GOP Candidates on Cuba

From our Florida correspondent, Kirk Nielsen:

With the four main contenders for the Republican presidential nomination all vying for Florida’s crucial Cuban-American voters, each is looking for a way to distinguish himself. All of them have bashed Fidel Castro and Cuba’s dictatorial system. But even Democratic candidates have done that.

Rudy Giuliani has distinguished himself by supporting calls for federal indictments of Fidel and Raul Castro for the shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996 as they flew over international waters, resulting in the deaths of four anti-Castro activists. This would represent a departure from Bush Administration’s stance. Giuliani has logged more appearances in Miami’s Cuban-American sectors than any of rivals; earlier this month he made stops in Hialeah and Little Havana while his rivals concentrated on earlier primary states.

Beyond the indictment, Giuliani’s Cuba policy platform relies on his claims to having a long-standing loyalty to the anti-Castro cause. He repeatedly cites the same two examples. As New York mayor in 1995 he excluded Fidel Castro from the guest list of a dinner for international dignitaries attending 50th anniversary celebrations for the United Nations. And, a year later he supported changing the name of a street in front of UN headquarters to Brothers to the Rescue Avenue. Giuliani spent last week trying to rally non-Hispanic backers in central and northern Florida. He heads south again this week. Read more …

The Fidel Follies - Op Ed

The following is an excerpt from an op ed written by Manny González for this past Monday’s newsletter:

The Fidel Follies

By Manny González

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But when it comes to Republicans and Miami, it’s more a case of flaunting your escapades. Republican presidential candidates parade through the Magic City whispering sweet nothings to Cuban exiles and sternly repeating Fidel Castro is a naughty man. There’s no need for handlers to shape the message - just tell them what they want to hear.

No one exemplifies this craven Republican attitude better than Mike Huckabee, who went from holding a rational position against the Cuban embargo to passionately embracing it. What makes his political pandering so crass is that the circumstances which led him to take his previous stance have not changed one bit. As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee argued his state’s agricultural industry would benefit tremendously by selling its products to Cuba.

Read more …

New Pew Report on Hispanic Voters

Republican gains among Hispanic voters have eroded over the past year, according to a Pew Hispanic Center report issued today. A survey conducted for the “Hispanics and the 2008 Election: A Swing Vote?” report found 57 percent of Latino registered voters consider themselves Democrats or “lean” to the Democratic Party while 23 percent “align” with the Republican Party.

Most of the movement in this direction comes from those lean towards the Democrats without formally identifying themselves as members of the Democratic Party.

RNC Response to DNC’s Statement on Hispanics

Last week, Howard Dean issued a statement regarding Hispanic, which included the following:

“Today Democrats are building momentum across the country, and building stronger ties than ever with the Hispanic community. The Democratic Party shares the Hispanic community’s values centered on family, faith, and hard work, and our candidates offer the new direction the American people want.

Today, Hessy Fernandez who is the Republican National Committee’s Director of Hispanic Communications sent me the following statement in response:

“Actions speak louder than words, and the Democrat Party have failed to put forward accomplishments that resonate with Hispanic working families. The reality is that Democrats would say and do anything to win political points and will conveniently forget their promises. Hispanics will continue to reject their policies, which propose dramatic spending increases, massive government growth and higher taxes for hard working families and small businesses. On issue after issue the GOP and the Hispanic community share the same values and priorities”.

Republican Take On Last Week’s Elections

The Republican National Committee sent out the following article as an “In case you missed it”, which is a tactic used by almost every candidate and both parties to highlight what they consider favorable press coverage:

“Republicans lost the governorship of Kentucky and the state senate in Virginia last week. But the elections were not as bad as they looked for Republicans. Knocked down and trampled on by Democrats in 2006, Republicans are at least back on their feet in 2007. “

…

“Taking into account Republican Bobby Jindal’s election last month as governor of Louisiana and the strong (but losing) performance of Republican Jim Ogonowski in a special House election in a heavily Democratic district in Massachusetts, Republicans are in considerably better shape now than a year ago.”

Giuliani To Attend Univision Forum

According to campaign staff, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has agreed to participate in Univision’s Spanish-language Republican Presidential Candidate Forum to be held on December 9. This means the entire top tier of the Republican candidates will be in attendance.