Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Florida Republicans' Ballot Fraud 2012

Former Rick Scott Spokeswoman Posing as Dissatisfied Obama Voter in National Republican Ad

In the worst acted anti-Obama ad released, well, since this little homophobic ditty that came out earlier this week, a new National Republican Committee ad features a pretty, young woman pretending to be a dissatisfied former Obama voter who decides to "break up" with the president. Except the woman ... More >>

Latino Republicans More Approving of Gay Marriage Than Rest of GOP

This past March, a secret memo from the anti-gay marriage group the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) leaked. It underlined plans to make "support for [traditional] marriage [editor: in their language, that means opposition to gay marriage] a key badge of Latino identity." Of course, it's od ... More >>

Ron Book Has Made $1 Million Lobbying This Year; Lincoln Diaz-Balart Got Rich Off Genting

It's only May, but South Florida super-lobbyist Ron Book is already having one hell of a year in Tallahassee. This week, lobbyists filed their reports for 2012's first quarter and since January, Book has already topped $1 million in fees. Who's paying him all that cash? Along with every other city i ... More >>

Gloria Romero Roses, Random Person, to Run Against David Rivera as Democrat

Democrats have finally found a candidate to take on vulnerable Republican incumbent congressman David Rivera. Her name is Gloria Romero Roses. She has no electoral experience, no name recognition, and doesn't even live close to the district. Oh boy.

David Rivera Backs Newt Gingrich, Because Allegedly Crooked Congressmen Stick Together

​Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Diaz-Balart, and former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart have all lined up in support of Mitt Romney, which left little room for Romney's primary opponents to line up a big endorsement that would resonate in Miami's Cuban-American community. Well, Newt Gingrich ... More >>

Xavier Suarez and Joe Carollo Endorse Newt Gingrich

​Turns out Xavier Suarez and Joe Carollo can actually agree on something: they like Newt Gingrich. They've both been announced as members of Gingrich's Florida Steering Committee. Then again, it only makes sense that two guys who saw their political careers take embarrassing stumbles in the '90s w ... More >>

Miami New Times' predictions for 2012

Miami's Dirty Dozen 2011

View the Miami New Times Dirty Dozen 2011 slide show.

Mitt Romney Picks Up Endorsements from Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balarts

Marco Rubio may be South Florida's star Cuban-American politician, but he's not endorsing anyone in the presidential primary. So, the Republican endorsement prize in these parts is, as it's been for quite some time, picking up the backing of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart ... More >>

Raul Martinez Is Sorry He Paved The Way For Julio Robaina

Raul Martinez with his old-protege-turned-enemy Julio Robaina​Last time Raul Martinez ran for elected office, he got handed his only and worst defeat of his political career. He was part of a Democratic tag team that was supposed to topple the Diaz-Balart oligarchy controlling two of Miami's Hispa ... More >>

Julio Robaina Throws Election-Night Party, Feeds the Masses With 250 Pounds of Cheese

RIch Abdill 75 feet of buffet table at this jam.Say what you will about former Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina's questionable dealings with everyone he's ever had dealings with, but don't accuse the guy of leaving anyone hungry Tuesday night.The Miami-Dade mayoral candidate took first place in th ... More >>

Special Election 2011: Who's Making Money

​Entering the last two weeks of the special election season, we've compiled a list of the folks who are collecting a steady paycheck from the candidates running for mayor and two county commission seats. The usual suspects are again banking on the business of electioneering. Here are political ope ... More >>

Julio Robaina Shows Off His Anti-Castro Colors In Campaign Report

Luis Posada Carilles can count on Julio Robaina.​Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina's political campaign contributed $350 to the Luis Posada Carilles defense fund. Last Friday, the 83-year-old Cuban American and ex-CIA operative was acquitted by an El Paso jury of 11 federal charges. He was accused of ly ... More >>

Are Americans Addicted to Political Dynasties? Jeb Bush for President Boosters Hope So

​Name recognition and family connections seems to go along in politics. Salon's Steve Kornacki points out that "there have been 15 presidential elections since 1952, and in all but two -- 1964 and 2008 -- the Republican ticket has included someone named 'Nixon,' 'Dole,' or 'Bush,'" and w ... More >>

George W. Bush At The Miami Book Fair: The Live Blog

​Dubya is in Miami! To be more exact, he's downtown at the Miami Book Fair International, shilling his new memoir, Flapjacks: My Favorite Breakfast Treat. No, that's not right. Decision Points! It's all about the Decider's finest moments of deciding, apparently.Riptide is here, too, to bring you t ... More >>

Did David Rivera Really Run a Truck Off The Road To Stop an Opponent's Campaign Mailers?

​The race to replace carpetbagger Mario Diaz-Balart in congressional District 25 is heating up, and Democrat Joe Garcia has taken to the airwaves with an ad claiming his Republican opponent David Rivera once rammed into a truck on the Palmetto Expressway and ran it off the road to stop a former po ... More >>

The Hill Says Florida Senate Race Between Meek and Rubio Is Now a "Toss-Up"

​Who's going to be Florida's next senator come Election Day in November? No one knows. Not even respected political newspaper The Hill. It recently changed its ranking of the race from "leaning Republican" to "toss-up."A recent Research 2000 poll showed Meek was pulling within 1 percent of Ru ... More >>

Health Care Reform Passes, No Thanks To Your South Florida Politicos

If you're half as cool as the staff here at Riptide, you were flipping between March Madness and C-SPAN last night like your life depended on it. Which to pick?photo by Sage Ross, via Wikimedia CommonsThe power of cardboard signs and megaphones was not enough to derail health reform.On CBS, Korie Lu ... More >>

When It Comes to "Government Waste," Ros-Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balarts Might as Well Be Democrats

Cover art from CAGW's Waste Watch​The Citizens Against Government Waste's name pretty much says it all. The fiscally conservative think tank hates pork and government waste, which apparently includes programs such as expanding health care to kids in low-income families, providing low-interest loan ... More >>

Florida: 47th Most Powerful State in DC

​Florida ranks 47th our of the 50 states in terms of influence and seniority in the US Congress according to an analysis by The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A dismal ranking by any means, but even more so considering we're the 4th most populace state. Our legislators have less swagger on the hill than ... More >>

Ros-Lehtinen's Constituents Happy and Healthy, Meek's Not So Much

Gallup, Healthways, and America's Health Insurance Plans have teamed up to create a state by state, and congressional district by district well-being index. The index is based on the World Health Organization's definition of health as "not only the absence of infirmity and disease, but also a state ... More >>

WaPo: Wheel Of Corruption Was Totally Great, and Not Annoying At All

News Roundup

Presidential Election Could Spur Voter Fraud in Miami-Dade

If you believe Nilo Juri, the eye of Hurricane Ballot Cheat, it could get ugly.

Absentee Voters Beware: Some Ballot Collection Tactics Smell a Bit Funny

Video Supplement: End of the Diaz-Balart Dynasty

News Roundup

Newsweek: Forget the Cubans. The Other Hispanics Rule!

Miami's Cuban-American Voters Still Republican, but Split on Social Issues

Letters from the Issue of September 7, 2006

"Could New Times be the fairy godmother?"

Your Safety, Their Punch Line

I once thought working for the Transportation Security Administration was serious business. I didn't have a clue

Letters from the Issue of April 24, 2003

Elian: The Bus Tour

Every Saturday this month you can tour Hispanic (okay, Cuban) Miami by bus

Kafka in a Guayabera

He may be across the ocean, but Czech Pres. Havel's Cuban-exile headaches have already begun

Down in Miami: The Political Blues

Miami Beach mayoral candidate David Dermer's political foes play dirty

Waiting for Otto

Why would a man sullied by Iran-contra and illegal propaganda campaigns be a Bush nominee? Good question.

Espionage Is in the Air

As Miami's Cuban spy trial makes clear, the airwaves are full of intrigue, and all you need is a radio

Professionalism in Politics

With the whole world watching, Miami's destiny calls: It's time for leadership!

Have Bullhorn, Will Travel

Most anti-Castro groups shun partisan presidential politics, but not Miguel Saavedra and his merry band of protesters

Plowing Under the Cuba Embargo

A Spokane politician wants to make Castro pay -- literally

DeFede

The Real Micky Arison

Fidel's Kind of Flick

A pair of Miami filmmakers head to Sundance with a new motion picture about a congressman turned Castro spy

Passport to Paradox

The Cuban embargo is supposed to be getting tougher on travelers, but it's just getting weirder

Radio Free Miami

Welcome to the new Radio Marti, dragged into the swirl of local exile politics, more quarrelsome than ever, and growing increasingly irrelevant

Jail Cells Are Forever

At least they are for Cuban immigrants who are not U.S. citizens

Agents of Deception

A congressional delegation inspected Miami's INS operations and found everything to be running smoothly. No wonder. Investigators later discovered they'd been dealing with...

Back on Top

You may admire him or you may find him disgusting. But at least you've got to hand it to him: Jorge Mas Canosa has got clout.

Tube or Not Tube

TV Marti's limp blimp sets sail once again for the halls of Congress

Fesity Is As Fesity Does

Another House Democrat gets stung by Miami's Cuban-American congressional twosome -- and swats back