Another bold Obama move: recognizing Cuba

Jubilant Republicans basking in their November win seem to have expected President Obama to bow to them as conquering heroes and do their bidding.    He's doing anything but that.   First, his bold executive action on deportations infuriated them -- but left them sputtering ineffectively with no real strategy to stop him that wouldn't backfire on them politically.

Now he has followed that with another bold move that begins a process of recognizing Cuba diplomatically for the first time in about 60 years -- or, as the president put it:   “Neither the American nor Cuban people are well-served by a rigid policy that took place before most of us were born."

The long process to normalizing relations began with an exchange of prisoners and will proceed with "steps to increase travel, commerce and the flow of information to and from Cuba."   In addition, following a 45 minute telephone conversation with Cuban President Raul Castro, Mr. Obama said that he is instructing Secretary of State John Kerry to begin discussions to re-establish diplomatic relations.

Lifting the embargo, however, will require an act of congress, which put it into law in 1996.   A Republican controlled congress is unlikely to do that -- even though it is now desired by a slight majority even of Cuban-Americans.    The older ones still oppose it, but younger ones overwhelmingly favor normalizing relations.

The Anti-Castro Cuban and Cuban-Americans have used their considerable political power to resist just such a move for decades.    Sen. Marco Rubio criticized the actions, calling the prisoner exchange "a very dangerous precedent" and the normalization of relations "absurd."  Rubio added that "This is going to do absolutely nothing to further human rights and democracy in Cuba . . . .  but it potentially goes a long way in providing the economic lift that the Castro regime needs to become permanent fixtures in Cuba for generations to come."

I wonder how Rubio differentiates that from the fact that the Castro regime has been a permanent fixture in Cuba for several generations already.   Nothing we have done seems to have changed that, and I have heard no plan from Rubio that is likely to do so.  Rubio is big on bluster, calling the president's foreign policy "not just naive, but willfully ignorant of the way the world truly works."

The question for Rubio is:   Why would you expect the same policy that we have pursued -- without results -- for more than 50 years to suddenly bring results? 

Perhaps embarking on a new pathway of cooperation and friendship, as well as ending our economic, trade, and travel boycott, might help the Cuban people more than what the anti-Castro crowd has touted over the past 50 years.   If it hasn't worked in 50 years, why would another 5 or 10 be different?

By opening relations, we might even learn something about how they have developed an enviable medical care system that provides free medical care for all its citizens -- and trains so many doctors that they are now exporting doctors to other nations in Latin America and Africa.    Their medical care system outperforms our vaunted "best in the world" medical system on some important measures, including infant and maternal mortality and other preventive medicine practices.

This normalization would have happened long ago if it were not for the powerful anti-Castro lobby that has primarily supported Republicans and negatively impacted any efforts to re-establish relations.   But they have become less powerful with each generation removed from the 1950s when many Cubans fled their homeland for the U.S.

This new move by Obama was aided by the Canadian government and by Pope Francis, who wrote to both presidents Obama and Castro, encouraging them to deal with the American prisoner situation.

Sen. Rubio has it backwards.   It's time for him to recognize the reality on the ground in Cuba.    It can only benefit the Cuban people to open up to tourists and trade.    Take a lesson from China.

Bravo to President Obama for another bold action.

Ralph