They held a Miami Beach City Commission meeting yesterday, ostensibly to discuss Mayor Philip Levine's knuckle-headed and ill-advised proposal to open a Cuban consulate on Miami Beach.
Via the Miami Herald:
Two weeks after Miami Beach’s mayor and commissioner told Cuban government officials that they would be open to hosting a Cuban consulate, a majority of the full commission voted to formally oppose the idea unless the island nation’s government makes human-rights reforms.As I watched a live stream of the meeting, I felt as though I was traveling back in time....
The vote came after an emotionally charged discussion over how some exiles in Miami-Dade County would see a consulate as an insult and others would see it as a convenience.
There was lots of anger in the room.
And there was also this sub-plot:
Via the Miami Herald: Days after returning and holding a press conference to share his support for a Cuban consulate in Miami Beach, [Levine] bristled at criticism from exiles in Miami-Dade and said he hadn’t received any complaints. When Commissioner Michael Grieco placed an item on Wednesday’s commission agenda reaffirming the city’s long-standing opposition to having any kind of a relationship with Cuba, Levine called Grieco an opportunist who wants to tee up a run for mayor.
“The only reason this has happened is because you have a commissioner who is trying to use this as a political ploy because he would like to run for mayor, prematurely,” he said. “And he believes he can get the Cuban vote by appealing to their deepest level of fear and insecurity. Which is cruel. Especially when he’s not Cuban.”
Imagine that....Philip Levine calling someone an opportunist. The same Philip Levine who filmed himself throwing a hissy fit over a double-parked Fed Ex truck and who then unashamedly posted the video on YouTube.
The same man who has a YouTube channel devoted to showing clips of his appearances on cable news shows.
Philip Levine, the man who will exploit any issue for political gain.
Yes, Philip Levine actually criticized a colleague for not having Cuban parents.
This Philip Levine....a man who never passes up an opportunity to pander.
But Commissioner Michael Grieco was having none of Mayor Levine's hypocrisy.
He responded to Levine's mealy-mouthed criticism, calling his logic "offensive."
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