html

---

Video at the URL above.

[maxsolomon]

1. this is THEIR bipartisanship

so let's keep that in mind in january 09.

[Adsos Letter]

2. ...oh, it's "comprehensible " alright...

given who we're dealing with... :puke:

[whistle]

3. This bunch of House rethuglicans are contemptible

:wtf:

[Ediacara]

4. From what Diaz-Balart is saying, it was the Democrats that made him come back

:eyes: give me a fucking break....

[bdamomma]

7. they realized what a$$holes they were.

now they put another nail in their coffin. You know we always wanted our guys to do the same thing and they never did, good thing they didn't.

[madaboutharry]

5. I remember Lincoln Diaz-Balart from the

Elian Gonzales fiasco. He is very dim.

[tsuki]

9. He has an opponent.

http://raul2008.com/home/

[Amerigo Vespucci]

16. From your link:

Martinez Says He'll Run Against Diaz-Balart
Former Hialeah Mayor: Opponent Nervous, 'Should Be'

POSTED: 10:24 am EST January 22, 2008
UPDATED: 9:24 pm EST January 22, 2008

http://www.local10.com/news/15110173/detail.html

HIALEAH, Fla. -- Former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez declared his candidacy Tuesday to take on U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, an eight-term incumbent in the House of Representatives.

"The opponent is clearly very nervous, and he should be," said Martinez in his announcement speech. "In a moment of desperation two weeks ago, he started with a barrage of attacks on me personally and, to a certain degree, to the people of Hialeah that have voted for me four times after 1993."

For decades, there has been a powerful Republican voting bloc of three GOP incumbents who represented the Cuban-American community in Miami and rarely have they faced opposition. But Martinez, the colorful and controversial former Democratic mayor of Hialeah, could present a formidable challenge, political analysts said.

"Raul Martinez presents the first substantial challenge since Diaz-Balart was elected," said Michael Putney, Local 10's senior political reporter.

:patriot:

[Judi Lynn]

15. He got a great Democrat, Congressman David Skaggs, of Colorado thrown out of his job.

David Skaggs had done an investigation of Radio/TV Marti, the propganda stations broadcasting from Miami, to the tune of around $30,000,000.00 per year, programmed, staffed, run by Cuban "exiles" and found they are worthless, since Cubans get American tv and radio stations just fine, thank you, on their own radio and tv sets, contrary to what the Cuban "exile" reacitionaries in Florida claim as the reason to beam their propaganda in there.

The "exiles" claim that that is the only way they can get news about the U.S. On the contrary, visitors to Cuba can even get American radio on their Walkmen, walking on the streets of Cuba.

So David Skaggs tried to get these programs kicked out to save the taxpayers money. Lincoln Diaz-Balart approached him, told him he would take everything he considered worth-while from him if he continued. He continued, and Lincoln Diaz-Balart started fighting him tooth and toenail, started sabotaging the programs for Colorado David Skaggs was trying to implement, and then, after the dust cleared, got money from the Cuban American National Foundation in Miami and took out adds in the Colorado newspapers telling them that David Skaggs had lost those programs for Colorado. David Skaggs was not re-elected. He has said that if you go against one of these guys, you're not going to have a very good day.

Here's a reference:

Dealing from principle --- ex-Representative Skaggs

However, in 1993, former Representative David Skaggs (D-CO), in an attempt to trim unnecessary budgetary spending targeted for the Martis, was able to convince his House brethren to block funding for the two operations --- a measure which did not meet the same success in the Senate, where it was inevitably defeated. Skaggs paid a high price for his bold move, and came under withering fire from anti-Havana hardliners. Marti’s congressional supporters, led by none other than treasury plunderer Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart responded with a stark warning that revenge would be exacted on those who might threaten the continuation of the Marti operation, making an example of Skaggs by attempting to slash federal funding for projects in his home district. However, Skaggs refused to give up the fight, and he continued his campaign against the project, in particular its television component, until he retired in 1998. Skaggs admitted, "You know that if you kick the Cuba issue, you're going to have a bad day.” As a result of his personal experience, the Miami New Times reported in a November 12, 1998 article that Skaggs bitterly expressed outrage at the “corruption of United States policy that is inherent in our Cuba policy,” explaining, “by corruption I mean the untoward influence of a relatively small segment of the population in Florida and the money that small segment of the population brings to bear, and how it distorts the policy choices this government makes.”
(snip)

http://cubajournal.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html

Also:

Mr. Diaz-Balart Goes to Washington
When an unsuspecting Colorado congressman tries to cut funding to Radio and TV Martí, the freshman lawmaker gives a taste of exile politics, Miami-style
By Jim DeFede
Published: July 14, 1993

As fourth-term Democratic Rep. David Skaggs walked to the podium on the evening of July 1, he was still bristling over the events of the past few hours. Cuban American politics had arrived with a vengeance in the halls of Congress, and it had just cost Skaggs's Colorado district $23 million in federal funds.

It had been a long, unpleasant day.
Right then, at a few minutes past 7:00 p.m., the House floor was empty; most members of Congress were already on their way home for the Fourth of July recess. But Skaggs was going to speak anyway, for the record. And standing a few feet away at a second lectern was Rep. Jose Serrano, a fellow Democrat from the South Bronx who was there to lend his moral support.

The trouble had arisen several weeks before. In a tough budget year, as a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee -- specifically, of the subcommittee that oversees funding for the departments of commerce, justice, and state -- Skaggs had been looking for programs to cut from the 1994 budget. In Radio Martí and TV Martí, he believed he had found two prime candidates. And indeed, in mid-June, at Skaggs's urging, the subcommittee had voted to cut all funding for both programs, a total of nearly $28 million.

A week later, though, when the trimmed budget went to the full Appropriations Committee, Miami Rep. Carrie Meek successfully argued to allow $8.7 million in funding for Radio Martí, in spite of Skaggs's objections. Before the appropriations bill went before the entire House of Representatives for consideration, Meek, along with fellow Miami representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, had met with Skaggs to persuade him not to do anything that would endanger Radio Martí. But as Meek had told the congressional newspaper Roll Call, Skaggs was unwilling to compromise; he promised to fight against Radio Martí funding on the House floor.

So it had come about that on that fateful first day of July, the day on which the appropriations bill was coming up for debate, Diaz-Balart paid the Rocky Mountain State congressman a visit. While other aspects of the bill were being discussed, the freshman representative from Miami confronted Skaggs and admonished him to abandon his crusade against Radio Martí. (Diaz-Balart's actions are characterized by one congressional source as "a very angry outburst" during which the Floridian warned that if Skaggs didn't leave Radio Martí alone, he would see to it that every program the Coloradan held dear likewise was decimated.)

Skaggs stood his ground.
Although the final House vote on funding for Radio Martí was postponed until the second week in July, Diaz-Balart had wasted no time in making good on his threat. That very afternoon, in a parliamentary move known as a "point of order," he axed a $23 million construction project that was heading for Skaggs's district.

The Cuban American National Foundation wasn't wasting any time, either. No sooner had Diaz-Balart killed the Colorado construction item when the political exile group issued a press release gloating over the pre-emptive strike. The statement, faxed to every major newspaper in Colorado, was entitled, "Opposition to Cuba Initiative Costs Boulder Rep Pet Project." (The foundation was keenly interested for several reasons. Not only do they believe the Martí broadcasts are vital to keeping the Cuban people informed, but foundation chairman Jorge Mas Canosa is also chairman of the President's Advisory Board for Cuba Broadcasting, which has been the unofficial governing board for both Radio and TV Martí.)

Of course, the fact that Skaggs was about to decry the day's events for the congressional record would not go overlooked.

Jose Cardenas, a Cuban American National Foundation spokesman, implies that Skaggs's response pegs him as nothing short of a bellyaching wimp. "When you throw three roundhouse right hooks at something that is so important to the Cuban American people and then you cry foul when somebody takes a poke back at you, well, it seems to me to be rather surprising behavior," Cardenas says. "He was the one who came looking for the fight. He kept coming back for more, so we gave him more. A person can only roll with the punches for so long."

More:
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1993-07-14/news/mr-diaz-balart-goes-to-washington/

[flamingyouth]

27. Wow. I wish I could say I'm surprised, but....

That's just horrible. x(

[SharonAnn]

37. Those Cuban-Americans are criminals and thugs. Just like under Batista in Cuba.

[Judi Lynn]

45. Their father was a cabinet member of Fulgencio Batista's, had a lot of influence in Cuba.

He and a lot of the first wave of "exiles" fleeing in fear of retribution from the Cuban people immediately after the Revolution all appeared to have developed the sense of being very LARGE FISH IN A VERY TINY BOWL. It seemed to give them all a gradiose sense of their own "importance," unfortunately.

Their father's sister, their aunt Mirta Diaz-Balart, married Fidel Castro. He had an affair with a wife of a doctor in Havana who donated large sums of money to the Revolution which was building. When Fidel Castro was thrown in jail, after their marriage, Lincoln Diaz-Balart's father, Rafael, made arrangements with the warden for them to tamper with Fidel Castro's mail, and they took the letter to his mistress out and put it in the envelope of a letter which was addressed to his wife, Mirta Diaz-Balart. That's how she found out about that particular other woman. They were divorced at some point after that, and parted ways bitterly.

Photos of the extraordinary self-important Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and his Congressman brother, Mario. (They have another brother who was connected with Radio/TV Marti for some time.)



The Dias-Balarts are in the back in the second photo, with Cuban "exile" Senator (and one time _Bush head of H.U.D.) Mel Martinez.

Family photo, with the father, Rafael, second from the right:



Fidel Castro Ruz, with his wife Mirta Diaz-Balart, and the child is their son, Fidel.



The woman mentioned earlier, Natalia Revuelta, who still lives in Cuba:



Fidel Castro Ruz's wife of many years, Dalia Soto del Valle, with whom he has five children, Antonio, Alejandro, Angel, Alexis, Alex.



Lincoln Diaz-Balart, in his glory, and Elián, (with she-wolf, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) the child they tried to steal from his father!

[HowHasItComeToThis]

6. I KNOW WHAT TO DO.

THE DEMOCRTIC PARTY SHOULD SPARE NOTHING TO VOTE THESE BUMS OUT.

MAKE THEIR LIFE HELL IN THEIR DISTRICT.

THEY ARE NOT THE MAJORITY EVEN IN THEIR DISTRICTS

[dpbrown]

8. Where are the talking heads decrying these despicable political games?

Oh, that's right. They're all in the pocket of the propaganda press corps.

:sarcasm:

[rainy]

14. Really!!! Why aren't the talking heads screaming like they did at Sen. Wellstone's

funeral when they accused the attendants of making it political.

[dpbrown]

43. When Republicans dance on the dead for political gain it's business as usual

When Democrats pause for a moment to mourn the passing of one of the greatest Democrats of all time, it's "politics."

[MichiganVote]

10. Have fun Obama...geez, just can't beat unity for a good time. Bipartenshit.

[JTFrog]

30. You should focus all that hate on the republicans.

And as far as bipartisanship...that's hardly necessary when your candidate continually tows the line for the republicans and their war masters.

[MichiganVote]

39. Excuse me? Hate? My candidate? Sorry to disappoint you but you don't know who my candidate is.

[gateley]

11. What awful, petty human beings. nt

[MasonJar]

12. One thing can usually be said about GOPers in Congress: they

are a crass group of people with no class whatsoever.

[dbackjon]

13. Yeah - the people I want to reach out to...

[Robbien]

17. When they were in majority, GOPers wouldn't have allowed Dems to do anything

Dems almost had to beg permission even to speak.

Now, GOPers are still ordering Dems around. Dems allow that to happen and follow meekly along.

I don't fault the GOPers in this. Dems are allowing it to happen.

[KitSileya]

46. Hey, do you know where I can find details about this?

I need the details of how the reepukes treated the Dems when they were in power - I think I remember something about turned off lights, and room evictions, but not any details. Know where I can find out more?

[santamargarita]

18. Drive These Fascist Pigs Out of Office!

K&R

[boobooday]

19. Just when you thought they couldn't be any more heinous

They are working overtime thinking of new ways to be totally shameless.

[Demeter]

20. No Class Whatsoever

Nixon at least you could take places.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

23. I truly believed that the G.W. Bush presidency has surpassed Nixon's as a "benchmark."

There's a tendency to move toward Nixon in order to measure success and failure, but this is the difference I've always seen:

Nixon was delusional, Nixon was paranoid, but I'm convinced...within reason...that the delusion had its roots in the fact that he thought he was doing the right thing and what was best for the country.

On the other hand, I truly believe that George W. Bush is doing what's right for George W. Bush, and his values system does not tread beyond his immediate needs and gratification.

BIG difference.

:patriot:

[FiveGoodMen]

25. Easily. And a long time ago.

[rpannier]

21. Bipartisanship... I only want candidates that will reach across the aisle

and slap the sh*t out of every republikkan standing (or sitting) there

[FATCATs]

22. :)

[rpannier]

24. Welcome to DU

:hi:

and a

heart

[FATCATs]

47. Thank You rpannier :)

[Neshanic]

34. That's my kind of bipartisanship. That's the only thing they understand.

[hisownpetard]

49. I'm with you!

[bleever]

26. Reprehensible.

[flamingyouth]

28. These people are sick.

Truly, truly sick.

[Canuckistanian]

29. OMG, they're like a bunch of petulant children

NO sense of propriety. NO sense of tact.

[fascisthunter]

31. The Republican Party is Pure Trash! (nt)

[Hand]

32. Balart (R-Gusano) nt

[Neshanic]

33. Mr. Obama's super Oprah powers will overcome that in our bright shiny new future!

[Fredda Weinberg]

48. I know ... Cassandara felt terrible n/t

[kestrel91316]

35. Yeah! Send 'em another strongly worded letter. That'll teach 'em!

[rpannier]

36. No letter this time... This went beyond the bounds of decency

They'll craft a tersely worded NON-binding resolution calling their actions inappropriate and if it happens again -- no strawberry ice cream

[Cass]

38. A wise DUer said that we should only reach across the aisle with

subpoenas or a baseball bat. I can't remember which DUer said it, but he or she was right on.

You cannot have bipartisanship with people like this.

[Ian David]

40. I've fucking had it with the Repukes. They have no sense of decency at all. n/t

[RFKHumphreyObama]

41. So where's the big hue and cry from the media like there was at Wellstone's funeral

Only this time it would be justifiable. What despicable excuses for human beings.

[Historic NY]

42. They should have sent the Sgt. at Arms after the waywards.......

Democrats once again are undercut by Republican tactics. They should have been making hay instead of just rolling over. Pelosi & Hoyer should have made a spectacle out of the walk out embarrassing Boner and remoinding people of the "rule of law". I personally would have locked the doors and kept them out in the cold.

[xchrom]

44. ok -- the republick party shoved their boot in the democratic party's ass again -- and

they're surprised? -- why? -- it's not like it's the first time.

you'd think the dems in the house and senate would learn --

[Ian David]

50. DIAZ-BALART, Lincoln, Born 1954

This is good.

It means I'm young enough that I'll probably live long enough to disrupt his funeral.




DIAZ-BALART, Lincoln, (brother of Mario Diaz-Balart), a Representative from Florida; born in Havana, Cuba, August 13, 1954; graduated from the American School of Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 1972; B.A., New College, University of South Florida, Sarasota, Fla., 1976; J.D., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 1979; lawyer, private practice; member of the Florida state house of representatives, 1987-1989; member of the Florida state senate, 1989-1992; elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Third and to the seven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1993-present). (Source.)



More:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/d000299/

[IsItJustMe]

51. In their arrogance they have no shame.

[DarkTirade]

52. They've shown about the same amount of respect

to the soldiers they sent off to die... so this honestly doesn't surprise me.

Pisses me off a bit, but doesn't surprise me.