Stance on Cuba won’t help gubernatorial candidates in elections

Posted on Friday, 02.14.14

Stance on Cuba won't help gubernatorial candidates in elections
BY FABIOLA SANTIAGO
FSANTIAGO@MIAMIHERALD.COM

I don't care what Charlie Crist, the newly minted Democrat vying to
return to the governorship of Florida, thinks about the five-decade-old
U.S. embargo against Cuba.

Flip or flop, it matters not.

I don't care either what Rick Scott, the Republican incumbent governor,
thinks about what is essentially a foreign relations issue.

They both have bigger at-home topics to tackle to win voters who,
frankly, will have to choose between the lesser of mediocre candidates.

Neither man is running for a congressional seat or the presidency — but
to be the top administrator of and run the state of Florida. I want to
see them duke it out on state issues that matter to all Floridians and
not on how effectively they pull off emotional manipulation of a people
oozing from the open wound of losing homeland and family.

Spare us the politiquería barata — cheap politicking, in any language —
and seriously debate, take a stand on the tough stuff: the expansion of
casino gambling; existing gun laws that allow criminals to beat murder
raps; unfair and unsustainable home insurance rates; education that
delivers less employment and costs more (four times more if you're a
Florida-educated immigrant child without the right papers).

Those are only a few of the issues that matter in a state growing at a
rate of 3.7 percent annually, and predicted to soon surpass New York to
become the nation's third most-populous after California and Texas.
While growth may be good for the state's economy, it has tremendous
quality of life implications for those of us who live here.

I want my governor focused on funding and managing the government
services people will need, the road and transportation improvements
necessary to accommodate more people and connect booming cities, and
educational programs that keep our children engaged and prepare them for
a competitive future.

Voters don't need for the governor of Florida to play the role (and
badly) of the foreign policy expert.

Neither Crist nor Scott is that, but it didn't keep them from jumping on
the Cuban embargo issue, thanks to the launch of the conversation by
another non-expert, HBO talk show host Bill Maher.

Maher posed the question to Crist on his Real Time show Feb. 7, throwing
in some generalized swipes at Miami's Cuban community and making Ugly
American comments about Cuba for laughs.

"I feel like this is something that has been held hostage by a small
Cuban community in Florida for a very long time," Maher said. "If we had
done the right thing years ago, Cuba now would be St. Barts, and all the
kids going on spring break would be there next month having a great time
and drinking mai tais. But I don't see a lot of politicians from Florida
having the courage to stand up to that small Cuban community."

Instead of calling out the stupidity (but how can you if you don't
recognize it), Crist answered with all seriousness: "Well, I think they
need to. I think it's the right thing. The embargo's been going on what,
50 years now, and I don't think it worked. It is obvious to me we need
to move forward and I think get the embargo taken away. From a selfish
point of view, as a Floridian, I'd like to see that happen because a lot
of construction would be required on the island, and South Florida could
be the launching pad for all of that and really create a lot of jobs for
the people of my state."

Really, how?

Is Cuba, under the able eye of Crist, going to become a province of the
country of Florida so that the next governor/president can handle
construction contracts? And, do you think the ambitious Florida
developers in the new Florida-ruled Cuba are going to pay union wages to
Floridians or hire islanders for whom $20 is an entire month's salary?

That would've been enough said, except that what followed Crist's bad
trip was a predictable party-loyalist soap opera from the Republican camp.

Scott and his running mate, Cuban-American Carlos Lopez-Cantera, jumped
right in to support the embargo.

Bad move, especially numbers-wise, as one poll after another concludes
that Cuban Americans as well as other Floridians are less likely to have
that position these days.

On top of that, it was a defense poorly executed, as the clueless Scott
and Lopez-Cantera (who is having trouble remembering his legislative
record) couldn't quite verbalize embargo issues well enough to convince
a town of "experts" on the matter, much less your average Florida voter.
And some of the commentary on social media from Republican leaders about
the brouhaha was not only infantile rhetoric, but a throwback to a time
when it was acceptable to use the worthy cause of Cuba's freedom to gain
votes in local and state elections.

No, Crist's and Scott's stance on the Cuban embargo will not be a hot
topic in the Florida governor's race, not even if PolitiFact says so.

Gaining political points by talking tough on Castro went out of fashion
at least a decade ago. Remember Mitt Romney, who couldn't stir a Cuban
bone in Miami except for that of the party stalwarts, who'll applaud
whoever is Republican and vote Republican — period.

And what embargo are they all talking about, anyway?

There's a marked truck parked outside BrandsMart specifically slated to
take shipments to the freight forwarding firms that send goods to Cuba
from Miami everyday.

Cubans in Florida have been doing business with the island since family
reunification flights opened in 1979 — and these days, they send every
imaginable good that the Castro regime allows, from Barbie dolls to
flat-screens TVs.

As for Americans like Maher who say they're so dying to go to Cuba and
think we in Miami are keeping them from it, update your playbook: Plenty
of travel providers book trips to Cuba as readily as if it were an
excursion to Machu Picchu. They offer all sorts of packages from weekend
to two-week trips. Pick your flavor: classic Cuba, off the beaten path,
jazz-themed, art-themed, youth-oriented, etc. Yes, the kids not only
spend their spring break there, but summers and Christmas vacations as well.

It's all U.S. government approved — and the only one who turns you away
is the Cuban government if they don't approve of who you are or what you
do for a living.

And Mr. Maher, that drink you need more than you know, is a mojito. A
mai tai is a Tahitian-themed, California creation.

Source: Fabiola Santiago: Stance on Cuba won't help gubernatorial
candidates in elections - Fabiola Santiago - MiamiHerald.com -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/14/3936411/fabiola-santiago-stance-on-cuba.html