Joe Garcia endorses illegal UBER ride share service

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Congressman Joe Garcia is gonna hafta say that someone hacked into his twitter account. Either that or it’s going to look like he’s thumbing his nose at the law and endorsing illicit business.

That’s because Garcia used the social media platform to tout the new Uber X car ride sharing service that launched Wednesday in Miami-Dade, even though it is clearly illegal. That’s okay, it’s uber competition, Lyft, has been operating for a couple of weeks. Both companies offer an app-based high-tech hitchhiking service that, while a little scary is the way of the future.

Is this Garcia’s stab at civil disobedience?

It’s not illegal because it should be. It just is. And that is because the county’s regulations regarding transportation for any compensation are old and need to be up-dated.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez certainly did the right thing Wednesday when he either (1) ordered the impound of three Lyft vehicles because they were paying no attention to fines or (2) did not meddle when the proper county authorities did, even though the company is represented by lobbyist Jorge Luis Lopez, a BFF and travel mate of the mayor’s.

But let’s look bigger picture here. Gimenez and county commissioners certainly have the flexibility to make those necessary changes to make us really a world-class city in the 21st Century. But they are being pressured by the cab companies — who consider medallions to be property rights — to keep the choke hold on the industry, giving them no competition and the ability to provide increasingly less to its customers.

The Congressman even gives his 2,621 followers a promo number to use for a $10 discount and posts a link to redeem it. I kid you not.

Here is a sitting incumbent Congressman, who swore to uphold the U.S. constitution, and then he’s eating earwax on national TV while he should be paying attention to homeland security matters, he’s saying that “communism works” and he’s promoting illegal activity.

This is a new strategy.

Or a creative Republican hacker.

  Joe Garcia