As a young Cuban American, I have a Marco Rubio problem. (Opinion)

[In It to Win It]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/young-cuban-american-marco-rubio-100027965.html

I’m tired of people like U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio exploiting the trauma of my community for political gain. Cuban people suffer from a government that doesn’t care about them. They are hungry, lack basic medicines, and recently the entire island was plunged into darkness after an electrical outage in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Homes fall apart due to lack of maintenance on a regular day, let alone when they are subjected to the stress induced by heavy rainfall and high velocity winds.

Cubans are in pain and want freedom and democracy. Politicians like Rubio weaponize the desperation our exiles have when watching the situation on the island. They offer no solutions to bring freedom to Cuba while accusing their political opponents of being rabid Marxist-Leninists who are on the verge of establishing a communist dictatorship in the United States.

That’s nonsense but it’s effective manipulation of a diaspora community who saw their freedom and economic opportunities stripped away by a revolution which disguised itself as an uprising to establish democracy in Cuba, but turned sharply against those ideals when aligning itself with the Soviet Union in the early 1960’s and forfeiting elections in favor of authoritarianism.

What does Rubio do to help Cuban-Americans, and Floridians? He opposes increasing the federal minimum wage. He supported repealing the Affordable Care Act, which would have resulted in millions of Floridians losing health insurance. He obstructs immigration reform and pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status recipients, denying refuge to those fleeing the same dictatorships he hypocritically pontificates about. His awful record is why I joined the Service Employees International Union 'We Decide' campaign to speak out.

We can’t even count on Rubio to defend democracy here at home. He lives in perpetual fear of Donald Trump and his extremist MAGA base, refusing to criticize the former disgraced reality TV host.

[XanaDUer2]

1. Way overdue

I'm from Miami, and many rw Cubans there.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Oh, dear. A Cuban-American who is woke.

Rubio is probably praying that this thinking doesn't spread.

[70sEraVet]

3. Great article by a gifted writer!

"his defense of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stunt involving flying migrants under false pretenses to Martha’s Vineyard cements his place in the pantheon of political cowards."

I wonder how many Cuban Americans feel empathy for the Venezuelan refugees?

[UTUSN]

4. K&R for, finally! - That original CIA-generation has been a BLIGHT

They got special privileges for entry that other refugees/immigrants didn't get. They generalized their JFK hatred towards all Dems. They used their head-start backgrounds of pre-CASTRO privilege to leapfrog past other minorities to the top of business and politics.

The only one with *some* sense (mixed) is Senator MENENDEZ.

[SergeStorms]

8. Exactly.

I can never understand why Cuban-Americans pledge their unwavering loyalty to a political party which is attempting to establish the type of government they hated so much in Cuba.

Their hatred of all things Democratic because of Kennedy's "betrayal" in the Bay of Pigs invasion seems to carry on across generational barriers. It was only a "betrayal" for a few thousand Cuban revolutionaries. It was a sound, sane decision for the rest of the world. Who knows what would have transpired if the U.S. had "succeeded" in that mythical victory? Soviet retaliation leading to a nuclear conflagration?

One thing that can be said about Cuban-Americans: they can certainly carry a grudge.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. One of my Senators is the child

Of Cuban Immigrants - he was born just a few months after his parents fled. He's a Democratic Party Member.

He's all about Human Rights as a result of his parents' experience, all about equality regardless of race, gender, gender id, sexuality, religion . . .

I hope this wakes Cuban Americans in Florida up - you aren't safe unless ALL of us are safe.

[crickets]

6. Well-written and right on point. nt

[patphil]

7. Read the full article. It's very good.

I would hope that more Cuban-Americans are waking up to the fact that Republicans are using them.
Hundreds of thousands of "boat people" came to the US from Cuba in the decades after Castro took control. They have always been seen as a strong Republican voting block because of the Republican's strong anti-Castro policies. But Fidel Castro is long dead, and his brother Raul is no longer in power.
At some point, the younger generation that doesn't have memories of Cuba will have to decide if that should still be the overriding issue in determining their politics.
It seems to me that as they become more and more the voice of Cuban-Americans we will see more of the real issues that affect their lives on a daily basis called forth.
I'd say it's about time!

[demosincebirth]

9. They keep voting for him...hmm

[DFW]

10. We've had one for a while. We expressed it like this:

[JudyM]

11. So well written, clear and compelling, and she's an activist student.

Leydi Amador serves as the Civic Engagement Organizer for the Florida Student Power Network, a statewide network of youth and student organizers across Florida.