GOP bastions in Deep South buck Bush's Cuba policy

[Nambe]

Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. - President Bush promised Florida's Cuban American voters a fortified American trade embargo against Cuban dictator Fidel Castro by cutting what U.S. tourists can spend in Cuba from $167 to $50 daily.

But Southern states solidly in Bush's electoral camp - including Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Louisiana - have been rejoicing over multimillion-dollar Cuban trade contracts for the past three years.

Thirty-five states sold $700 million in supplies to Cuba since 2001. And Southerners possess the ports where tons of powdered milk, poultry, soybeans and other items set sail for Havana. And even better for the sellers, the U.S. government requires Cuba to pay cash before the ships unload.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is Bush's statewide campaign manager, yet Gulfport and Pascagoula ports shipped $50 million in goods to Cuba last year. Bible Belt businessmen at the Mississippi Development Authority's recent summit on Cuban trade want even bigger deals with Cuba, which has been under embargo since the 1960s. ..

[mom cat]

1. Hit them below the Bible Belt..in the wallet.

Shows how much * knows about his conservative base! :dem:

[TahitiNut]

2. Well, that's "family values" for you.

As long as a profit can be made from human misery, the reichbots will sure go for those profits.

[Vogon_Glory]

3. But Can These Wheeler-Dealers Overcome Double-Think?

These Gulf Coast port officials and their buddies all seem to enjoy the idea of making money by trading with Cuba and making money, yet they all seem to support George Deucey-U Bush--either by reflex or because they're gen-u-ine Republicans. Yet at the same time Dubya is seeking to tighten the US embargo against Cuba even further.

Have these guys figured out that you can't have trade with Cuba with Dubya supporting ever-tighter economic restrictions with Cuba, or do they support Dubya and his policies? They're going to have to decide for one or the other; they can't have it both ways.