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Diaz-Balart's anti-Sanders amendment fails, but that doesn't mean Democrats oppose it

Miami Herald / Alex Daugherty / February 27, 2020

House Democrats voted Thursday to quash a resolution by Miami Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart condemning Bernie Sanders' recent comments that praised aspects of Fidel Castro's Cuba.

The proposal by Diaz-Balart had been aimed at forcing Democrats into a bind of either backing Sanders' positive remarks about Cuba or publicly rebuking the Democratic front-runner for president. But he was forced to attach his proposal to an unrelated bill sponsored by Miami Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala that bans flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

Shalala and Miami Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell — who are both facing competitive reelection races — didn't participate in the vote that would have advanced Diaz-Balart's resolution. The resolution failed after 224 Democrats voted against it and 189 Republicans voted in favor of it.

In a statement, Mucarsel-Powell said she didn't vote because, "House Republicans attempted to use an underhanded maneuver to derail an important public health bill to protect our children from a vaping epidemic."

"It is shameful that they attempted to create a false choice between standing with the Cuban community and a generation of children whose health is at risk," Mucarsel-Powell said in a statement.

Diaz-Balart introduced the resolution — which "condemns the comments of ... Bernie Sanders, disregarding the history of systemic human rights abuses, forced indoctrination, and authoritarian actions of the literacy and education policies of the Communist Castro dictatorship in Cuba" — after Sanders touched off anger in Miami during a "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday.

In the interview, Sanders said "it's simply unfair to say everything is bad" about Fidel Castro's Cuba. And he followed that with a defense of his remarks during Tuesday's Democratic debate in South Carolina.

Despite not voting on Thursday's measure, Shalala and Mucarsel-Powell both asked to be added as cosponsors and insisted they would support the resolution if it was offered as a stand-alone vote. But that process takes more time to reach the House floor.

The resolution failed after Democrats argued that adding Diaz-Balart's anti-Sanders' language onto an anti-vaping bill was irrelevant to the legislation. The House parliamentarian also ruled that the anti-Sanders amendment was not germane to the legislation up for a vote.

"I am not disputing the merits of the resolution my distinguished Republican colleague is offering," Shalala said, adding that she was "the first Democratic member of Congress to speak out against these misguided, ill-informed, hurtful, and unacceptable comments made by Senator Sanders from Vermont."

By sitting out the vote, Shalala and Mucarsel-Powell prevented Republicans from saying that they voted in favor of Sanders and his controversial stance on Cuba. Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston voted with Democrats to quash Diaz-Balart's resolution. Miami Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson, who represents a heavily Democratic district, also did not vote.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's office accused Shalala and Mucarsel-Powell of "hiding from their constituents" for skipping the vote, noting that they had shown up for a separate vote minutes later.

Diaz-Balart announced the symbolic resolution at a press conference with House Republican leaders on Wednesday.

"It's interesting because it was very simple that this was an opportunity to condemn some, frankly, highly inappropriate and erroneous statements by Bernie Sanders," Diaz-Balart said. "It's not that he's done it once. He's said it multiple times."

Diaz-Balart's resolution also "rejects the false claims that healthcare, literacy, and education have improved under the Castro regime."

Republicans argued that voting against Diaz-Balart's proposal shows that Democrats are unwilling to disavow a Democratic socialist who has frequently praised aspects of Cuba's government. But voting in favor of Diaz-Balart's proposal would have put Democrats in the position of publicly repudiating the party's potential presidential nominee.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday Democrats "are all unified" when asked about Sanders' candidacy.

"Whoever the nominee is of our party, we will wholeheartedly support," Pelosi said.

On Wednesday, when he announced the proposal, Diaz-Balart talked about the more than 300,000 Cuban Americans in his Miami-based district that include Hialeah. "If anyone wants to know the devastation of socialism, and the tyranny that is often invited by socialism, I invite you to come speak to some of my constituents, including the thousands, thousands of former political prisoners," Diaz-Balart said.

Shalala and Mucarsel-Powell also represent thousands of Cuban Americans.

Shalala and Mucarsel-Powell have repeatedly criticized Sanders' comments. In an interview on Wednesday, Shalala said Sanders' defense of his remarks during Tuesday night's presidential debate further hurt his standing with voters in her district.

But on the House floor on Thursday, Shalala took a procedural position, arguing that Diaz-Balart's resolution was not related to her bill banning flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. And she took the opportunity to offer a statement on the Cuban regime.

"I'd like to close by again quoting my good friend, Mr. Diaz-Balart," Shalala said on the floor. "'The Castro regime is a threat, not only to the national security of the United States but also to all the democracies in this hemisphere.' He is absolutely correct. I stand with him. I have always stood with him, and alongside our constituents, to denounce the evil Cuban regime."