Rep. David Rivera reminds me of Sarah Palin
Al’s Loupe
Rep. David Rivera reminds me of Sarah Palin
They
tend to waste money that’s not theirs; they both love the
spotlight; they both want to lead the Republican Party; and neither
feels shame
By
Alvaro F. Fernandez Read Spanish Version
alfernandez@the-beach.net
Our
political electoral system produces strange results sometimes. Or
what would you call more than 50 million American citizens casting
votes for president for a team that included Governor Sarah Palin?
That’s right… the gee, golly, betcha, moose hunting, hockey mom
from Alaska may have ended up just a heartbeat from the presidency.
And sure we elected our first black president this year — a huge
step forward for this country… but Sarah Palin?
Last
I heard the governor was still trying to decipher some of TV’s
Katie Couric’s softball questions. But to be fair, Couric did try
to stump the governor with questions such as what books interest her,
and heaven forbid… what newspapers or publications she reads.
Sarah, I’ve heard, is still researching the answer.
Right
here in Miami we have several versions of Sarah Palin-like
characters. Today I’ll refer to State Representative David Rivera
(R-Dist. 112), a man born in New York City, living in Florida, and
who in the past has stated he wants to be mayor of Cienfuegos, a port
city in the south-central coast of Cuba.
Rivera
like Palin has a way of wasting money that is not his. In Palin’s
case we know of her shopping sprees while hoping for the vice
presidency and her wastefulness with Alaska taxpayer dollars on
behalf of her family. In Rivera’s case we have a Florida state
representative who for a number of years now has embroiled state
lawyers in unwinnable cases. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been
wasted defending laws proposed and passed by this politician-buffoon
that were losers from the start. Just recently the Supreme Court
declared unconstitutional one of Rivera’s follies — disallowing
Florida college professors from travelling to Cuba to do
investigative work, even when the money used was not even state
funds.
Those
are millions of dollars lost to defend lousy laws. One thing we do
know, Rivera doesn’t care. It’s not his money. And with the help
of persons life former Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, another
Miamian also born in the U.S. who politicks while using the Cuba
issue, Rivera presents these aberrations he calls laws and wastes our
tax dollars at the expense of — take your pick: our schools, social
services, better health facilities.
Rivera
like Palin also loves the spotlight. Not a reporter’s tough
questions, mind you, but the hype and spotlight television too often
offers politicians. I have witnessed Rivera chasing TV cameras to get
his two-cents in — even when what he has to say makes no sense. I
saw it earlier this year when our own maverick legislator presented
and passed a law for direct state regulation of perfectly legal Cuba
travel companies. The companies attacked sued. And the law is still
embroiled in a court case that looks like another costly loss for
Florida taxpayers.
What’s
most maddening about this nonsense, the law passed by Rivera aims to
regulate what the federal government already regulates. In truth,
it’s just another Rivera charade to get his name in the press, go
before TV cameras and spew nonsense his many Cuban constituents love
to be fooled by.
Take
notice though, Rivera’s constituents may appear to be tiring of
him. As was reported by a Miami Herald blog right after the November
4 election, Rivera actually feared losing to a “ringer” he put in
to run against him in this year’s election for his District 112
seat. Betty (Beatriz) Gaffney, an old school mate, apparently “lent”
herself some money so she could run for the Rivera seat. No one was
ever able to get a hold of Gaffney — I
mean nobody.
As the election drew near, polls showed Rivera losing to Gaffney.
Shocked with the possibility, Gaffney pulled out of the race two days
before the election. She still managed to beat Rivera in areas he
represents outside of Miami-Dade. And in Miami, she garnered numbers
north of 40 percent.
Finally,
Rivera like Palin wants to lead the Republican Party. Palin
nationally, of course, Rivera right here in Miami. In the Rivera
case, I believe I understand his reasoning. Rivera, who earns $29,000
a year as a state legislator, must now find other ways to supplement
his income. With a new Democratic administration in Washington, and
with Congress looking closely at how money earmarked for Cuba is
wasted
so as not to say stolen, I believe Rivera understands his days of
receiving a check from entities like the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) are numbered. Or I would hope they
are.
Rep.
Rivera knows that whatever he can get on the side to pay for his
sometimes expensive lifestyle (I understand he often travels to the
Dominican Republic for rest and recreation, for example) is now going
to have to come from right here in Miami. As head of the local
Republican Party, who knows what scheme(s) he might come up with?
In
the meantime, don’t be surprised when Rivera presents a new
half-cocked law regarding Cuba (and this from a state legislator with
NO responsibility over federal laws) in the 2009 state legislative
session. Like I said, he doesn’t care! It’s our money he’s
playing with. I wonder if he realizes this is not
a game of monopoly… Because Rivera, like Palin, apparently feels no
shame.
