Perfect fit: ’Enemy of the working poor’ and an out-of-touch Congress

MIAMI – Something really interesting took place in Congress last week. The chairman and chief executive of Facebook was called to testify: Mark Zuckerberg answered questions from members of the Senate, and the following day from the House, about his creation. 

Zuckerberg sat rigid, a bit pasty faced, but dressed in elegant suit — a departure from his usual t-shirt, jeans and hoody. The questions asked, at times, appeared so out of left field, one could see that the Senate, much more than the House, is composed of old, white men mostly, with some powerful women thrown in, who have no understanding of the digital age. 

Watching a small part of the hearing, it dawned on me that there before us was part of the problem. We were witnessing this country’s most important legislative body, a group that appears to govern as if we were still in the 20th century, while Zuckerberg answered them in 21st century, first-grade digital language (any smarter and he would have totally lost the members). And except for a few bright, intelligent questions asked, Zuckerberg played them like a Stradivarius, and most importantly, after his appearance before the Senate, Facebook stocks rose 4.5 percent, a tremendous victory for Zuckerberg.

In fact, the congressional members’ lack of currency was so evident that they failed to realize that even Zuckerberg’s Facebook is the past. I tested that theory with my own 13-year-old daughter, who caustically replied that “Facebook is for old people.”

And it is not a Republican or a Democratic problem I write about, it’s simply the state of affairs in this country — on all sides of the proverbial aisle. Our politicians answer to, and understand only, the monied class who helps keep them in power. In the meantime, the country’s going to shit as we are left behind, except for the ‘one percent’ made richer by their servants — the politicians. 

We’re witnessing a crumbling infrastructure, the backbone of this nation; public education funding is being veered toward special interest projects; inequality is at an all-time high; human beings are being targeted for driving while black; privatization is seen as the solution to most everything; the country’s militarization, which includes police departments, is gobbling up much needed budgets; intellectuality, knowledge, studiousness, the arts and culture are frowned upon. I can go on, but members of  Congress today are all about getting power, keeping it, and then favoring that minute percentage of persons who helped them get there.

Mentoring the new generations… it’s an art that seems to have been forgotten by most in power today.

There’s a case to be made for that right here in Miami. You need not go further than the congressional race to replace Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who is retiring from her District 27 seat, a position she has held since 1989. It will be one of the most highly contested House races in the country, and it’s an opportunity for the Democrats to gain a seat in the House of Representatives — a must if they hope to control the Trump lunacy we’re seeing. 

The district has changed since Ileana first ran. It now favors a Democrat.

When Ros-Lehtinen announced her retirement, a number of young, up-and-coming Democrats jumped into the race. They were ready for the challenge. Included among them were State Senator José Javier Rodríguez and Miami Commissioner Ken Russell. Both are progressive-minded and have shown they know how to run a basic, grassroots campaign of voters over money. On the Republican side we have Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, a dull and blockheaded special interests’ puppet, and TV personality Maria Elvira Salazar. They will be duking it out to see who represents the GOP. 

It should have been an interesting fight, no doubt. One with major repercussions foretelling the area’s future political fortunes. The exciting prospect of Miami electing a young, progressive from this community held great promise — until a 77-year-old neoliberal politician who was prominent last century, and who is beholden to the Clintons, jumped into the race recently, and may have lost the seat for the Democrats.     

With all due respect Ms. Shalala, you’re not the candidate for Miami’s District 27

Last month I wrote that “[Donna] Shalala’s last minute jump into this race [would] suddenly muddle an already muddy field on the Democratic side. And my fear here is that she may end up being guilty of allowing a Republican to slip into a seat that Ileana leaves for obvious reasons — the numbers, and the current political situation, do not favor her.”

As predicted, Donna Shalala, 77, former University of Miami president and Clinton-era Health and Human Services secretary, who later became president of the Clinton Foundation, decided that she was the best Democrat for the seat being vacated by Ros-Lehtinen. 

In an era when progressives are gaining ground, even in MIami, here comes Shalala to spoil a perfect opportunity. And although she owns a home here, she has not even lived in south Florida for the past few years; she was in New York taking care of the Clinton Foundation, an organization with its own share of problems. The words of a University of Miami chaplain during a janitors’ strike while she was president demonstrate her neoliberal credentials: She is an “enemy of the working poor,” he told the New York Times.

Counter that with a Rodríguez, for example, who since graduating from Harvard Law skipped the big pay days in order to work on behalf of the working poor… 

Last week we learned that both Senator Rodríguez and Commissioner Russell have dropped out of the congressional race. The money raised in one month by Shalala and her name recognition, they felt, were big obstacles to overcome. Rodríguez, in fact, had been leading in the polls. That is until Shalala dropped in declaring herself the favorite and announcing she “would hit the ground running.” Sorry, but I can’t imagine Shalala, who is accustomed to million dollar salaries, sweating under the Miami sun and knocking on constituents’ doors. 

If Shalala truly meant well, she would be helping to develop this excellent group of young candidates running for Congress. She would be raising money and mentoring promising young politicians who are the future of the Party. Instead, I doubt she can beat a Spanish-speaking Republican in that District.  

Actually, considering what I saw during the Zuckerberg testimony before Congress last week, Shalala may be the right fit. She is better suited for that outdated group of pols who continue to steer the country backwards, instead of forward to the challenges ahead. 

Most current members of Congress have no idea what those challenges are. And if they were aware, they could care less. They’re more interested in pleasing their masters — that one percent that governs them.