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Trouble
in Florida
The
Washington Times, August
12, 2003.
Relations continue to sour between the Bush
administration and Cuban-Americans in South Florida,
who voted overwhelmingly for George W. Bush in
2000.
Yesterday, a group of Florida Republican state
representatives were expected to send a letter
to the White House warning of political repercussions
unless the administration adopts a tougher Cuba
policy, the Miami Herald reports.
The letter "echoes demands expressed recently
by other Cuban-Americans: revise current migration
policy; indict Fidel Castro for the Brothers to
the Rescue shoot-down; ensure that TV Marti is
seen by people in Cuba; and increased assistance
to dissidents on the island," Herald reporter
Oscar Corral writes.
The letter, signed by 13 members of the state's
Republican Hispanic Caucus, said in part: "We
feel it is our responsibility as elected officials
to inform you that unless substantial progress
on the above-mentioned issues occurs rapidly,
we fear the historic and intense support from
Cuban-American voters for Republican federal candidates,
including yourself, will be jeopardized."
Igniting anger among Cuban-Americans was the
administration's decision last month to repatriate
12 Cubans who had hijacked a boat to Florida.
The Castro regime promised not to execute the
hijackers and to limit sentences to 10 years.
Trouble in Florida II
Otto Reich, a top U.S. official for the Western
Hemisphere, was dispatched to South Florida last
week to try to tamp down growing anger among Cuban-Americans
over the repatriation of 12 Cubans who hijacked
a boat to reach American shores.
But Mr. Reich's mission went awry when, in an
interview on WSCV-Telemundo 51, he explained that
Cubans need to be screened like other immigrants
to avoid opening the United States to criminals
and terrorists.
"What would Dade County do with a million
more Cubans who don't speak English, who haven't
been well-educated, that have lived under a totalitarian
government where values don't exist, moral or
economic ... ?" Mr. Reich asked.
The Miami Herald reports that interviewer Juan
Manuel Cao, who like Mr. Reich was born in Cuba,
appeared startled and asked, "Are we that
bad?"
The Reich statements "became talk-show
fodder and ruffled feathers here," the Herald
said.
Biden bows out
Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. yesterday
ended speculation about his White House aspirations,
saying he has decided not to seek the Democratic
nomination for president.
In a prepared statement, Mr. Biden he is "deeply
concerned" that the United States is "heading
in the wrong direction at home and abroad,"
but that he believes he can best shape public
policy as a senator, rather than as a presidential
candidate, the Associated Press reports.
"At this late date, everything would have
to fall perfectly into place and I would have
to put on hold what influence I have in the United
States Senate in pursuit of what is now too much
of a long shot," said Mr. Biden, re-elected
last year to a sixth term in the Senate.
"Ultimately, a decision of this nature
is intensely personal, and my experiences have
taught me under such circumstances to follow my
own instincts," Mr. Biden added. "At
this moment, my instincts tell me that the best
way for me to work to enhance America's national
security and to fight for economic security for
the middle class is to remain in the United States
Senate. From there, I will also attempt to influence
the positions taken by my party's nominee on these
issues."
Mr. Biden entered the 1988 presidential race,
but quit in September 1987 after his campaign
was rocked by charges of plagiarism in some of
his speeches and false claims about his academic
achievements.
Schumer's 'glass jaw'
"A controversial new poll has found front-running
Democratic U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer vulnerable
to defeat next year - but only if his opponent
rips him as anti-Catholic," the New York
Post's Fredric U. Dicker writes.
"The still-secret poll of 600 registered
voters - conducted by nationally prominent Republican
pollster John McLaughlin for the [New York] Conservative
Party - found Schumer would easily win a second
six-year term if the election were held today,"
Mr. Dicker said.
"But the poll, part of which was obtained
by The Post, also found that Schumer, who is Jewish,
is vulnerable if his opponent says Schumer is
an anti-Catholic who uses his power on the Senate
Judiciary Committee to block judges who hold traditional
Catholic views.
" 'It turns out Schumer has a glass jaw
on this issue,' said Conservative Party Chairman
Michael Long, one of Gov. [George E.] Pataki's
most important political allies. 'I just hope
we can find a candidate who will be willing to
stick it in his eye.' "
Too many forums
"Jay Parmley is looking forward to hosting
seven '04 Dems at Oklahoma State University on
Tuesday," CNN political editor John Mercurio
wrote yesterday in the Morning Grind, a daily
e-mail newsletter. "But the plain-spoken
chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party spoke
plainly about the embarrassment of riches party
activists are enjoying this year.
" 'There are just too many forums,' Parmley
told the Grind.
"Indeed, nothing could be more true this
week as Democrats prepare for five joint appearances
in five days, an unprecedented schedule of get-togethers
that will take them into three states, limit their
fund-raising call hours and expose them to a wide
swath of interest groups - most notably, organized
labor," Mr. Mercurio said.
Seven Democratic presidential candidates were
scheduled to be in Philadelphia last evening for
a forum sponsored by the Sheet Metal Workers International
Association.
Today, "everyone except [Sens. Bob] Graham
and John Kerry will travel to OSU for what Parmley
insisted will be his state's only candidate forum
this year. Graham and Kerry will both be in Iowa
on Tuesday," Mr. Mercurio said.
"The fun continues Wednesday when most
Democrats are planning to participate in an event
organized by Iowa labor officials. On Thursday,
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will host a health care
forum at Drake University in Des Moines. Rounding
out the week, the Linn County chapter of the Teamsters
is sponsoring an event Friday in Cedar Rapids."
Too many forums II
Fred Greenstein, a presidential leadership scholar
at Princeton University, tells USA Today that
the nine Democratic presidential candidates are
being forced to attend too many joint appearances
before special-interest groups.
"The candidates are running around like
conditioned rats in some psychologist's maze,"
Mr. Greenstein said. "You're in danger of
trivializing yourself at these forums and simply
wearing yourself down. It's a strange incestuous
game with a lot of opportunities for error."
Five such forums were scheduled for this week.
Said reporter Jill Lawrence: "Democrats
learned a harsh lesson last month when NAACP President
Kweisi Mfume condemned missing candidates as "persona
non grata" with no right to expect black
votes. The three absentees hastily arranged to
show up later in the week and fell over one another
pledging fealty to civil rights causes.
"That same week, most candidates showed
up at the Human Rights Campaign to stress their
gay rights credentials. Last week, they vied for
labor support from the AFL-CIO; this week, they
have three more labor gigs and, on Thursday, a
health care grilling by Iowa doctors, nurses and
administrators. Coming up: Six debates sanctioned
by the Democratic National Committee."
Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285
or gpierce@washingtontimes.com.
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