Breaking news: Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is Cuban again.
Gimenez wrote a letter to TV show host and author Chris Matthews Thursday blasting the political pundit, host of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris 
Matthews, for his comment about a boring GOP debate without Donald Trump. “Whose going to watch a debate between the two Cuban guys,” Matthews asked on his show Tuesday.
And Gimenez took issue with it.
“As a proud Cuban-American and the Mayor of a county with the largest population of Cuban-Americans in the United Sates, I was deeply offended by your distasteful remarks about tonight’s Republican debate,” Gimenez wrote to Matthews, saying his comments “displayed bigotry and ignorance about nationality.”
Wait a minute. Let’s rewind here.
First, Gimenez has no issue with a ferry to Cuba operating on the last piece of vacant land at the Port of Miami. He says that Miami-Dade doesn’t do business with governments, just with companies and that includes companies that do business with Cuba. Not my business, Gimenez basically says.
Secondly, he has no issue with having a Cuban consulate office in Miami. He said he wouldn’t block federal efforts to open such a diplomatic spies’ nest here. Not my business, Gimenez basically says.
Oh, before that, he failed to raise any concern about how we are going to absorb the hundreds or thousands of Cubans coming to Miami-Dade from Costa Rica, needing housing and amenities and schools for their children. Not my business, Gimenez basically says.
But now he weighs in on an off-the-cuff comment that has absolutely no substantive consequence anyway?
Read related story: Cuban ‘quiz’ for Ted Cruz is attack on all Hispanic voters, too
I mean, Ladra doesn’t like what Matthews said so much. But he’s said worse. His job is to say controversial things and he’s been way more offensive. And he apologized. Because what he meant was without Trump, who was going to watch the debate, period. Plus Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio — two Cuban-Americans vying for the U.S. presidency — were slated to be the stars now. The mash=up was sloppy and stupid, but probably not racist. After all, Matthews has already gone on the record saying he doesn’t think Cruz and Rubio are Hispanic anyway (see?).
Yet, on this the mayor feels strongly enough to weigh in? This is his business?
More likely, someone on his campaign staff identified an opportunity for a positive message on the Cuba
issue to come out after so many negative ones in what is going to be a hotly contested election in seven months. Congratulations, G-men! You can identify a trending story. Because unlike the other three things on which the mayor has passed the buck, this statement by Matthews — no matter how racist you might think it is — doesn’t impact our county residents. It’s just for show.
And the Miami Herald reporter bought the “earned media” pitch hook, line and sinker. I wonder which operative called the reporter to “leak” the email (things that don’t get in the paper). And a TV station follows that. And the local Republican Party of Miami-Dade tweeted a thanks to Gimenez “4 fighting back against bigotry & left-wing media bias.” I guess last year’s flirtation with abandoning the party to become an independent is not important.
How come nobody calls this for the political opportunity that it is? How come nobody says that this is not what we elected Gimenez for? We elected him to lead on the other three issues he’s ignored. Not to pontificate with the pen on a matter that has no consequences here and is strictly for press.
More optics from the wizard behind the curtain.
Gimenez on Matthews: Campaign optics, not leadership added by Ladra on
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