Diaz-Balart quits: I say ‘careful what we wish for…’
My inner self keeps repeating that overused line: “Be careful what you wish for…” I honestly don’t know how to react to the news that U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) will not be seeking reelection in November. One part of me is jumping with glee. The man is a prick, a bad person, and an SOB — all at the same time. If there is one human being who personifies hatred of his homeland, the name that jumps out is Lincoln’s. I think it all began when they named him after a U.S. president and all the while he’s wanted to be president of the island nation where he was born.
Just as a reminder, Lincoln began as a liberal democrat back in the 1970s. He served as president of the Young Democrats here in South Florida. After losing his first election, when he ran for state representative as a democrat, he was advised to change parties and side with Ronald Reagan — who was president at the time. He took the advice and won the second time around. And that’s when the political conversion began. For years he remained a moderate republican, except when it came to the issue of Cuba where he will not budge — to the detriment of all Cubans, inside and outside the island (that’s my belief). But for Lincoln, it has served him well.
With his face contorted by an inside fury hard to understand, and a voice that barks louder than he speaks, Diaz-Balart has used that inner hatred of most things Cuban to assure he taps into the rancor still present in many old-time Cubans who live in Miami. That hatred has been his winning formula during elections. He used it masterfully during the 2008 election when he ran his toughest campaign against former Hialeah mayor Raul Martinez. During the ‘08 season, Lincoln demonstrated that nothing was off the table in order to win. Putting aside rules that even the Mafia adheres to, Diaz-Balart went after family and personal matters to defeat his opponent. Raul, by the way, stayed clear of firing back with Lincoln’s own dirty laundry, of which there was much that could have been used against Lincoln — including some very personal and family related issues.
Now the congressman from District 21 has decided to call it quit. Well, I say good riddance. I just worry about who will replace him. All the names I’ve heard mentioned could be as bad, in some ways, as Lincoln. Hopefully, as a friend of mind tends to say, the Holy Spirit will play a role in this mess and place his hand over someone new, fresh and with good intentions. At this point, that person does not exist.
Finally, I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Lincoln Diaz-Balart. An ego like his does not just simply ride off into the sunset. He’s got bigger plans ahead (at least he thinks so) or he’s involved in a big rigmarole we haven’t found out about — yet…
Alvaro F. Fernandez
