Presidential candidates largely agree on Florida issues (all support embargo on Cuba)

[Mika]

Presidential candidates largely agree on Florida issues
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/jan/21/presidential-candidates-largely-agree-florida-issu/

(snips)

WEST PALM BEACH — It's easy for Florida voters to find out where the Republican presidential candidates stand on issues important to the state.

Whether it's the Everglades, offshore drilling, Cuba or the creation of a national catastrophe fund, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have all staked out positions.

But the state's Democrats are having a much harder time. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards are all boycotting the state because it moved its primary up to Jan. 29 in violation of national party rules. Not only are they not campaigning here, they are loath to answer most questions about the state.

Clinton and Obama both support the creation of a catastrophe insurance fund to help states deal with the aftermath of a disaster. Clinton, Obama and Edwards oppose offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, something Florida politicians have historically been against because of fears it will cause spills and pollution.

Climate change is also an issue important to Florida voters, given that the state is surrounded by water and highly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

The three candidates all support, in some way, funding for alternative energy research and production, tougher fuel efficiency standards and greenhouse gas reductions.

One major difference between the three top Democrats is their positions on U.S.-Cuba relations. The Cuban-exile vote is considered key to winning Florida. Top presidential candidates have generally followed the recommendations of the community's most hard-line leaders, who support a full embargo against Fidel Castro's government.

But many in the large Cuban-American community here want to be able to visit and help family and support the idea of looser restrictions.

Clinton and Edwards both support maintaining the current restrictions on trade, but Edwards wants to loosen restrictions on family travel to and from the communist island nation.

Obama wants to do the same, but also supports lifting restrictions on how much money family members in the U.S. can send home to their Cuban relatives.

"It can help make their families less dependent on Fidel Castro. That's the way to bring about real change in Cuba," Obama told a crowd in Miami last year.

On immigration, all three support tougher border security and some sort of conditional path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

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All the major Republican candidates support the current U.S. policy with Cuba.

On immigration, Giuliani, Huckabee and McCain all would consider a conditional path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, while Romney opposes policy that offers any special pathway.

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[EFerrari]

1. Lemmings. And, btw, Obama is running an ad which is playing in FL

and the "pledge" to boycott the state seems to have become unstable, as per the news this morning.

[randymaine]

6. Which boycott are you talking about

The one about stripping Florida of its delegates?

[EFerrari]

7. Yes. He and Hillary had made a pact not to campaign in FL.

One of his ads is running on a station widely viewed there and the Clinton campaign isn't liking it.

[defendandprotect]

2. Kucinich supports embargo on Cuba --- ???

[defendandprotect]

3. BTW, in our town the other night, we had some citizens out with Kucinich signs --- on the circle!!

Very nice!

[Mika]

5. He doesn't. I know that. I forgot to add that to the post.

:banghead:

:+

[asjr]

4. Maybe I am just plain stupid, I have

been accused of it often, but I have never understood this "embargo" on Cuba. Why should our country be held accountable to a group of Cuban-Americans who want it? I don't blame them for hatred of Castro but it seems much more could be obtainable for Cubans and Americans by using honey instead of vinegar. Denying people sending money to relatives who obviously need it reeks of hypocrisy. Is it some kind of "macho" thing? We are not denying Castro anything--we are penalizing the Cuban population.

[EFerrari]

8. Our government is punishing Cuba for driving Castro into the arms

of the Soviets. It's irrational.