There are so many reasons to throw the Diaz-Balart brothers (one of whom is my Congressman) out of office, I'm not sure I know where to begin. From the hijacking of U.S. foreign policy by the drama of their personal feud with Fidel Castro...
From The Nation -- In 1948 Fidel Castro married his best friend Rafael Diaz-Balart'ssister, Mirta (whom he later divorced). A year later their son was born and christened Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, a remarkable oxymoronic apellido (last name) uniting two warring families in one name. The Diaz-Balarts were powerful ministers in Batista's government--and Batista's close friends and neighbors--upon whom Castro would soon declare war.
Rafael would have four sons, two of whom--Lincoln and Mario--inherited their father's passion for politics. Lincoln is among Castro's most implacable and bellicose enemies and led the crusade to keep Elián González in the United States. During his political career, Lincoln has called for a naval blockade of Cuba and military force to be used against his former uncle, and even suggested on Miami television this year that the assassination of Castro was a good idea. (For an even more in-depth look, click here...
, to their inability to put forward a single coherent political idea in forever, that's divorced from ... well ... Castro ... the Diaz-Balarts have been a Florida sideshow long enough. And to that, we can now add this:
A Maryland prosthetics company pushing a new federal bill that would broaden insurance coverage for its products -- and boost its bottom line -- has enlisted significant political support from two of South Florida's most prominent members of Congress. Congressmen Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart are among the bill's key backers. At the same time, the company is backing their reelection bids.
Hanger Orthopedic Group's political action committee and its executives provided more than $10,000 in campaign contributions to the brothers in the weeks before they co-sponsored the prosthetics parity bill on March 13.
The company's lobbyists, paid $130,000 to push the issue since last summer, went further: They helped raise campaign money for several bill sponsors, including the Republican Diaz-Balarts in March and April as they face Democratic challengers.
Lincoln Diaz-Balart, whose campaign collected $7,100 from Hanger's PAC and executives through March, said he is a ''proud'' bill sponsor.
''I will continue to fight for those in need of prosthetics,'' said the senior member of the powerful Rules Committee, who declined to be interviewed but provided written replies. ``There is a clear and adhered-to fire wall between my legislative work and fundraising for the campaign.''
Representing parts of Miami-Dade and southwest Broward counties, Lincoln faces former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez.
Younger brother Mario faces former Miami-Dade Democratic Party chairman Joe Garcia in a district spanning the Everglades from west Miami to Naples.
''You better believe I am a co-sponsor of a bipartisan bill to cover prosthetics for 1.8 million Americans without limbs including children and veterans!'' wrote Mario Diaz-Balart, whose campaign got $3,000 from the PAC.
Hanger is supporting key bill backers across the country. Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., who introduced the bill, received $5,000 from Hanger's PAC for his primary campaign for a New Jersey Senate seat.
The Diaz-Balarts, traditionally not healthcare leaders on Capitol Hill, stand out from the bill's three other original co-sponsors. Not only was Hanger's PAC more generous to their campaigns, neither brother is on the Committee on Education and Labor where the bill was referred.
Lincoln, too, has another unique tie to Hanger.
Last fall, the company and Lincoln launched a mission to provide artificial limbs for Ukrainian children. The trip to Florida earned public goodwill for the politician -- and gave the publicly traded company a chance to highlight the bill.
The Diaz-Balarts say they are firmly behind providing better coverage for those needing prosthetic devices.
''It's the moral thing to do,'' Mario Diaz-Balart wrote.
Yet the ties between politicians and Hanger are so tight, say public watchdogs asked about the arrangement, they appear almost like partners.
''Members are here to serve the public interest and not the interests of a private corporation,'' said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Washington nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Hanger bills itself as the nation's leading provider of orthotic and prosthetic patient-care services. It has 653 care centers, including three in Broward and one in Miami-Dade, and 2007 revenues of $637 million.
Old politics, meet the new politics. And be sure to shake hands with it on your way out the door.
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"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
