Stephen Ross is furious at the Republican-led state legislature. Last spring, despite a significant investment in lobbyists, the legislature denied Ross' request for subsidies to rebuild Dolphins Stadium.
So Who is Ross considering to deploy to coordinate the next assault on the legislature: Alex Penelas. Billionaires like Ross don't like blunders, but Penelas? Really?
As Miami-Dade mayor, Penelas was a disaster. In short order, a telegenic and ambitious politician -- once considered heir to Bob Graham's legacy as a Democratic state and national leader -- dumped his career in a vat of political toxins. Penelas side-tracked the county government in pursuit of the failed Homestead Air Force Base redevelopment plan, for greedy insiders. A Democrat, he delivered the presidency to George W. Bush in 2000 by failing to allow the ballot recount to proceed. He was off in Spain with Herman Echevarria, making money. And of course, he also created the Miami Heat Arena for billionaire owner Micky Arison by circumventing popular objection to its location on Biscyane Boulevard. (Any time you are stuck in traffic on Biscayne Boulevard downtown, honk your horn for Penelas.)
Now, these points may all sound like job qualifications to billionaire Stephen Ross. Penelas organized both sides of the aisle to support a fraudulent economic development scheme. Check. Penelas is owed, big-time by Republicans. Check. Penelas proved his worth to another billionaire sports team owner. Check.
The problem: Penelas will become the story. A billionaire can carry alot of political weight. Just look how Sheldon Adelson carried Newt Gingrich through the most miserable GOP presidential primary in US history. But then you really have to listen: what good did Newt Gingrich do? The former politician (Speaker of the House) laid a trail of wreckage a thousand times wider than Sherman's March, and that was before the 2012 primary.
Why would Ross go down that road with Penelas?
So Who is Ross considering to deploy to coordinate the next assault on the legislature: Alex Penelas. Billionaires like Ross don't like blunders, but Penelas? Really?
As Miami-Dade mayor, Penelas was a disaster. In short order, a telegenic and ambitious politician -- once considered heir to Bob Graham's legacy as a Democratic state and national leader -- dumped his career in a vat of political toxins. Penelas side-tracked the county government in pursuit of the failed Homestead Air Force Base redevelopment plan, for greedy insiders. A Democrat, he delivered the presidency to George W. Bush in 2000 by failing to allow the ballot recount to proceed. He was off in Spain with Herman Echevarria, making money. And of course, he also created the Miami Heat Arena for billionaire owner Micky Arison by circumventing popular objection to its location on Biscyane Boulevard. (Any time you are stuck in traffic on Biscayne Boulevard downtown, honk your horn for Penelas.)
Now, these points may all sound like job qualifications to billionaire Stephen Ross. Penelas organized both sides of the aisle to support a fraudulent economic development scheme. Check. Penelas is owed, big-time by Republicans. Check. Penelas proved his worth to another billionaire sports team owner. Check.
The problem: Penelas will become the story. A billionaire can carry alot of political weight. Just look how Sheldon Adelson carried Newt Gingrich through the most miserable GOP presidential primary in US history. But then you really have to listen: what good did Newt Gingrich do? The former politician (Speaker of the House) laid a trail of wreckage a thousand times wider than Sherman's March, and that was before the 2012 primary.
Why would Ross go down that road with Penelas?
11 comments:
Well Alex needs a job just like the rest of us. If he just wants him to do general pr, smile and make people feel good, he probably will do a good job. But if he is looking for him to generate money from the taxpayers, he can forget it. In this environment when republicans are trying to destroy government and this economy, money for sports billionaires is non-existent.
Forget about public money. They are going to need him just to get through the rough financial times. The republicans have already killed this Christmas season. No one is going to buy anything with this kind of uncertainty, and scraping up money for sports entertainment will be a low priority.
Alex, there's a position open for you: city manager of Doral.
All true except Penelas had no control over the 2000 presidential election recount. The decision to shutdown the recount was made by a bipartisan canvassing board who said they did not have enough time to complete the recount. It didn't matter anyway because the US Supreme Court intervened.
Penelas' slide into political isolation and obscurity began with his Elian Gonzalez press conference in April 2000, the one in which he suggested that Miami residents may riot if Elian was seized and he would do nothing to stop the rioting. That changed everything. It was a major political blunder.
In the weeks preceding the press conference, Penelas was being seriously considered as Gore's VP running mate or a sure-bet cabinet secretary. The Elian press conference changed everything. He immediately became a Clinton/Gore administration pariah. Clinton needed his help during a sensitive and stressful time but Penelas chose to play to the rabid Cuban exilio crowd instead. Gore felt the same feeling of betrayal as Clinton. Like a scorned lover, Gore crossed Penelas off every list and labeled him as not a team player.
Penelas refused to campaign for Gore after the relationship soured and their relationship devolved into mutual hate. Penelas' trip to Spain during that 2000 crucial pre and post election period was just a passive aggressive response to the falling out. He actually disappeared before the recount in the last week of the campaign when he knew he would be sorely needed by Gore for the last minute push in a tight race. Penelas wanted to show Gore that Gore was the one who made the political mistake by writing him off.
Some have suggested Penelas should have switched parties when his stock disintegrated with Clinton/Gore, but his core beliefs were still liberal and he would have been an outcast among Republicans, too. Thirteen years later, Penelas continues to be a man without a party. His career is a curious case of self-destruction based on political miscalculation, not scandal.
Penelas was an affable idiot who was controlled by his pr guy. Anytime Alex went off message the taxpayers got screwed. Alex won election campaigning against the Miami Heat Stadium and once elected he SWITCHED SIDES becoming that bad deals biggest cheerleader. 16 years later and the Heat have NEVER paid a penny in rent. Worse, County taxpayers pay the Heat over $6 Mil per year. In 15 years Heat owner Mickey's Net Worth grew from $1 Bil to $5 Bil. He can thank Alex.
It was Ric Katz who told Alex Penelas what to say and guess what? Ric Katz already works for Steve Ross on his scheme to force the taxpayers to renovate his private property.
So they owe him? Well, in that case they can just give him a job based on pay back, no additional work needed.
Billionaires don't listen, do they?
No more bailouts for billionaires.
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