Dodd favors free travel to Cuba

[Say_What]

<clips>

Presidential candidate's views, voiced in 2000, are unchanged

By Progreso Weekly staff

Connecticut Senator Christopher J. Dodd officially declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States on Thursday, Jan. 11.

Dodd, who will be 62 on May 27, has served in the U.S. Senate since 1981, and as Connecticut's 2nd District representative in the U.S. House for three terms prior to that. He speaks fluent Spanish, having served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1968.

His attitude toward U.S. policy toward Cuba can best be gleaned from the following excerpts from a letter he sent to President Bush on Oct. 6, 2000, complaining about restrictions in the sale of food and medicine to Cuba, as well as in travel to the island. To date, Senator Dodd has not retracted the feelings he expressed herein.

Restrictions are shameful

“Mr. President: <...> The codification of existing travel restrictions on Americans wishing to travel to Cuba <...> is shameful and irresponsible. <...> Cuban-Americans who want to keep in touch with family members in Cuba are going to be extremely critical of the fact that their ability to visit loved ones is now frozen in statute.

“I would say to the authors of this provision that they are kidding themselves if they think that this is going to stop Cuban-Americans who wish to visit family or friends several times a year from doing so. Sadly, we are only going to encourage otherwise law abiding individuals to break the law. <...>

“The advocates of ‘tightening the screws’ on Castro are always quick to say that they hold no ill will against the Cuban people. Yet I somehow suspect that the residents of Havana or Santiago de Cuba will not be applauding our recent actions in Washington. <...>

“Very little we do in Washington with respect to Cuba has anything to do with winning the hearts and minds of the Cuban people. Rather, it is about attempting to win the hearts and votes of the residents of Little Havana -- hardly a wise or moral way to make policy decisions.

http://www.progresoweekly.com/index.php?progreso=progreso&otherweek=1169100000

[aquart]

1. Zogby just asked me about that.

I say open the travel. (With all the horrible things that BushCo has done to the travel and tourist industries, is this one little sop too much to ask?)

[roody]

2. We need to hear a lot more of this.

This will get my vote, if the candidate is against the war of course.

[BayCityProgressive]

3. Kerry was

open to travel too...until he ran for president..then he found some excuse to be against it. All of the candidates will be against it to win florida...sad but true..