Fidel Castro officially retired today, leaving his brother Raúl in charge of Cuban affairs. Steve Clemons has some thoughts on what it could mean for the American elections. As he notes, Obama’s position on Cuba has been superior to Clinton’s for some time. The U.S. should take this opportunity to offer an olive branch to Cuba by lifting all travel restrictions to and from Cuba. The lifting of all other sanctions can be negotiated out in short order if Cuba is willing to meet a couple of demands (release of its political prisoners, for example).
The Bush administration could actually score a lasting foreign policy success story by declaring our war with Cuba over. Will they ever do anything right? If not, concern over the Miami vote could turn Cuba into a hot potato issue in the presidential campaign. But, for once, the Cuban vote is split and the Dems are showing new boldness in South Florida:
Annette Taddeo, a Colombia-born business executive, told The Miami Herald Saturday she will challenge Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for her seat in the U.S. Congress.
”I think voters are hungry for new leadership and they have a chance to change the Bush-Lehtinen approach, which has obviously failed us,” said Taddeo, 40. “I’m confident the voters will choose a new direction and that I will win.”
Taddeo’s move adds the last piece to a high-stakes Democratic Party election-year strategy to unseat the three incumbent South Florida Republican Cuban-American lawmakers: Lincoln Diaz-Balart, his brother Mario and Ros-Lehtinen.
Raul Martinez, the former Hialeah mayor, announced his candidacy against Lincoln Diaz-Balart on Jan. 22; Joe Garcia, the Miami-Dade Democratic Party chairman and Cuban-American National Foundation member, announced his run against Mario Diaz-Balart last week.
Taddeo’s bid is a long shot. She has never run for office and is going against a well-funded congressional leader with a recognized ”brand-name” — the first Cuban American and first Hispanic woman in Congress.
”Democrats are testing their hypothesis that there may be a shift happening in the Cuban community, and overall Democrats are trying to put as many House races in play as possible across the country,” said Nathan Gonzales, political editor for the prestigious Rothenberg Political Report in Washington. “But Ms. Taddeo is still a long way from proving that this is even a second-tier race.”
Taddeo is undaunted. In a telephone interview, she said South Florida voters “are yearning for change.”
That is three Cuban Republican congressional seats the Dems are challenging, and we can win all three of them.
