Diaz-Balart Press Conference Should Be Renamed "Failed Policies 08"

“South Floridians went to work today worrying about how to keep a roof over their head, pay the bills and protect their family. Mr. Diaz-Balart is on a partisan vacation today worrying about how to defend President Bush’s failed economic policies that he has rubberstamped every step of the way,” said Martinez Communications Director Aaron Blye.

“While South Floridians are working hard back home, Lincoln Diaz-Balart is hardly working in Denver. Lincoln is completely out of touch with the struggles of hard-working Floridians and the fact that he thought he could help his constituents by flying 2,000 miles away from the district to play foolish games just goes to show how out of touch he is with the voters’ concerns.”

While South Floridians face the worst housing market in the country, overwhelmed by record foreclosure rates and fighting to keep their homes – what did Lincoln have to say about it?

Lincoln told the New York Times “I haven’t studied this sufficiently.” [New York Times, 3/30/08]

After being publicly pushed by Mayor Martinez to vote for the Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008, Lincoln finally voted for it.

When the Miami Herald recently uncovered rampant Medicare fraud going on in his own back yard, which drives up the cost of healthcare and costs the taxpayers $2.5 billion in South Florida and an estimated $60 billion or more nationwide – what did Lincoln have to say about it?

Lincoln told the Miami Herald that he “declined to be interviewed.” [Miami Herald, 8/11/08]

Maybe it’s because he didn’t want to explain why he voted to cut Medicare funding by billions of dollars throughout his career, including the biggest Medicare cut in history in 1995 totaling $270 billion, despite Medicare administrators begging for help to fight fraud. [HRS653, Vote #4, 2/01/06; S1932, Vote #670, 12/19/05; HR 2496, Vote #812, 11/17/95]

Lincoln Diaz-Balart has ignored the critical economic issues that South Floridians face every day and it’s time for a change in Florida’s 21st Congressional District. Mayor Martinez is in Denver this week to advocate an agenda for change that will provide all Americans with affordable healthcare, promote alternative energy to end our dependence on costly foreign oil, and put an end to the $2.5 billion per week War in Iraq.