McCain Miami Rally, Getting Ugly Down Here (seriously)

[ensho]

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/10/mccain-miami-rally-getting-ugly-down.html


-snip-

After the rally, we witnessed a near-street riot involving the exiting McCain crowd and two Cuban-American Obama supporters. Tony Garcia, 63, and Raul Sorando, 31, were suddenly surrounded by an angry mob. There is a moment in a crowd when something goes from mere yelling to a feeling of danger, and that's what we witnessed. As photographers and police raced to the scene, the crowd elevated from stable to fast-moving scrum, and the two men were surrounded on all sides as we raced to the circle.

The event maybe lasted a minute, two at the most, before police competently managed to hustle the two away from the scene and out of the danger zone. Only FiveThirtyEight tracked the two men down for comment, a quarter mile down the street.

"People were screaming 'Terrorist!' 'Communist!' 'Socialist!'" Sorando said when we caught up with him. "I had a guy tell me he was gonna kill me."

Asked what had precipitated the event, "We were just chanting 'Obama!' and holding our signs. That was it. And the crowd suddenly got crazy."

Garcia told us that the man who originally had warned the two it was his property when they had first tried to attend the rally with Obama T-shirts was one of the agitators. Coming up just before the scene started getting out of hand, the man whispered in Garcia's ear, "I'm gonna beat you up the next time I see you." Garcia described him for us: "a big stocky man wearing a tweed jacket." He used hand motions to emphasize this was a large guy. We went back to look for the gentleman twenty minutes after the incident but didn't find him.

-snip-

Garcia had a message for his stocky, tweed-clad threatener. "You tell that guy he can find Tony Garcia down at the West Dade library every day from 7 to 7 helping people early vote. I'll be there from 1 to 5 on Saturday and Sunday. You tell him if he wants to kick my ass that's where he can find me. Come beat me up."

Not thirty seconds later, John McCain drove by in his SUV and waved at Garcia on the sidewalk, who was happily waving his Obama sign.
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there are pics

[SteppingRazor]

1. I understand why the rest of the country's shocked by that but...

seriously, as a South Floridian, you're shocked at hardline right-wing Cubans using mob violence against political opponents?

[a la izquierda]

3. Hahaha, I'm not from S. Florida, but...

no.

I was going to make snarky comments about Cuban history, but I'll refrain.

[SteppingRazor]

6. There's plenty of examples

http://www.sfweekly.com/2008-01-30/news/pink-palooza/

http://mambiwatch.blogspot.com/2007/01/attack-on-bolivarian-youth.html

[Billy Burnett]

4. Unfortunately, Dem candidates fuel the frenzy too.

They all come down to Miami to repeat the most contemptuous charges against Cuba, and pronounce that "Castro's Cuba" will fall during their tenure.

Here is a picture of Bill Clinton with one of the most prominent anti Cuba agitators, Jorge Mas Canosa, founder of the CANF - an exile organization that has funded terrorist ops in Cuba and against Cubans and then boasted about their terrorist exploits.


Bill Clinton and Miami-Dade Clinton fundraiser Jorge Mas Canosa


Bill Clinton, Terrorism and Attempted Assassination
http://www.zpub.com/un/bc-terr.html

[SteppingRazor]

8. Meh. You won't find me sticking up for Castro any time soon either.

As in most protracted conflicts, trying pick "good guys" and "bad guys" in the decades-long feud between Castro and the hardline, old-school Miami exiles -- many of whom have familial ties to the ousted Batista regime -- is an exercise in futility.

[ensho]

5. lol - yes, indeed politics in S. Fl. are vicious

nt

[demo dutch]

2. Problem is they're buying into the "Socialist" fear mongering, I have some at my office

recent Cuban-exiles, who thankfully can't vote yet, but they're persuading their families who can vote, to support Mccain.

Politics are insane in South Florida, because of the Cuban mob mentality, remember Elian. Anyway I also hear from others that they will vote Obama, but they can't really come out publicly, because of those very reasons.

[donco6]

7. The sooner we normalize relations with Cuba, the better.

These whackos need to be rendered powerless. I'm sick of them, and the pandering they require.

[okieinpain]

9. this is the part I love, too bad it won't fit on a bumper sticker.

"Garcia had a message for his stocky, tweed-clad threatener. "You tell that guy he can find Tony Garcia down at the West Dade library every day from 7 to 7 helping people early vote. I'll be there from 1 to 5 on Saturday and Sunday. You tell him if he wants to kick my ass that's where he can find me. Come beat me up."