Newsweek: Florida: Eroding: Bush's Cuban Support

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5040192/

President George W. Bush may have to do without Republicans like Fernando Amandi. A Miami Cuban-American and retired corporate executive who voted for Bush in 2000, he has become disenchanted with the administration, particularly with its handling of policy toward Cuba and Latin America. Bush "talked a good game" against Fidel Castro, says Amandi, "but I didn't see much follow-through." Now Amandi is backing Sen. John Kerry, raising cash (more than $100,000 so far as a vice chair of Kerry's national finance committee) and offering advice on policy. Amandi says: "I've been impressed by much more substantial vision."

He's not alone. Bush's support among Cuban-Americans in south Florida—about 80 percent of whom backed him in 2000—shows signs of eroding. A March Florida International University poll, for instance, showed that only 56 percent of the state's Cuban-Americans planned to vote for Bush, with 25 percent undecided. While the vast majority will almost certainly back Bush in November, even a shift of 5 percent could tip the balance if Florida is a close race.

:shrug:

:spank:

Bush got something like 85% of the Muslim vote in Florida after he said he would fight against "racial profiling" of Arabs in the US.

Weird stuff. Unger states that the issue of racial profiling for blacks was the topic of the moment and Bush started on this track.

The first thing I thought was WOW! this certainly made it easy for ARab terrorists to move about the country!!

Unfortunately, as an immigrant, I can palpably see that BOTH parties are trying to use me and there is no sense of real caring, only gestures.

The only person who came close to resonating with the ethnic vote was Bill Clinton who seemed to be genuinely concerned with the issues the differnt communities face day to day and how their inclusion will help a diversified and stronger America.

I think the Cuban-American vote is Kerry's IF (and a big if) he can clearly set policies that help them HERE and allows them to see how damaging their obsession with old Fidel is to their own well-being.

The same applies to a lot of immigrant communities who traditionally vote democratic and are taken for granted.

It is not THAT hard to set policies that create a win-win situation.

I'd like to give you my take on politics in a two party system

I know both the parties are bought and sold by special interests pretty much lock stock and barrel. So my take is I choose the party who's "owners" are more likely to reflect my needs and positions- i.e. the Democrats as they are mostly owned by the major unions, teachers unions, AFL-Cio etc

cynical probably, but it works for me. Minorities are always struggling to be heard, but any thing that works toward better health education and welfare of the rank and file will help most minority groups as well.

Thats exactly how I feel!

:hi:

for me. There may be heroes and villains in both parties, but the Dems generally stand for a safety net and maintaining the prosperity of the middle and working classes, while the Repugs generally stand for individual responsibility and the interests of business. Historically the Dems have also stood for keeping the govt's hands off private morality, and the Repugs have always shown a gleeful eagerness to control private behavior. I'm a Dem on all those issues.

But most important, consistently, the Dems are pro-Union, the Repugs anti-Union, and with an anti-Union stand, the Repugs could run Jesus while the Dems ran a yellow dog, and the yellow dog would always get my vote.

Yellow Dog Dem is a common term down here in Florida! I agree completely.
:toast:

".... Bill Clinton who seemed to be genuinely concerned with the issues the differnt communities face day to day and how their inclusion will help a diversified and stronger America."

ROTFLMAO


I guess that it included miami cubano terrorists and liars...


CANF founder and Clinton fundraiser Jorge Mas Canosa & Bill Clinton

He's a right winger. :shrug:

As a matter of fact there are plenty of repugs who want to end the embargo and sanctions just as there are plenty of Dems who want to maintain and expand it.

US hegemony has a bipartisan stamp of approval.

The Helms-Burton law was signed by Bill C. as part of a continuation of his and the Dem party's pandering to the Cuban exiles in Miami. The repugs were able to throw a monkey wrench into that during the Elian Gonzalez affair... despite the FACT that Al Gore and Joementum, pandering to the Miamicubans, wanted the kid to face a Miami DCF family court (which had NO jurisdiction, as affirmed by the 11th circuit court's ultimate ruling).

Also, see post #12. There you will see that the dem party got the lion's share of Cuban-American campaign contributions thru 2000.

Bush is just tweaking the policies established under the Clinton presidency.

When Clinton was in office, Americans could travel to Cuba without fear of being arrested and/or fined, by going through Mexico, Bahamas, Jamaica, Canada, etc. Clinton planned to veto the Helms-Burton bill, then Cuba shot down the Brothers to the Rescue planes. You and I know that Cuba had reason to do that, but they also could have forced the planes to land and held the pilots captive. Clinton responded like any politician in his position could.

Miami Batistianos have been supporting U.S. politicians in both parties, trying to make sure the Cuban embargo and travel ban continue, and for 40+ years they have been successful. Florida Senators Graham and Nelson - both Democrats - support the Miami Batistianos and take the campaign $$$ in return!

What is important now is that the Senate and House have both approved ending the Cuban travel ban, but the slimy B* repukes voted in committee to delete the necessary amendments. Kerry has said he doesn't support the travel ban against Americans! Therefore it seems very likely that when we get rid of B*, the Miami Cubans will cease to run the US/Cuba foreign policy!

You and I both know the slimy details of Jose Basulto setting up those planes to get shot down.

You know that Clinton's FAA did nothing to stop Brothers to the Rescue planes from the illegal over flights of Cuba DESPITE dozens of official requests by the Cuban government.

Clinton was giving them their money's worth - and Mas canosa raised the "exile' money for him.

charts from opensecrets.org

refused to have anything to do with the Miami "exile"/terrorist, Jose Basulto for years.

Unfortunately, the facts behind the event didn't get a lot of play outside South Florida. People have to take the initiative to do their own research to get any perspective at all on this currently.

I'm sure far more people will have a grasp of this once the gubmint clears the slate with Cuba and opens dialogue.

Jeez. I think they must have just panicked, knowing where the planes were headed.

History would have been so much different, and they would have gained such valuable leverage if they could have simply outmaneuvered those guys.

Do ya think that the US AF would try to "force down" dedicated terrorists with a long history of murder and mayhem (just how they would do that is unclear if not impossible without shooting them down) . After all, BttR and the US gov were warned that they would be shot down, but BttR illegal over flights were not not stopped by the US government - tantamount to approval.


The Cuban government's job #1 is to protect its citizens and its borders from a known enemy's attack, as is any responsible government's job.

Yes, Its too bad that it happened, but Cuba had drawn a clear line after dozens of warnings that had no result. the Cuban government declared that the next illegal overflight woulld be shot down, and the Cuban AF jets were deployed for just such an action. BttR's leader, Jose Basulto, knew what would happen, Clinton knew what would happen... but they let Jose Basulto send those planes into Cuban airspace. He did not get shot down - he RENTED a go fast twin engine torboprop plane FOR THAT DAY instead of flying an available smaller BttR plane. Were the other pilots told that the next overflight would result in being shot down? Were they told that the Cuban AF was practicing maneuvers for just such an encounter? Not according to some of their family members. They were in the dark, led on by Jose Basulto and the US government which funded their ops.

The result - the Helms-Burton law.

Mission accomplished.

A campaign cash cow for a wide mix of members of both parties, both pro and con.

The status quo continues, and the money keeps rolling in.

their allies in Washington to provoke this international incident. It appeared to give them validity among people who didn't know the dynamics of this vile situation.

Jose Basulto's level of involvement also includes strafing passenger trains in Cuba. There's NO WAY to willingly let that guy get by you.

I heard that only a VERY short time before Hermanos al Rescate perpetrated this fiasco the Cuban government had begged, AGAIN, to do something about them.

Your post was very interesting. It would be absolutely no surprise whatsoever to learn Basulto was still receiving covert funds, after all his time spent here, there, everywhere, Bay of Pigs, all over Latin America with the CIA, even Viet Nam. Definitely right in keeping with his history.

ON edit:

IF I'm not mistaken, when they had the trial in Miami, of the Cubans who came here to PREVENT things like this happening by getting information on the Florida extremists, Basulto even sat in the audience. That would have been almost too much to bear, seeing his sneering face showing up day after day.

Can you imagine any government tolerating DOZENS of these types of overflights before finally taking action?

Hard liners in the Cuban government wanted these planes shot down the very first time. Raul Castro opted for diplomacy - which failed. Something had to be done before more people innocent people in Cuba died.

BTW, Jose Basulto's pilots license was suspended the next day for filing false flight plans w/the FAA.

Their excursions into Cuba were gross violations of the US's Neutrality Act. Clinton's crew let it happen. (Just another LIHOP?)

Glad to see others waking up, though most of them - oddly enough - are outside the US...

FIDEL INVITED ME TO CUBA May 25 2004


Exclusive Nurse will train medics

By Natalie Walker



A SCOTTISH nurse is jetting to Cuba after a personal plea from president Fidel Castro.

Jill McGowan is heading to the Caribbean island to teach doctors a revolutionary technique to help asthma sufferers.
(snip)

Jill, a nurse for 27 years, learnt Buteyko in New Zealand in 1996 after hearing about it from a colleague.

It involves teaching people to breath more slowly to prevent them hyper- ventilating.
(snip)

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=14272122&method=full&siteid=89488&headline=fidel-invited-me-to-cuba-name_page.html

Cuba shaping up as Iraq II

By WAYNE S. SMITH
Published on: 05/27/04


The path by which the Bush administration led us into the nightmarish Iraqi quagmire is strewn with arrogance, flawed assumptions, faulty intelligence and downright lies. It seems determined to make the same mistakes all over again with Cuba.
The administration listened all too trustingly to a small group of Iraqi exiles. We see the result. A disaster.

Now the administration is listening to another tiny knot of hard-line exiles in Miami. Just a little more economic pressure and Fidel Castro will be gone, the latter are saying. The Bush administration will then have a great victory. As Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega assured Congress on Oct. 2 of last year: "The president is determined to see the end of the Castro regime and the dismantling of the apparatus that has kept him in office for so long."
(snip)

Just as the administration ignored the United Nations Security Council and trampled international conventions (such as the Geneva Convention) in pursuing its misadventure in Iraq, so too is it following that pattern in Cuba. One of its principal instruments for putting an end to the Castro regime, it says, is aid to the internal dissidents. When one government assists organized groups in another country in efforts to oust their government, that is blatant intervention in the second country's internal affairs, and in this case a clear violation of the Charter of the Organization of American States, even if the means remain peaceful.

And who can be sure they will? Already, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), one of the exiles from whom the administration is taking its cues, is urging that consideration be given to assassinating Castro, and other Florida politicians are calling for use of force.
(snip/...)

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0504/27smith.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This article was posted by a D.U. poster on another message board. The author, Wayne S. Smith was the head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana previously.