Crist should leave Cuba embargo to Congress - Editorial

Crist should leave Cuba embargo to Congress: Editorial
12:00 a.m. EDT, May 10, 2014

If Charlie Crist is floating a trial balloon about a possible trip to
Cuba, he should prick it with a pin right now.

Getting publicity during a tough campaign for governor is one thing. An
international publicity stunt is quite another.

Yes, Crist is entitled to express his opinion about the failed U.S.
economic embargo on Cuba. Yes, he knows he has to do well with Hispanic
voters if he hopes to unseat Gov. Rick Scott in November. And yes, he
should talk to folks in Miami's Little Havana about their feelings on
the embargo.

But there is growing speculation that Crist is planning a trip to Cuba
this summer. While he expressed support for the embargo as recently as
2010, he has changed his mind, and now says he's eager to learn more
about Cuba.

"We ought to think big," Crist said during a visit to a Miami restaurant
this week. "We ought to lift the embargo on Cuba and work with the
president and get things done."

As Crist should well know, the governor of Florida has no jurisdiction
over trade and travel restrictions for Cuba that have been in place for
53 years. It would take an act of Congress to change them. But the
populist Crist reads the polls, which suggest that more and more people
— including many Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade — favor lifting the
embargo and working toward normalized relations.

The embargo has utterly failed to undermine Cuba's communist
dictatorship. Instead, it has given the Castro regime a scapegoat for
its own repression and inept governance. We have long believed America
could exert more influence toward reform in Cuba through economic
engagement.

There are also practical reasons for ending the embargo. They include
environmental concerns, especially given Cuba's plans for deep-water oil
exploration not far off our coasts, and improved coordination on weather
emergencies, especially given the sweep of killer hurricanes.

But no matter your feelings on the embargo, a trip to Cuba is only a
distraction and an attention grab for a candidate for governor in Florida.

Crist, and anyone else who aspires to be chief executive in Florida,
should be focusing on making life better in the Sunshine State. If Crist
wants to increase his appeal to Hispanics, better that he talk more
about educational opportunities and jobs — on this side of the Florida
Strait.

Predictably — and justifiably — Crist's flirtation with Cuba has been
roundly panned by Republicans. Perhaps the best jab came from Lt. Gov.
Carlos Lopez-Cantera of Miami, who said, "Charlie's been a Republican
and an independent and a Democrat. I don't know, maybe he's going down
there to explore becoming a Communist."

The candidates for governor in Florida have a lot of ground to cover
before November's election. Crist should leave fixing the embargo to
those with the power to change it.

Source: "Crist shouldn't visit Cuba: Editorial - Orlando Sentinel" -
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-charlie-crist-cuba-20140509,0,7157275.story