Aggressively Stupid: WaPo Attacks on Marco Rubio

Rubio: Proud of his family's history

The Washington Post published a ridiculous hit piece on Marco Rubio yesterday, claiming that "documents show" that Rubio had "embellished the facts" about his family's history, specifically how they came to America from Cuba.

You can pinch your nose and read the article here.

Because Rubio's family emigrated to America from Cuba in 1956, and Fidel Castro did not officially take power until 1959, writer Manuel Roig-Franzia claims that Rubio should not be able to say he is part of the Cuban exile community, and accuses Rubio of exaggerating his family's history for political gain.

I have decided I will not call this article journalistic malpractice, because that would imply that what Roig-Franzia published yesterday was journalism, instead of an egregious attempt at character assassination. Roig-Franzia's belligerent distortions of history makes him a prime candidate to create the next campaign video for Alan Grayson (of "Taliban Dan" fame).

#StandWithRubio - GOP Candidates Announce Boycott of Univision Debate

Que imbecilidad

Spanish-language TV station Univision learned a lesson today about the limits of their influence.

After the story broke that Univision had released an embarrassing twenty year old story about Senator Marco Rubio's brother-in-law, allegedly in retaliation for Rubio's refusal to appear on the liberal Al Punto show (Shark Tank has a good write up here), three Hispanic Republican leaders - Congressman David Rivera, Florida House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera, and Miami-Dade County Republican Party Chairman Erik Fresen - sent letters to the Republican National Committee and the Republican presidential campaigns.

The candidates responded in an avalanche today, with Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman, and Michele Bachmann all announcing that they would boycott a Univision-hosted debate unless the station made amends with Rubio.

Morning Coffee Reading for September 5, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• Surprise, surprise. The Heritage Foundation has finished their annual "Score Card" of Congress, and Marco Rubio scores very well, and Bill Nelson, eh, not so much (yet another reason why we should replace Nelson with someone who would work better with Rubio):

Red County | Dr. Richard Swier | The Score Cards are In: Senator Marco Rubio 93% and Senator Bill Nelson 10%

• The St. Pete Times nails it in their selection of Winner (RPOF Chairman David Bitner) and Loser (George LeMieux) of the Week:

St. Petersburg Times | The Buzz | Winner and Loser of the Week in Fla politics

Thank you @DaveBitner for your service to the GOP- your courage to serve the cause while battling an illness is an inspiration to us all.Wed Aug 31 21:17:51 via EchofonReince Priebus
ReincePriebus

Obama's problems with Jewish voters

Here's a video from the Miami Herald a few weeks ago interviewing South Florida Jewish residents about whether they would vote for Obama in 2012:

Miami Herald | Insights | Jewish Voters on Obama

Note that many of those who supported Obama in 2008 have lost faith in him; more specifically, they have lost faith in his administration's support for Israel. South Florida has the third highest concentration of Jews in the country, and it's clear that Middle East foreign policy issues are a priority for this group of voters.

For more on this topic:

Sunshine State Sarah | Excellent video explanation of why Israel cannot withdraw to its 1967 borders
Sunshine State Sarah | A historical perspective on why Obama is wrong about Israel
Sunshine State Sarah | Krauthammer on Israel, and a history lesson

Will George LeMieux Apologize to the Veterans?

"Something's rotten in the state of Denmark."

This quote, from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, is used in modern times to refer to a situation that is "rife with errors from top to bottom," or exhibiting evidence of rampant corruption or suspicious motives.

Well, something's rotten in the Florida Senate race, and the people of Florida deserve some answers.

"The Colonel Has To Use the Restroom" aka McCalister's Post Debate Debacle [UPDATED]

Earlier today the Florida Family Policy Council and the Central Florida Tea Party hosted a debate between Florida Republican Senate candidates Adam Hasner, George LeMieux, Mike McCalister, and Craig Miller.

I'll share my thoughts about the debate in general later, but wanted to post this about what happened after the debate first.

You may have noticed a bit of a kerfuffle this week between McCalister and a veterans' group called the Stolen Valor Task Force, who have questioned some of the claims made by McCalister during the campaign.

After the debate, reporters were chatting with different candidates, and Marc Caputo with the Miami Herald approached McCalister. The second Caputo mentioned the issue with the veterans' group, things got interesting.

McCalister claimed, "I did not say testify in front of Congress," became very agitated, and he and his handler hastily headed for the exit.

Here's a link to Caputo's post and video: