[NYTr] Albor Ruiz: Hillary and Rudy Share Tired View on Cuba Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:37:20 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Fidel Castro likens Hillary Clinton's view with Barack Obama's, and so does Gannett's DeWayne Wickham (in contrast to Christopher Dodd's). Now Albor Ruiz has compared Hillary's views with those of Rudy Giuliani and gives Obama barely a pass by calling his travel-right proposal "modest," but at least in the right direction. Hillary smells worse with every passing day, whether it's because of her union-busting adviser, her disgraceful positions on Iraq and Iran, her corporate ties to the health-care industry or, now, Cuba.-NYTr] The New York Sunday News - Aug 26, 2007 http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/2007/08/26/2007-08-26_hillary_and_rudy_share_tired_view_on_cub.html?ref=rss Hillary and Rudy share tired view on Cuba policy Surprising as it may be, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, New York's own presidential contenders, have something in common: Both support policies on Cuba that have failed for 46 years. Any reasonable person would ask why would these two seasoned politicians back measures such as a trade embargo and a travel ban that for nearly half a century have done nothing to change the Communist regime but much to make life difficult for the people of Cuba they are supposed to help? "Rudy Giuliani believes America must stand ready to help the Cuban people reclaim their freedom, but decreasing sanctions on Cuba will only serve to boost the Castro regime," said a campaign statement. "She [Clinton] supports the embargo and our current policy toward Cuba, and until it is clear what type of political winds may come with a new government - if there is a new government - we cannot talk about changes to U.S. policy," said a Clinton campaign spokeswoman. But if you are looking for the real answer as to why they support Bush's position on Cuba, forget all the grandiose statements and self-serving platitudes. The real reason is much more pedestrian: Both Clinton and Giuliani are avidly pursuing the swing vote and the deep pockets of the South Florida Cuban-American voters. Pandering, after all, is a bipartisan art. Yet both candidates may be barking up the wrong tree. Every recent poll shows that a majority of Cuban-Americans and a whopping two-thirds of all voters nationally agree that the current Cuba policy has failed. The travel restrictions imposed by President Bush distinguish themselves for their unnecessary cruelty and political shortsightedeness. They limit family visits to Cuba to once every three years instead of once a year. In addition, the spending limit for Cuban-Americans (it does not apply to any other visitor to the island) was reduced to $50 a day, down from $167. Also, the new sanctions limit remittances of money to $100 per month and only to "immediate" family members - no aunts, uncles or cousins. And to top it all, humanitarian travel - that is, a special trip to see a gravely ill relative or attend the funeral of a loved one - also is prohibited. All in the name of freedom and human rights. The sanctions are not only cruel, they are bizarre: Cuba is the only country Americans are forbidden to visit. Yet after 46 years of a failed trade embargo, no one in their right mind can really believe that they will advance democracy in the island. THE CHANGE in mood about Cuba among voters has not escaped another prominent Democratic presidential hopeful, Barack Obama. He has proposed a number of changes in the way Washington approaches the Cuban revolution that, despite their modesty, make a lot of sense. In an opinion column that ran in the Miami Herald last Tuesday, the Illinois senator called President Bush's policy a "strategic blundering when it comes to advancing the cause of freedom and democracy in Cuba." Obama would allow Cuban-Americans to visit Cuba and send financial support to their families as often as they want to. According to him, that would help bring democratic change in Cuba. One thing is certain: After half a century of failure, we need a new approach to our relations with Cuba. And lifting the draconian family travel restrictions is a great way to start changing the anachronistic policies now in place. * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================