Congressional candidate Ozzie deFaria is beginning to melt under the political spotlight, as he once again is displaying a lack judgment and temperament that be able to sustain the rigors of a congressional campaign.   The Shark Tank recently questioned deFaria’s campaign advertisements as well as certain aspects of his background, a scrutiny which all congressional candidates should expect.  But deFaria’s knee-jerk reaction to our story is unfortunately revealing- rather than deal directly with our documented and legitimate criticisms, he chose to malign your humble correspondent and the Shark Tank.  This response shows that deFaria is not only thin skinned, he wound up embarrassing the Republican Party and his campaign.

Our report cited the following facts:

• deFaria’s posting of DNC Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz wearing a dog collar
• deFaria stating that Wasserman Schultz needed to be “sent back to the pound.”
• deFaria untruthfully stating the reason why Congresswoman Allen West tore into Wasserman Schultz in an email last year
• deFaria’s admittance that he used a phony ‘Tea Party’ organization to promote his campaign
• a list of public record court cases in which deFaria is named as a Defendant or a respondent

deFaria took issue with our criticism that asserts that his own words and deeds are questionable and will diminish his campaign- did he not take the time to think that his line of attack against Wasserman Schultz not only isn’t very original, but that it could be potentially used against him if he were the Republican nominee?  (Shark Tank- original deFaria story here)

deFaria is actively promoting this ‘Doggie Debbie’ website and told the attendees of the recent SRLC convention in Charleston that ‘DWS’ “needed to be sent back to the pound.”continuing with the “Debbie is a Doggie” motif.  We simply questioned if deFaria’s repeated caricature of Debbie as a dog with an aggressive looking dog collar is really a smart way to criticize her and broadly appeal to the masses of people in her congressional district.

deFaria’s feeble response to our criticism was made in an obscure Broward website that has a history of running cover for the embattled Broward Republican Executive Committee (BREC), and the site that has done all but endorsed deFaria.  It’s also the same website that Redstate’s Erick Erickson smacked down last year for its lack of journalistic integrity and hack reportage.

What’s most humorous about this sad saga is that deFaria’s official statement claims that he was the victim of a “vicious attack” that he posted on his campaign website:

We’ll never know who paid for his most recent attack on Ozzie, but it’s not a coincidence that Debbie Wasserman Schultz said ‘Ozzie will get what’s coming to him’ and then a local paid political blogger launched a full front assault on Ozzie’s character.  The charges made on the hit piece are either false or extremely misleading.

The Shark Tank blog has lost all credibility as a legitimate source of information.  As explicitly outlined on the website truthaboutjaviermanjarres.com, the blog’s owner, Javier Manjarres, is nothing more than a political bounty hunter who consistently and regularly attacks the conservative opponents of the people who pay to advertise on his website.- Ozzie deFaria

That’s right dear readers, deFaria thinks that the Shark Tank’s criticism of his campaign tactics comes at the behest of and is paid for by none other than DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  In addition to this LOL implication, deFaria also cites an anonymous and libelous website which targets yours truly- a site which was authored by the same Charlie Crist-supporting establishment Republicans in Broward County who are his chief supporters.  Beginning to see the bigger picture here?

Unfortunately, knee-jerk reactions like deFaria’s tend to be devoid of rationality, and his response isn’t one that will reassure voters about his judgement.  How can deFaria call our “charges” (his characterization) “false or extremely misleading,” when we’re simply calling attention to and questioning his own campaign advertisements and statements?  Whether it is what he said to the SRLC (on video below), his depiction of Debbie with a dog collar around her neck, or his public records, did the Shark Tank fabricate or distort any of these?  You be the judge.

deFaria tweeted that he has “nothing to hide,” yet he’d rather disparage his critics rather than provide a coherent response to his supporters that is grounded in fact.  Instead of showing the requisite character, discipline, and leadership with his response, deFaria decided to attack the messenger rather than intelligently respond to the message.   What’s to hide, right?

 

By Javier Manjarres

Businessman Ozzie deFaria has garnered ‘On the Radar’ status with the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), a significant boost to his campaign  for the Republican nomination in Congressional District 20.  When the congressional redistricting is completed, most of what now comprises the 20th congressional district will become the 23rd congressional district.

While 2010 nominee Karen Harrington enjoys significant name recognition and strong grassroots support, deFaria could pose a real threat because of his ability to self-fund, and his new found support from the Republican establishment in Washington, D.C. will likely assist his fundraising.

But while deFaria has proven that he is a successful businessman and is showing a glimmer of a fundraising prowess, he’s also at times shown that he lacks the discipline and judgment needed to serve in Congress.

Case in point- deFaria inexplicably posted an image on his website in which he super-imposed a dog collar around the neck of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  It’s understood that political candidates use gimmicks and stunts to bring attention to their campaign, but the denigrating depiction of Wasserman Schultz as a dog isn’t very smart, and it’s likely that most women won’t be amused.

deFaria’s  move is reminiscent of an incident back in 2009 in which another Republican congressional candidate who was looking for attention scribbled the initials ‘DWS’ on a gun range target and then proceeded to fire at it- right in the presence of the assembled media.  The actions of that night gave the GOP a black eye, and deFaria’s actions are likely to have a similar effect.

When you couple this substantial gaffe with a statement he made at the recent Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) in South Carolina where he stated, “we must send her back to the pound,” it’s clear that deFaria is fixated on the ‘Debbie is a Doggie’ motif, but is that really an intelligent way to critique her?

deFaria hypocritically calls Wasserman Schultz a sexist on the website (see picture), and fails to understand that his depiction of ‘DWS’ can be interpreted as exactly that, sexist.

Unfortunately for deFaria, it doesn’t end there. In the same video clip (below), just before he states that ‘DWS’ must be sent back to the pound, deFaria, reading from a scripted speech, untruthfully states why Congressman Allen West called Wasserman Schultz ‘vile and despicable.’ deFaria states that West called her ‘vile’ specifically because Wasserman Schultz blamed the Tea Party for the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords.

http://youtu.be/wdUnTCWL4FE  <<<<Video

This type of shameless pandering is nothing more than a stunt to create the perception that deFaria is aligned with West.

West  called out Wasserman Schultz after she spoke out against him on the House floor inWashington,D.C.

Late last year, the Shark Tank called out deFaria for using a phony Tea Party organization to solicit funds from activists.  The organization in question, National Tea Party Alert.com depicted him as a ‘Tea Party’ candidate. deFaria told me that it was only a mail program he purchased, in essence confirming that this National Tea Party.com was not really a tea party organization but a for-profit business that had nothing to do with the Tea Party movement. This organization actually attacked Governor Sarah Palin. (Source: Phone Tea Party)

When you run Congress or any office for that matter, most everything is going to be on the table.  deFaria, like many other Americans, has had run-ins with the law and has been party to several litigations that have been made public- some good, some bad. Here is a short list of deFaria’s public court records:

CACE11005287 -2011 Auto Negligence(Pending) (Circuit)

DVCE05007368 -2005 Repeat Violence (Domestic Violence)

COCE05011501 -2005 Civil litigation (Circuit)

06011986MM10A-Misdemeanor (Circuit)

09033561TI30A -Traffic Infraction (Circuit)

COWE07027615 - 2007 Small Claims litigation (Circuit)

Now either the NRCC didn’t bother to closely vet deFaria or they are fine with deFaria’s “colorful” background- which do you think is most likely?

Were deFaria to win the Republican nomination to take on Wasserman Schultz, you better believe that the Democrats will use his unfortunate lack of judgment to label all Republicans as extreme sexists- and deFaria would be the proverbial Republican punching bag .

(Cross-posted at the Shark Tank)

This is from yesterday: Karen Harrington is goig up against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who doesn’t quite have the district that she used to. We’ve talked before, and she had some thoughts on CPAC this time:

Karen’s site is here.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

This is from yesterday: Karen Harrington is goig up against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who doesn’t quite have the district that she used to. We’ve talked before, and she had some thoughts on CPAC this time:

Karen’s site is here.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

“Today, I formally announce my campaign for U.S. Congress,” said Harrington, a restaurant owner who received almost 40 percent of the vote in 2010 against Wasserman Schultz.