Hispanic Support For Bush May Be Weakening

[West Coast Democrat]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&e=2&u=/ap/20040607/ap_on_el_pr/florida_hispanics

MIAMI - President Bush's policies toward Fidel Castro's regime and the war in Iraq are threatening to fray traditionally solid Republican ties to Cuban-American voters, the largest segment of Florida's fast-growing Hispanic community.


In 2000, Bush won Florida by a mere 537 votes, but his advantage among Cubans was about 4-to-1. Non-Cuban Hispanics tend to vote Democratic and are flocking to the state. On Nov. 2, the key to Florida — the decisive swing state four years ago — could well be this disparate Hispanic vote.

snip

South Florida's Cuban-American community of about 600,000 is divided over the Bush administration's policies, with some hard-line exiles complaining that Bush has failed to take a tougher stance against Castro. A younger generation of Cubans who were born in the United States — or raised here most of their lives — are more likely to support engagement with Cuba. They are not knee-jerk Republicans like their parents.

snip


"The war in Iraq is no good," says Emelio G. Faroy, sipping a high-octane cup of Cuban coffee. Each election finds this lifelong Republican more open to Democrats.

[Vogon_Glory]

1. Why Should Thoughtful Conservative Cuban Exiles Vote For Dubya?

Why should thoughtful conservative Cuban exiles be fool enough to vote for George UU Bush? It's not like his present and future policies would be that helpful to Cuba even if Fidel leaves the scene.

Do conservative Cubans really think that tightening the economic sanctions against individual Cubans and their families is really going to drum up support for anti-Castro Cubans. Even gringos like me doubt that.

Do conservative Cubans think that still more US measures against Cuba are going to sway the European Union to join in, especially with Dubya doing so much to alienate the US' former European allies in other areas? Somehow I doubt that.

In the event that Fidel's successors implement genuine economic liberalization, repeal the 1968 "intensification" and hand back some private properties to those Cuban exile capitalists willing to work with the Cuban government, do Cuban exiles think that their right-wing US buddies will make special exceptions in their anti-foreign aid rhetoric, particularly when the US' own federal budget deficit nears a half trillion dollars a year? I suspect that all but a few dullards and fossils can see better than that.

[AlecBGreen]

2. why should ANYONE vote for Dubya?

his Mom, OK, I can see that...but seriously who else should vote for this failure

[Vogon_Glory]

3. Those Who Would Vote for Dubya

Who would vote for George UU Bush? Very wealthy, well-connected Americans who stand to make a fortune out of sweetheart deals for natural resources from US National Forests and BLM lands who have the good sense to put their profits into Euro-denominated accounts, not dollar ones. That sort of person, the sort of person who thinks (If not actually says out loud) that "I've got mine and you can drop dead for all I care," is the sort who could happily vote for the likes of Dubya without worrying that his or her toes will get stepped on.