Cuba,Si?

Jorge Mas Santos, Chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation, writes an interesting editorial yesterday titled How to Win the Cuban American Vote in the Washington Post.

I quote a section of the essay:

The Cuban American National Foundation, the nation's largest Cuban exile organization, has a predominantly Republican membership. Yet our fundamental interest is not partisan politics but helping to restore freedom to our brothers and sisters on the island.

We entered the new millennium expecting U.S. policy toward Cuba to follow the effective model of the West's support for Poland's Solidarity movement and civil society across Eastern Europe. It was our hope that by seeking to empower Cuba's independent civil society through unlimited support for the brave men and women on the island opposing the Castro regime, the energy and resources of the Cuban American community would be unleashed. To this end, we have been sorely disappointed.

As a direct result of President Bush's strategic blunder in 2004 restricting contact with the island, Cuban dissidents have experienced a significant reduction in material and humanitarian assistance. They are also subject to a ban on receiving cash remittances that help them and their families survive. The isolation of these and other Cubans has increased while Fidel Castro's departure from office caught the Bush administration off guard. Together, these developments have helped Raúl Castro consolidate control over the Cuban people.

These failures in U.S. policy undermine important American interests. Just as a democratic Israel is a key U.S. friend in a critical region, a democratic Cuba would be a crucial ally in furthering democracy in Latin America. Cuba is important, also, because the dissatisfaction of its people under the Castro regime is bound to have a significant effect on Floridians and Cuban Americans nationwide. It has in the past.

I would agree with him on all of his points. However I wonder if this is not merely a politically expedient soliloquy in a changing wind. The Florida Cuban lobby has been so strident, monolithic and well totally Republican, and now they are willing to sell their wares to the other side, if certain conditions are met. Sounds like they are asking to be wooed from the title and tenor of the piece. 

Great to finally have you guys on the team, Jorge.