Marco Rubio’s fury over the Cuba shift shows why Obama made the right move

[babylonsister]

#whatamoran


http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2014/12/17/42ead216-8632-11e4-b9b7-b8632ae73d25_story.html

Marco Rubio’s fury over the Cuba shift shows why Obama made the right move

By Dana Milbank Opinion writer
December 17 at 8:13 PM


snip//

Rubio’s emotional — and at times inaccurate — response to the policy change shows why Obama’s move to normalize ties to Cuba after more than half a century is both good policy and good politics. It’s good policy because it jettisons a vestigial policy that has stopped serving a useful purpose, and because it is a gutsy move by Obama that demonstrates strong leadership and will help revive him from lame-duck status. It’s good politics because it will reveal that the Cuban American old guard, whose position Rubio represents, no longer speaks for most Cuban Americans.

snip//

Before appearing in the Senate TV studio, Rubio granted an interview to Fox News in which he said that “Barack Obama is the worst negotiator that we’ve had as president since at least Jimmy Carter.” That would be the Jimmy Carter who negotiated the still-successful Camp David accords. By the time the 43-year-old Rubio gave his news conference, he revised that line, calling Obama “the single worst negotiator we have had in the White House in my lifetime.”

But Rubio had more trouble when The Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe asked the Catholic lawmaker what he would say to Pope Francis, who intervened to encourage negotiations and to receive delegations from the two countries at the Vatican. “My understanding is that the influence that His Holiness had was on the release of [American Alan] Gross, which I’ve not criticized.”

A statement from the Vatican suggested its interest was broader than that, and the pope offered his “warm congratulations for the historic decision taken by the Governments of the United States of America and Cuba to establish diplomatic relations.”

The senator had a different view from the Holy Father. “In short, what these changes are going to do is they will tighten this regime’s grip on power for decades to come,” he said.

That’s the doctrine of senatorial infallibility, and it usually ends badly for its adherents.

[msanthrope]

1. Someone should give Marco a bottle of water. nt

[Faux pas]

2. lol

Too bad a bottle of water won't fix him.

[Cha]

5. lol.. 3 are this thread so far mentioned H20.

[treestar]

16. lol

"Life giving water," - the SNL skit!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. ...

[brush]

28. Hee hee. I forgot about that water bottle incident

And Rubio's political thermometer must be on the fritz because the winds seem to have changed with the younger generation of Cuban Americans.

Most of them favor normalized relations with Cuba.

I guess Rubio's backing has mostly come from the older, anti-Castro generation.

He's kinda on the wrong side of history with his stance, and he doesn't have much of a chance in the presidential primaries anyway, what with Jeb entering the race.

Not much room for two Floridians with just about identical positions. And guess who most repugs ( 99% white), will chose?

He's wasting his time.

[BeyondGeography]

3. This is MY issue! MINE, MINE, MINE!

[DawgHouse]

12. Exactly! Pres Obama stole his thunder! nt

[BlancheSplanchnik]

38. lol!

Seems so!

[Cha]

4. It hurts to read Rubio.. did anyone offer him water?

"It’s good policy because it jettisons a vestigial policy that has stopped serving a useful purpose, and because it is a gutsy move by Obama that demonstrates strong leadership and will help revive him from lame-duck status. It’s good politics because it will reveal that the Cuban American old guard, whose position Rubio represents, no longer speaks for most Cuban Americans.

Pres Obama is way past "lame duck status", though.. Mr Milbank.

Yes, the times they are a changin'..

Why the Cuba Issue No Longer Cuts Against Democrats in Florida

Just a snip//

"All of that changed over the past 10 years. The 2013 Pew survey showed that the Republican advantage among Cuban-Americans had dwindled to 3 percentage points, 47 to 44. The Florida exit poll in 2012 showed that Mr. Obama won the Cuban-American vote, 49 to 47 percent. Last month, the exit polling showed that Cuban-American voters supported the Democrat Charlie Crist, 50 to 46 percent, though he lost the governor’s race."

MOre
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/upshot/why-the-cuba-issue-no-longer-cuts-against-democrats-in-florida.html?abt=0002&abg=1

thanks babsis~

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. good read!

*mwah*

[Atman]

6. "My parents suffered a 35 minute plane flight -- IN COACH CLASS!"

"To escape the despotic Castro regime, only to end up in a beautiful house in Miami! It was a nightmare for us! We're still recovering, and now I have to work nearly 12 weeks out of the year just to feed my family off of my Government paycheck! Obama is a monster!"

[Fred Sanders]

10. "And I lied about my parents escaping the regime and then was outraged when someone caught my

lie." That arid Rubio still has the credibility to "grant an interview with Fox"?

[Atman]

11. "Grant" and interview? More like "begged for an interview."

It hit his prime target of low-information voters.

[Fred Sanders]

13. More like Fox summoned him as prearranged, then helped him edit his attack lines for later when

CNN and rest of the media were forced to invite him as the coronated voice of the right wing flat Earth Society's equal and reasonable position.

[KingCharlemagne]

7. If I were a Rovian-inspired ratfucker, I'd try to plant the idea

in Rubio's camp that Pope Francis is a "Communist sympathizer"!

Oh shit, amidst all the tragedy of Ferguson and Brooklyn and of CIA torture abroad, this little episode has so brightened my spirits!

[JEFF9K]

8. Interesting that he "doesn't care about the 99%!"

That should keep him in good standing with the Republican Party.

[BeyondGeography]

15. Jumps out at you, doesn't it?

He didn't have to go there; did it all by his lonesome. Like a trained dog.

[Fred Sanders]

9. The Pope connection is tripping up their preset talking points...no?

[Atman]

14. Jesus wouldn't have to build a raft to escape from Cuba.

He'd just walk across the Florida Strait.

[geretogo]

17. If the president was a blue eyed , blond haired , right wing Christian Rethuglicon they would be

parading him through NYC and praising him as the second coming of their profit Ronald jelly bean
Reagan on all the Corporate media .

[staggerleem]

19. The regime that Mr. Rubio finds so troubling ...

... is on it's way OUT! Fidel has mostly stepped down. Raul has, what, maybe 10 years left in him - 20 at the outside?

So what are our options? We can stay on the outside looking in, and have NO EFFECT on the Cuba's future, or we can open relations, establish trade relations and, perhaps, gain a bit of influence over who will steer their ship of state, and in which direction.

Do they EVER get tired of being SO wrong??

[napkinz]

20. ...

[lastlib]

22. THAT is HYSTERICAL!!!1!!

. . . . . . . .

[Texas Blues]

21. I love it!

I can't stand the crybabies here in Texas. This move was awesome, wish he could have done it before the election so we would have done better!

[Sancho]

23. Let's face it, Rubio is not the sharpest pencil in the box.

His stories are often full of mistakes, factually and logically. Now that he's gone against the Pope, he's off-base spiritually too.

[Thinkingabout]

24. Could it be marco wanted to be the one who broke open everything with Cuba.

[DonCoquixote]

25. It really is the best move

Especially if the GOP picks Jeb or Rubio.

If the GOP picks jeb or Rubio, it will be for one purpose, and one only, to make it easier to steal Florida. Rick Scott is Governor, and even though we know he wants the run for himself, he knows he can grab Jeb by the (censored) and make him pay up. However, by appealign to Modern Florida, it wuill make the Exiles come out and bare fangs, which will make people go to the polls. It will make the people sick of Marco Rubio get off their ass.

Of course, this is provided Hillary does not try to play and act tough on Cuba.

[MrModerate]

26. And a second political benefit . . .

Highlighting that not only is the Republican Party out of step with younger Cuban-Americans, they're out of step with everybody.

And they can be relied on to become hysterical for the wrong reasons and to trash valuable policy solely because it comes from Obama. None of these are attractive traits in a country's leadership.

And if Rubio was hoping to be number 2 on anyone else's ticket in 2016 (hold the scat jokes, please) he can kiss that chance goodbye.

[Kath1]

27. The times they are a changin'

Way overdue. Thank you, President Obama!

[HoosierCowboy]

29. Every time the President...

...can piss off the Rubios, Olmerts and Cruzes, it adds another badge to his legitimacy. Keep up the good work Mr. President. What would make the veins pop out on their temples the most?
Pardon Manning and Snowden just before he leaves office in 2016.

[samsingh]

30. If Obama had been like this his whole term, we would be in a stronger

political place and I think there would be a very strong level of support and approval for him.

there is no place for being timid in politics. people respond to guts and strength.

[IrishAyes]

37. Some of us recognize and respond to intelligence, which President Obama possesses x1M

unlike certain posters unable to make informed observations.

Those of the John Wayne/Putin style haven't a clue about real bravery. As my dad always said, beware the wrath of a patient man.

Of course he also said only a jackass answers every donkey that brays, so I think now that I've had my say, I'll pass on further statements.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

31. hashtag whatamoran....

Indeed!!!!

[IrishAyes]

36. It IS a classic, isn't it?

How I'd hate to achieve notoriety for such a faux pas.

(Not that I don't lay a bomb now and then myself; but I could never even match the MORAN guy.)

[czarjak]

32. Dear President Obama,

Pissing the right ones off. Keep up the good work.

[IrishAyes]

35. Amen to that.

[Cha]

33. Rubio the relic..

[IrishAyes]

34. Well, it's also highly likely to turn Florida blue

which is why the GOP's turning red in the face. Rubio's gone when his term ends.

As to all the GOP squawking and screeching over the ethics of renewing diplomatic ties with Cuba, I'll repeat the gist of an article where the writer said he could refute that complaint with 3 little words : MADE IN CHINA.

That's one reason some of those guys like Rubio and Boner are furious; the latter, at least, owns huge amounts of stocks in companies doing a land office Asian business. So much for human rights. I'd wager the Cubans have it better than the Chinese. Not that America's skirts are entirely clean either, what with the majority of us approving of torture and so many officials (elected and otherwise) lying about it?

Altogether it looks like the Repukes might be in for a few hard karmic lessons. I don't plan to waste sympathy on them.

[True Blue Door]

40. Enraging Republicans is a surefire way to calibrate one's moral compass.

If they aren't declaring jihad on you, you probably didn't do it right.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

41. Did I post here already...well.....if so,

It's worth saying again:

Great Read!!!!