Cubans as swing voters?

[Osolomia]

November 4, 2003
The Hill

Cuban Americans, a group that has been among President Bush’s staunchest supporters, are putting him on notice in Florida.

“The problem is, after three years of this administration, we have very little tangible evidence of progress,” Joe Garcia, executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), said in an interview.

… “You don’t bring a 44-year-old problem that no administration has been able to solve into the White House because that means he’s saying, ‘I am going to solve this problem,’” argued Garcia. “Now that’s what we’re expecting. It’s up to the president to act now. I wouldn’t create a presidential commission.”

He added: “The ability to get the Cuban American vote is central to winning Florida. It is a specific group you can lobby. There is an important interplay between the community and the White House.”

… Nevertheless, efforts by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.), who reportedly have reversed their position against the embargo to appeal to Cuban exiles, fuel assumptions that the Cuban vote will be in play.

More…
http://www.thehill.com/news/110403/cuba.aspx

[La_Serpiente]

1. I'm sorry, but we cannot be beholden to the Cuban Americans

The Senate voted to lift sanctions recently and it is inevitable. I wrote a letter to Dean and Kerry saying that they should lift the sanctions.

Now, I know they recently changed their vote this past year after the dissidents were arrested. However, I think we could reach a compromise on this. If Cuba releases the political prisoners AND does not arrest anymore of them, the sanctions will be lifted.

The sanctions are a product of the Cold War and many of the exiles haven't been to the island in decades. Cubans rank very high on international statistics and they are educated and have medicine.

We have already seen evidence that when there is easing of the sanctions, there is more pluralism in Cuba.

When Bush called on other nations to put pressure on Cuba, I thought that was so stupid of him. The EU has been trading with them for years and Brazil just signed a 200 million dollar trade pact with them.

So while we are sitting here in our own little bubble thinking that other countries will follow the lead, we find out that there is much international support for the lifting of the santions.

[Mika]

6. Why should Cuba release foreign enemy paid agents (aka: "dissidents")

Why should the Cuban government release foreign enemy paid agents? All 75 so called "dissidents" are on the US payroll via the CANF, Cubanet, etc.. FYI, the official policy of the US gov is to overthrow the Cuban government. FYI, Cuba has been victimized repeatedly by US or US sponsored terrorism.


Would the US government allow an organization (or nation) who's stated goal is to overthrow the American government to organize and pay groups of "dissidents" who have connections with the active terror wing of said organization or nation? I think not.



Cubans have EVERY right to protect themselves from terrorism and from terrorist sponsored agents.

[Vogon_Glory]

2. Demos Should Give Cuban Exiles Something Else to Think About

I personally think Democrats ought to give Cuban exiles something else to think about. What happens in a post-Castro Cuba?

Do the Cuban American exiles really think that a post-Castro government is going to hand back each and every bit of property expropriated since 1959, or is any Cuban privatization going to follow the German model where part is given back, and the rest is going to be held by the state?

Have Cuban exiles thought about how the effects that another four years of George UU Bush / Republican party fiscal policy are going to reverbrate on a post-Castro Cuba? Do they think that a US government financially strapped as Argentina or Peru is going to be able to provide any foreign aid to anybody, when it can no longer even fund its own committments, thanks to the reckless fiscal policies that the Andover cheerleader from Midland and his fellow GOPsters have foisted on the US?

These are questions that Democratic partisans ought to ask Cuban exiles to think about, and so far few of us have.

[Osolomia]

3. What happens in a post-Castro Cuba is up to the people of Cuba to decide

One of the reasons for the Cuban Revolution in 1959 was because everything was owned by foreigners, not Cubans! The “exiles” in Miami may have abandoned their family homes that their relatives are now living in or is being used as a daycare center or other community service. They were offered compensation at the time. Most US companies that had properties expropriated were compensated through tax breaks and say any more compensation would be double dipping. Others prefer to get on with business than to be tied up in a legal wrangle for years. Canada, Mexico, Britain, Germany, Italy and all the other countries that had property expropriated amicably settles claims with Cuba years ago. The USA is the only country in the world that refuses to come to the negotiating table to this day.

Cuba does not need foreign aid, it needs foreign investment and there are plenty of Americans who are ready, able and willing to finally join the rest of the world.

Post-Castro Cuba is up to the people in Cuba, not Florida or the USA and that’s what Democrats ought to be telling the Cuban-American Batistiano “exiles” and their Cold War friends to get through their heads.

[Vogon_Glory]

4. The Cubans In Cuba Will Be Making Most Of Their Decisions

The Cubans in Cuba will be making most of the decisions about their future, but at least some of the exiles are likely to return to Cuba after Fidel's passing and as the Cuban economy renews a private sector.

Of those Cuban exiles who remain in the US, many of them will continue to influence US policy towards the island. That covers aid policies as well as investment.

I have seen some very detriorated infrastructure on my own travels to Cuba. I have also noted the lack of such things as a decent fiber-optic network, limited power-generating facilities, narrow, inadequate roadways, a sub-par rail network, and I've doubts about sewer systems, agriculture, and other areas of the Cuban economy. Bringing things up to even where someplace like El Salvador is now is definitely going to require grants as well as loans and investment.

[bluestateguy]

5. Court Cubans not the CANF

We should actively court the Cuban vote. Make Bush earn it, but for the love of God, we should not pander to the CANF. We should bypass them the same way Nixon, Reagan and Bush I courted rank and file union voters but bypassed the union bosses. Truth is that younger Cubans are less likely to support the embargo and Cubans are certainly sensitive to civil liberties issues. They know oppression when they see it.