Charlie Crist on passing over Diaz-Balart's judicial pick

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart said yesterday that Gov. Charlie Crist knows the reason why he and brother Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart rescinded their endorsements of his Senate bid. "The governor knows why we withdrew and he left us with no choice," he said.

The reason, sources familiar with the situation say, is that Crist overlooked a candidate for a North Florida judgeship who is friendly with Lincoln's son. But as Crist loses ground to Cuban-American rival Marco Rubio in the Senate race, the last thing he needs is to get into a war of words with two Hispanic members of congress. Asked today if they withdrew their support because of the judicial appointment, Crist said: "No comment. The whole situation saddens me."

Diaz-Balart would not say yesterday whether the judicial pick was the reason, but he did restate his support for his preferred candidate, Frank Allman, who met his law student son when he interned at the Gadsden County State Attorney's Office.

In an obvious screw-up by Crist's staff, a spokesman for the governor says he never saw the letter from Diaz-Balart. The Gadsden County judge Crist appointed over Allman, Kathy Garner, is the first African-American and first woman to serve on the bench of the predominantly black county. "I believed her to be the best qualified,'' Crist said today.

One person in the whole saga who isn't holding a grudge is Allman, a prosecutor and former police officer. He wrote a gracious concession letter congratulating Garner that ran in the Nov. 15 edition of the Tallahassee Democrat.

On Monday Kathy Garner will take office as a Gadsden County Judge, appointed by the governor to replace the Honorable Stewart Parsons, who is retiring. Along with five other attorneys, I applied for the position of county court judge. I applied because I love this county and wanted to serve its people, about whom I care so much. The application and vetting process is complicated and intense. During the more than 13 years I have lived and worked in Gadsden County I have been privileged to meet and get to know so many wonderful people who live here. I was truly humbled by all of the support I received. Thank you all so very, very much. You are the reason my wife and I choose to live in and raise our children here in beautiful Gadsden County.However, the appointment process is now over, and we have a new county judge. Kathy Garner deserves our respect and our support in her new position. I ask all the people of Gadsden County to welcome Judge Garner as she takes the bench and wish her the best.

George LeMieux on the Diaz-Balart's reversal? You'll have to ask them

A week ago, Miami Republican Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, were lauding Gov. Charlie Crist's pick for a vacated Senate seat, saying George LeMieux "has already become a force to be reckoned with in Western Hemispheric affairs.''

Now they've turned their backs on Crist, but LeMieux -- a close Crist associate -- declined Tuesday to provide any backstory.

"I think the best thing to do is really to ask them," LeMieux said. He noted he had been working with the brothers on his efforts to block the nomination of Tom Shannon, the incoming US ambassador to Brazil, until the State Department agreed to some concessions.

"We've been working very closely on a lot of foreign policy issues," LeMieux said. "I've had private conversations with them about politics, but I really think the best thing is for you to speak to them."

The real story behind the Diaz-Balarts' pulled endorsement?

In September, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Miami took an interest in a judicial vacancy all the way in Gadsden County in north Florida. He wrote a letter -- read it here Download SKMBT_C35309122216360 -- urging Gov. Charlie Crist to appoint Frank Allman Jr., an assistant state attorney. Allman says he's a friend of Diaz-Balart's son, a student at Florida State University, but didn't want to comment further on their relationship.

But in October, Crist chose Kathy Garner and made history. She's the first woman and the first African-American judge in the predominantly black county. Crist put her appointment on hold after staff learned of "financial issues." Garner said the delay was because she had been late in paying property taxes on several commercial properties.

About two weeks later, Crist removed the hold and Garner was sworn in. Could this be the reason Diaz-Balart and his brother, Mario Diaz-Balart have pulled their early endorsement of Crist for U.S. Senate?

The Diaz-Balarts withdraw Charlie Crist endorsement

Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart have pulled their endorsement of Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate.

Lincoln offered few details as to why, just that Crist had "left us no alternative and he knows why."

From Crist spokeswoman Andrea Saul: "Gov. Crist is enthused by the support he continues to receive across the state for next year's primary. He looks forward to working with the Diaz-Balart's and the entire congressional delegation to better the lives of Floridians as Florida's next U.S. senator."

The move is a significant blow to the governor's campaign, which has struggled in recent weeks with sliding poll numbers. Diaz-Balart said the withdrawal has nothing to do with Crist's recent political performance, and in fact, said the the decision was made weeks ago. But their names were only recently pulled off Crist's webpage. He said the two Miami Republicans are unlikely to endorse anyone else in the race -- including former House Speaker Marco Rubio.

The pair doesn't take endorsements lightly -- backing Bill McCollum in the Senate Republican primary in 2004 against the eventual winner, Mel Martinez.

"We take our endorsements seriously, but the governor knows why we withdrew and he left us with no alternative,' Lincoln Diaz-Balart said.

Dialing a Diaz-Balart

Democrats are launching robo-calls against House Republicans -- including Miami Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart -- for voting last week against a bill to regulate Wall Street. He wasn't alone -- every Republican in the House cast a "nay" vote against the bill Democrats say will crack down on financial misdeeds by the big banks.

Script to follow.

Mario Diaz-Balart targets stimulus funding that went to political consultants...

 ..one of whom just happens to be a Democrat who works in Miami... Coincidence? The Miami Republican says he filed a bill today to prevent "political consultants or paid campaign staff" from receiving money from the stimulus package. The bill also requires that political consultants or paid campaign staff who have already received such funds return them with interest.

The bill follows press reports last week that Miami's Freddy Balsera, a former adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign received nearly $70,000 from a federal stimulus bill contract to help alert television viewers in difficult-to-reach communities that their TV's would soon no longer receive broadcast signals. Two firms -- including Burson-Marsteller -- run by Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s pollster in 2008, got $6 million out of the stimulus fund for the PR campaign and Balsera's firm got paid from that contract. Burston-Marsteller says the contract was competitively bid.

Diaz-Balart, who doesn't name Balsera in his press release, says it's "clear that the stimulus has been nothing more than a dismal failure and a shameful scam used to create expensive websites, distribute
funds to non-existing congressional districts, and reward political consultants. It is shameful that the Obama Administration...is rewarding its political friends with taxpayer money while the American people continue to lose their jobs and struggle to make ends meet."

Balsera suggested Diaz-Balart should "stop sponsoring such politically driven bills and start attaching his name to more substantive measures."

Democrats seize Wall Street vote to hammer GOP'ers; Republicans use it to bash back

The House of Representatives passed legislation Friday designed to bring the most sweeping rewrite of financial regulation since the New Deal era following the Great Depression: "We are sending a clear message to Wall Street: The party is over," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Florida Republicans joined their counterparts in voting against the measure, all but guaranteeing its emergence as a hot button campaign issue. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen says it puts "unwarranted faith on regulators who were caught totally off guard when the financial crisis struck. This legislation also makes permanent the failed policies of the past and restructures our already fragile American economy placing it firmly within bureaucratic control," she said.

The "no" votes prompted a rebuke from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee which accused the GOP of doing the bidding of bankers: "Middle class families who played the rules deserve better than Representative Ros-Lehtinen taking marching orders from special interests by trying to protect the big banks that got us into this mess to begin with. If Representative Ros-Lehtinen had her way, Wall Street could make big gambles and if they lose, taxpayers would be left holding the bill." 

Identical charges were directed at Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, who also voted against the bill.

Republicans went on the offensive, too, saying Rep. Kendrick Meek "fell right in line with Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat leaders in Washington today who are anxious to continue their tax-and-spend ways."

George LeMieux for U.S. Senate?

During his first visit to South Florida since his appointment to the U.S. Senate, Republican George LeMieux received gushing praise from the hometown congressmen, U.S. Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart.

They were so complimentary you'd think LeMieux planned to be on the ballot in 2010 instead of his former boss, Gov. Charlie Crist. Then again, the Diaz-Balarts are big Crist supporters, and if LeMieux looks good then Crist does too.

"For those who thought George LeMieux was going to be someone who passed by in the Senate and perhaps not be noticed by many people, the exact opposite is the truth,'' Lincoln said after they all toured  Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. "He's an extraordinary public servant and he's doing a very impressive, admirable job as a U.S. senator.''

Mario added: "Rarely in my years have I come across an individual who has made such a difference, who has shown such passion, such great talent...We are frankly -- Lincoln and I have talked about this  -- so impressed."

Fla redistricting push draws concern from D.C.

Rep. Dean Cannon this morning sent to members of the House Select Policy Council on Strategic & Economic Planning a copy of the letter he recently received from Congresswoman Corrine Brown and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who have many of the same redistricting concerns voiced earlier this month by Sen. Mike Haridopolos.

Cannon writes that he plans to use the letter from D.C. "as a framework for our next meeting on the subject of reapportionment.  I have directed our legal counsel and House staff to attempt to formulate answers to the questions in this letter and to report back to us during the December committee week." The Senate also will dig deeper into proposed ballot initiatives dealing with reapportionment during that week in December.

Here's the letter: Download Letter from Congresswoman Brown and Congressman Diaz-Balart

Report: Campaign contributions influence Cuba policy

Supporters of the U.S. embargo against Cuba have contributed almost $11 million to members of Congress since 2004 in a largely successful effort to block efforts to weaken sanctions against the island, a new report shows.

In several cases, according to the report by the nonpartisan group Public Campaign, members of Congress who had supported easing sanctions against Cuba changed their positions -- and then got donations from the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee and its donors.

All told, the political action committee that champions the embargo and its contributors have given $10.77 million nationwide to almost 400 candidates and members of Congress, the report says.