Debbie Wasserman Schultz and buddy Lincoln Diaz-Balart oppose lifting travel ban to Cuba.

[seafan]

Cuba travel bill faces opposition in House

By Alexia Campbell
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

February 23, 2009

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Nine members of the U.S. House recently filed a bill that would allow Americans to travel freely to Cuba for the first time in 46 years. But pro-embargo forces in Congress are poised to block it.

It happens every year, said Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, and every year embargo supporters kill similar bills before they get any traction. Even with Democrats in the majority , Diaz-Balart says enough bipartisan opposition has been recruited to stop the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act at the committee level.

"While we recognize that these are fights that take place, we have great confidence that we'll defeat them," said Diaz-Balart, a longtime advocate of U.S. sanctions against the communist nation.

He and other Florida leaders, such as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, have reached out to new members of Congress on the issue. They've found allies, he said, but would not reveal their names.

Now the bill awaits consideration from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where ranking member Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, has maintained a tough stance toward the Castro government.

The bill would also lift limits on travel by Cuban exiles living in the United States. It would prevent the president from regulating travel to the island in the absence of an armed conflict or imminent danger.

President George W. Bush was a sure veto in past sessions, but sponsors think this year will be different. President Barack Obama has called for easing some travel restrictions to the island.

"If we want to hasten democratic reform in Cuba, we need a new approach," said Matthew Specht, spokesman for Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who co-sponsored the bill.

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Let's highlight the above passage again:


"Even with Democrats in the majority , Diaz-Balart says enough bipartisan opposition has been recruited to stop the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act at the committee level."

And right here is Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, assisting her Republican friends, every step of the way.




BUT, let's don't forget: Debbie Wasserman Schultz refused to help local Democratic challengers run against the Republican "Terrible Trio" of Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in 2008.

Rep. Debbie "It's Too Sensitive For Me" Wasserman Schultz was co-chair of the Democratic Red To Blue Committee, tasked to elect Democrats in Republican districts. Because of her close friendships with these three Miami Republicans, she abrogated her responsibility to Democrats, including her own constituents.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5236403">National bloggers, local Democrats tear into Wasserman Schultz, March 24, 2008



Excerpt:

Wasserman Schultz is a co-chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red-to-Blue program, whose sole purpose is to replace Republican members of Congress with Democrats. But she has said she can't risk the consequences if she publicly works against U.S. Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen — and they end up getting re-elected.
"It's too sensitive for me," she said on the WPLG-Ch. 10 program This Week in South Florida with Michael Putney. A member of Congress assigned to help South Florida's Democratic challengers "just can't be me, because if I have to continue to serve with my colleagues after the election, I think I'll have done damage to our ability to work together."

We have long memories, Representative Wasserman Schultz.


Here is a fine development, just announced today:


'Accountability Now': Bloggers and Progressive Groups Plan to Challenge Elected Dems, February 26, 2009

Some of the most prominent names in progressive politics launched a major new organization on Thursday dedicated to pinpointing and aiding primary challenges against incumbent Democrats who are viewed as acting against their constituents' interests.

Accountability Now PAC will officially be based in Washington D.C., though its influence is designed to be felt in congressional districts across the country. The group will adopt an aggressive approach to pushing the Democratic Party in a progressive direction; it will actively target, raise funds, poll and campaign for primary challengers to members who are either ethically or politically out-of-touch with their voters.

The goal, officials with the organization say, is to start with 25 potential races and dwindle it down to eight or 10; ultimately spending hundreds of thousands on elections that usually wouldn't be touched.

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