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Are Cuban Americans Switching Party Lines?
By the DiversityInc staff
July 10, 2008
Keywords: Obama, McCain, Latino,
Republican, Democratic, Castro, anti-Castro, Cuban Americans, Bush, economy, gas
prices, Cuba
While the Latino vote as a whole may
be unpredictable, the Republican Party has traditionally had a solid hold on the
Cuban-American vote. Now there are signs that hold may be slipping, according to
NPR. In south Florida, Democrats are seriously challenging
three GOP Cuban-American congressional incumbents. The biggest battle is being
fought in the 21st Congressional District, where eight-term incumbent Republican
Lincoln Diaz-Balart is up against Democrat
Raul Martinez, mayor of Hialeah, which has a vibrant Cuban-American
community.
Historically, the GOP hold on Cuban
Americans is based on the party's animosity toward Fidel Castro. From his
attempt to prevent 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez from being sent back to Cuba to
his support for the Cuban trade embargo, Diaz-Balart has a strong reputation for
being anti-Castro. But like the rest of the country, Cuban Americans are also
concerned with the economy and gas prices, possibly giving Democrats an edge.
For the first time in years, the Democratic Party has higher numbers of
registered Latinos than Republicans do in Florida. Martinez's support of lifting the restrictions on travel
and remittances to Cuba, which were put in place by the
Bush administration in 2004, has opened the eyes of Cuban Americans to the
possibility of voting Democratic. What could this mean for Obama and McCain on
the road to Election Day?
Read and listen to the full NPR
story here.
Readers' Comments
Posted: Friday, Jul 11, 2008
Are Cuban Americans Switching Party Lines?
Cuban-Americans associated with the Republican party need to get over their anti-Castro phobia as does this U.S. government. The Bush administration's support of this silly near 50-year embargo against Cuba is stupid and has gained nothing. The embargo has only hurt the Cuban people. Castro is still living well while the helpless and poor Cuban people continue to suffer. It's the same with all such sanctions against regimes our wacky and out of touch government doesn't like. The Bush Boys Gone Wild are the real regime. Let's grow up. Start to help Cuba. Castro is of a bygone era and Cuba will change. The next U.S. president will have no choice but to deal differently with Cuba. Cuban-American's hatred of Castro does nothing to help their own families left there. An absolutely stupid position to maintain. Vote Democratic. Give up on the Republican party. It has failed you and your loved ones as well as this nation and the world. I've been to Cuba and the lovely people there deserve so much more from all Americans than they get. Castro is not the problem. Crazy George W. Bush and the Republican party is.
Victor Marshand Webb
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