Sen. Menendez has fit after Jeff Flake jokes about Spring Breakers going to Havana

[flamingdem]

** Menendez - Cuban-American-Whiner


An Arizona Senator’s joke that allowing U.S. spring break revelers to travel to Cuba would amount to a real “get-tough” policy against the Castro government drew a stinging rebuke from Cuban American Sen. Bob Menendez.

“I had no intention of raising it, but, you know, to suggest that spring break is a form of — a form of torture to the Castro regime — unfortunately, they are experts about torture,” Menendez said as he closed a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Earlier in the hearing Thursday to confirm Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as secretary of state, Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican and long-time advocate of normalizing relations with Cuba, had cracked a joke about the best way to deal with the communist government.

“The best way to foster change and progress toward democracy is to allow travel, free travel of Americans, to let them go as they wish,” he said. “In fact, I’ve often felt that if we want a real get-tough policy with the Castro brothers, we should force them to deal with spring break once or twice.”

Flake said he favors fully open travel to Cuba.
“I don’t think that that’s a weakness or any capitulation at all,” he said. “I think it’s a way to show strength.”
The idea that bikini-clad and drunken college kids on spring breaks might push Cuba’s 54-year-old dictatorship toward democracy drew laughter in the chamber but angered Menendez, who is all but certain to succeeded Kerry as committee chairman.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/25/v-print/3201046/cuban-american-senator-didnt-think.html#storylink=cpy

[bluestateguy]

1. I'm with Flake

It's time to end the Cold War era embargo, open up travel (the government has no business telling us we can't vacation in Cuba) and open up their markets to us (including the cigars).

[Still Sensible]

2. Even on the rare issue where Flake's position

is not bat-shit crazy, he makes his point in the crudest way posible. On the other 99% of the issues he's just crude and bat-shit, bug-fuck nuts.

[flamingdem]

4. Is opening to Cuba his only plus?

I guess he's a Libertarian and all that. I actually met him in Havana ten years ago. He looked awfully happy to be there, I was hanging out with a group of press when his bus pulled up and he looked at me with raised eyebrows. He could tell I was an American and I just said "hi Senator!".

[Judi Lynn]

6. I'll bet Flake was trying to figure out if you were there legally or not!

It was interesting hearing you were there at the same time he was. What are the chances? It's also interesting knowing he goes there, himself.

I've been aware he's been hot to end the travel ban, etc. for over 12 years. I started trying to understand what could be his motivation, then thought perhaps it has something to do with BIG TIME developers exactly like the ones who've created all the restirement communities in Arizona. I've thought privately he just might have one of the, like Del Webb, Sun City, standing behind him while he tries to break through and open Cuba to giant developements for retirees, wanting to be the first one in line.

Hope he fails!

[flamingdem]

7. I just checked and it was in 2006

I saw a group of reporters who seemed excited about something so I chatted with them and waited quite a while after finding out a US delegation was about to arrive to the National Hotel. It was Flake and William Delahunt and a support staff bus load of people arriving from the airport for a press conference. I remember that I had a baseball cap and blue jeans on, and a woman in a baseball cap was still kind of unusual in Cuba, it's wasn't considered fashionable! That plus other details and Flake picked up on it and I'm sure he was wondering what I was doing there -- it was after Bush shut travel down again. I almost said something about that but he moved on. I'm glad that Flake continues to push on this issue but he hasn't been very effective so far.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/15/AR2006121501214.html


U.S. Delegation Seeks Ties With Cuba

By ANITA SNOW
The Associated Press
Friday, December 15, 2006; 3:51 PM

HAVANA -- A delegation of American lawmakers sought improved diplomatic and economic ties with Cuba on Friday, anticipating leadership changes in Havana and on Capitol Hill.

Ten U.S. congressmen were expected to discuss the possibility of easing U.S. trade and travel sanctions in meetings with Communist officials. They also scheduled talks with Cuba's Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega, as well as foreign diplomats, during their trip, which ends Sunday.

Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, and William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, led the group _ said to be the largest congressional delegation to visit the island since the 1959 Cuban revolution. Both legislators advocate ending decades-old trade and travel sanctions against Cuba.

"This certainly seems like a good time to move ahead," Flake said. "I think that there is more momentum to move ahead than we have had in a while."

[TwilightGardener]

3. No fan of the Flake, but a light-hearted quip shouldn't have turned into Mendendez

pontificating.

[flamingdem]

5. I think we're going to hear it over and over

like a broken record because he knows that Americans don't agree but he can lay a guilt trip that is just pure annoyance and slows the process.

[Mika]

8. Despite the FACT that people from ALL OVER THE WORLD visit Cuba ....

... that somehow Americans possess some magical "special" quality of bringing "freedom" to to any nation is fucking laughable. Flake is a nutcase.
While I agree that we should drop sanctions on Cuba, Cuba should and will change on its own terms.
It's called sovereignty.



[hr]

| | | | |

[flamingdem]

9. I used to worry about the influx of Americans

but the Cuban attitude is "bring it on!". Precisely as you say we're just like other tourists and they'd welcome the numbers, we're not going to bring "freedom" any more than that Ugly American did in the 50s.

One thing is notable however, Cubans in tourism are aware that Americans are generally good tippers, so that should be a plus.