For Cuban-Americans, more empty promises

[Judi Lynn]

For Cuban-Americans, more empty promises
By DAVID ADAMS, Times Latin America Correspondent
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 10, 2003

MIAMI - It was nice and cozy while it lasted, but the Bush administration's honeymoon with Cuban-American exiles was never likely to endure.

Cuban exiles are steaming over the White House's failure to deliver on its promises of a beefed-up policy toward Cuba. In particular, they are angry over the recent repatriation of Cuban asylum seekers picked up at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Now Miami's Spanish-language airwaves are buzzing with talk of Republican betrayal. When a group of Cubans was sent back after trying to make it to Miami on a raft crafted from a 1951 Chevy truck, that inspired DJs at popular radio station El Sol 95 to come up with a catchy song accusing President Bush of turning "into a rat, just like Clinton."

The song concludes with a chorus line: "All together, let's scream: Bush is betraying us."

On the one hand, Cuban exiles have reason to gripe. After all, they delivered crucial Republican votes in the November 2000 election (an overwhelming 83 percent of Cuban-American voters backed Bush against Al Gore), as well as Jeb Bush's re-election as governor last year. (snip/...)

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/10/Columns/For_Cuban_Americans__.shtml


These folks are painting themselves into a corner, you'd think. We don't have that many political parties for them to alienate.

If only Lieberman and Graham would stop staggering down to pander to them, Democrats could retain a bit of self-respect! Jeez, this gets old.

[hadrons]

1. This is one group I'm really sick of ....

as bad as Castro is, I hope he rules Cuba for another 40 years just to piss these fools off ... policy in the country towards Cuba has to be cater to them because they really believe that once Castro falls these idiots in Miami think they'll be taking over, morons

[Mika]

2. Me too. But its not so simple, hadrons

These intransigent miamicuban exile groups manage to get politicians of all ilk to pander to them for one reason.. money. Campaign cash is strategically placed to R's & D's in order to put the pandering pols in office, so that said politicians in turn vote for funding for the miamicuban exile groups. Its a mutually empowering arrangement. On our tax dollars.

For 40 years these groups and politicians have depended on the evil Dr Castro for their campaign funding platform. They have zero interest in really 'getting rid of' Castro or allowing the conditions to exist that would enable a faster transition from Castro's leadership - as their 40+ year anti Cuba policies have proven.


History has shown over and over again that a society rallies behind their leadership when their nation is under attack (as Cuba has been under attack by the USA), so, US policy, by remaining aggressive & harsh & confrontational, has pretty much moved the Cuban people to intensify their push for sovereignty and increase support for their government, including Castro, instead of away from it & him.



We Americans need to demand that this ridiculous cycle of policy pandering for dollars to a group of extremists who do not represent the majority of the Cuban-Americans must stop.

The fastest way to disempower these Cuban "exile" extremist groups and the corrupt politicians that pander to them is to normalize US trade and travel relations with Cuba. Now.


Lieberman
Graham

[pinerow]

3. As usual, I generally agree with Judilyn and Mika,

having sailed to the island on two 'fully hosted' regattas to Cuba.
I have seen the Cuban people as people who can take care of themselves( plus the fact that my step-father is Cuban and thinks that the CANF are a bunch of mobsters)

As an aside, there was a time when j
Jorge Mas Canosa was getting all the re-paving and asphalt work in Miami, although I'm sure there is no connection.

As to the the people who modified a truck into a boat; and a sea worthy one at that...they should get a medal for thinking out of the box.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Here it is, again, pinerow

Using your post as an excuse, I'm posting a photo of that truck boat.



It is interesting knowing you travelled the same waters in a sailing craft. I'd imagine you'd know intimately the kinds of conditions they were confronting, having already plied the same path, no doubt.

I think they have impressed everyone who has seen this picture.

On edit:
I agree with Mika, they had no right to subject kids to this danger. The life jackets they are wearing had just been passed down to them from a helicopter, prior to being lifted off the truck.

They WERE fantastic mechanics, to the untrained eye, to have built this ocean-going contraption.

[Mika]

6. On 'thinking out of the box'

"As to the the people who modified a truck into a boat; and a sea worthy one at that...they should get a medal for thinking out of the box."



I do not agree with rewarding people who recklessly endanger children's lives. Period.


They didn't need to think out of the box (unless they have a criminal record). Pinerow, they could have applied for a legal US immigration visa BEFORE setting to sea with a small child, without life vests, on an unseaworthy craft.

Repatriated Cubans get new truck, make legal bid to migrate
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/6419443.htm

The only reason that Cubans would NEED to use illegal methods of entry into the US, thereby enjoying the exclusive "wet foot/ dry foot" policy that is part of the Cuban Adjustment Act, is because they might have failed to qualify for a legal US immigration visa. The US's Cuban Adjustment Act plus the "wet foot/ dry foot" policy bypasses all of the legal requirements of US immigration. Any and all Cubans are allowed to stay in the US as long as they touch the soil of any US territory - no matter who they are or what their past criminal record might be. A free pass for Cuban criminals.. straight into America with a fresh clean record - plus extra perks for Cubans only.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Mika, I couldn't help noticing your list

of removed Presidential candidates. This reminded me of your point last week that it'd be worth looking into to find out which ones are actively pursuing reactionary "exile" votes.

Haven't gotten too far learning a lot on this, yet, but I just found this comical article in a "Cubanet" edition which mentions John Kerry.

{For anyone who doesn't know, Cubanet is published with money taken from U.S. taxpayers, and it regularly involves paying "dissidents," in Cuba, even, to send articles written specifically to uphold the Miami "exiles'" position, while ripping away at the Cuban government. We pay for this bilge, ourselves, to put one over on us!)

This article refers to the upcoming attempt to get Cuban "exile" Otto Reich approved a couple of years ago. It's old, but it mentions Kerry:
(snip) This, and Reich's high stature in the Cuban-American community, is what suggests that Senate Democrats' threatened opposition, led by 2004 presidential hopefuls Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) and John Kerry (D., Mass.) may provoke a response from Cuban Americans and other Reich admirers — all to make the Elian incident look like child's play.(snip/...)
http://64.21.33.164/CNews/y01/jul01/03e12.htm

Tough talk, wasn't it? Guess who didn't get approved. We got the last laugh, I hope.

So this tells us at one time, Kerry was on their hit list, politically.

We saw an article last week, however, which said Kerry has been meeting with Cuban Americans from across a wide spectrum. Who knows what that means, by now?

As you can see, however, they wanted to rip his face off a couple of years ago.