Making Martyrs Out of Molehills

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of State awarded the Cuban "opposition" group Las damas de blanco the Human Rights Defender Award for "exceptional valor and leadership in advocating the protection of human rights and democracy in the face of government repression." as AFP reports.

Once again, Cuban "dissidents" are being glorified in order to demonize the Cuban government. What do these-- horse and pony shows-- award ceremonies do to actually improve U.S.-Cuba relations? Rather, it feels like this award is just an active slap in the face of the Cubans. Maybe the State Department could focus on re-vamping it's USAID program instead???

You can read the full text and watch video from the ceremony here.

High Stakes: Cuba Policy versus the DNC; Which will reign?

As reported in recent news , U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-20) has been selected to chair the Democratic National Committee. While her selection is in many ways a smart choice for the Democratic Party, considering her expertise in fundraising and television, it is perhaps most important because Wasserman Schultz represents the 20^th district in a very crucial swing state, Florida.

Florida, Florida, Florida…This state is infamous for its role in Presidential elections and, I may also contend, in dominating U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba. That being said, what might this new selection mean for Cuba policy? Since the DNC serves as the leadership of the U.S. Democratic Party, it goes without saying that the DNC Chair has open access to the White House and, furthermore, to President Obama.

The selection of Wasserman Schultz is perplexing in the Cuba policy world for a few reasons. Being a representative of South Florida, she has taken on an aggressive hard-line, pro-embargo stance towards Cuba, a position normally espoused by South Florida Republican members. Her friendship with the Miami Republicans blew up in controversy during the 2008 election when, as the co-chair of the Red-to-Blue program sponsored by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, she refused to support Democratic candidates that might oust the face of the Cuban-American hardliners: Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and Mario Diaz-Balart.

In 2008, President Obama campaigned on a platform to “keep our enemies closer,” which many translated into a more open, re-strategizing policy towards Cuba. Not only did he win Florida without winning a majority of the Cuban-American vote (after he bucked it), he went on to take humanitarian steps to open up travel for Cuban-American families, and more recently liberalize licensed travel regulations to the island. So while the Obama Administration has taken some measured steps toward engaging with Cuba, the new DNC chair has a history of falling in line with the opposition. Many that chant “maintain the status quo” have already voiced support for Obama’s selection of Wasserman Schultz as an “outstanding choice,” according to The Miami Herald Blog. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but if you have a number of staunch Republicans applauding the nomination of the chair of your party, I’d be a tad concerned. I’d assume that Wasserman Schultz will have to place more attention on her role as chair of the DNC and campaigning for and representing her President and her party. Hopefully now her dedication towards blocking a change in a failed 50-year-old policy towards Cuba may fall to the wayside. Perhaps the President’s more forward-looking position will rub off on Rep. Wasserman Schultz, rather than the other way around. One can only hope. While that thought is highly optimistic, I’d like to think that President Obama knows something I don’t. Now, we’ll just have to wait and see.