La. GOP attacks Blanco for Castro talks
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/031305/new_gop001.shtmlOthers defend governor, call meeting nonpolitical, cite lack of objection from U.S. officials
By MARSHA SHULER
mshuler@theadvocate.com
Capitol news bureau
The Bush White House has called upon the state Republican Party to condemn Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco's meeting with Cuban President Fidel Castro, party chairman Roger Villere said Saturday. Villere said the party is more than willing to oblige as he and others criticized Blanco for meeting with the Communist leader during a trade mission to Cuba last week.
"The State Department and the White House have requested we take a position," Villere said. "That was an insult to our foreign policy and to the president of the United States.
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Meanwhile, a Republican legislator who was among those dining with Castro said he doubts Villere's assertion of White House involvement in a move to rebuke Blanco for meeting with Castro.
"I would find that hard to believe," said state Sen. Robert Barham, R-Oak Ridge, a farmer and Bush supporter who also met with Castro. "If I had received any indication they didn't want me to go for some reason, I wouldn't have."
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