Spoiled brat(s)

By Alvaro F. Fernandez

On Tuesday, The Miami Herald felt a need to publish an extensive, five columns across the top, editorial that dealt with the crushing blow the Miami Dolphins ownership experienced last week in Tallahassee. The legislative leadership, as most know by now, opted to disallow club owners a vote in the House that if victorious would have resulted in Miami-Dade voters deciding whether to help finance the team’s stadium renovations.

As could be expected, team owner Stephen Ross reacted negatively. But demonstrating a side seldom seen from the billionaire owner, the 73-year-old Ross threw a rich boy’s tantrum. Never did he threaten to take his team elsewhere (not just yet, and maybe his family will, but when he’s not around anymore) as if it was his bat and ball, but the threats seemed not so veiled nevertheless.

The newspaper called the Tallahassee non-vote a “disservice to Miami-Dade voters.”

Surprisingly, even for The Miami Herald editorial board, the newspaper then compared the Dolphins decision to the shameful and unfair treatment received by Miami-Dade College in Tallahassee, and the legislature’s refusal to accept the federal government’s $51 billion gift for the funding of the state’s Medicaid program. Then hoping to have it both ways, the same Herald editorial board agreed that the subjects and issues “are different in fundamental ways.” Still, the Dolphins non-vote was reported and editorialized as if it was a make or break deal for the community.

Surely the Miami-Dade College decision was shameful. And the fact that the Florida legislature, led by republicans, refused to accept $51 billion, which would be a great help for many who live without health insurance in this state, was unconscionable. Another example that politics in this country, led by ideologues, is broken.

But the fact is that the stadium renovation vote should never have gotten to Tallahassee. It is an extremely unpopular issue amongst Miami-Dade voters, who are tired of serving as piggy banks for millionaires and billionaires. The questions The Miami Herald should have been asking on their pages are something like this:

• Why did the county commission even allow the plan to move forward?
• And why did Mayor Carlos Giménez, who won his seat by standing against the earlier Marlins stadium deal, work so hard to make sure that it made it to the state capital?

Instead, The Miami Herald editorialized in favor of the taxpayer funded stadium upgrade.

Sadly, what went under the radar was the work of lobbyists (including, and often led by, Giménez’ son) who spent millions trying to buy, bully and sway the sides on these issues.

As for the Dolphins, with the no less than $10 million spent on paying for the election in Miami and buying politicians through their lobbyists, added to Stephen Ross’ $4 billion net worth, and the NFL’s expected cash contribution, the team could have gone to any lender and asked for a loan – just like any one of us would if we needed money to fix up our homes. Nah! they decided. It’s much easier to buy a few people along the way who can promise the voters that the team will pay later while asking for money from cash-strapped voters.

The Dolphins also managed to get the town’s only newspaper to serve as the team’s public relations agent.

Shameful!