Rep. Rangel Shocked at Exile Reaction

New York U.S. House Representative Charles Rangel is a big fan of fidel.

I mention this because of a letter to the editor that Mr. Rangel wrote to the Miami Herald, published today.

Here it is, with comments to follow:

I have been shocked at the sight of people dancing in the streets over reports of Cuban President Fidel Castro's illness. It is unseemly, and even un-American, to publicly wish for someone's death.

We all hope to see a free and open democracy in Cuba. But the way to achieve that is not by attempting to dictate who runs for office or who doesn't, as we have done under the Helms-Burton law. Rather, we should be opening doors to Cuba by promoting free trade and cultural, scientific and academic exchanges and encouraging travel between the two countries.

Showing off the American way of life is the best way to influence the choices that the Cuban people -- not American politicians in Florida -- must eventually make. The Bush administration would be better served by rethinking a policy that has failed to achieve its ends after almost 50 years. The U.S. embargo, which I and many of my colleagues in Congress have opposed for years, has only hurt the Cuban people and economy, but done nothing to advance democracy.

I feel for Cuban Americans who have relatives in Cuba whom they can visit only once every three years because of the tightening of the embargo. The policy, which is dividing Cuban families, was not devised by the Cuban government. It is the American government's misguided policies that have erected walls between Cuban Americans and their families on the island.

CHARLES B. RANGEL, representative, U.S. House, 15th Congressional District, New York

One can reasonably argue about the travel restrictions, the "embargo", and other issues involving U.S.-Cuba relations. That's not my beef here. And he's far from the only person in the U.S. who sympathizes with fidel. That's not it either.

I bring this up because Rangel isn't just some freshman representative getting his feet wet in Washington. He happens to be the ranking Democrat in the House Ways and Means Committee, which means that if the Democrats take control of the House this fall, he becomes the chair of the committee.

A fidel sympathizer in control of an important committee in the United States House. Does that disturb anyone? It should.

Some might say, "What's the big deal, Robert? What does him liking fidel have anything to do with the United States and the Ways and Means Committee".

When someone is a fan of a person who has vowed with our worst enemies to "put the U.S. on its knees", and that individual is in a high position in our government, I worry. What are Rangel's true interests? Is he being honest when he says he wants a "free and democratic Cuba"? Those are fair question to ask considering who his friends are. And I won't even bring up Rangel's trip to Cuba in 2003 which was funded by fidel.

Rangel is upset that Cuban-Americans are wishing for fidel's death. Perhaps Rangel should also be upset at fidel for his record as a murderer, oppressor, human rights violator, and for publicly stating that he wishes harm on the United States. No, that would be too honest for a hypocrite such as Rangel.

Some people wonder why Cuban-Americans are mostly Republican. Focusing solely on Cuban issues (there are many reasons that transcend Cuban issues), politicians such as Rangel make it obvious. As a conservative, I'll be the first to say that Republicans are far from perfect when it comes to Cuba issues (examples: Bush refusing to revoke the wet foot/dry foot policy, the inability for leading Republicans to come up with real and constructive ways to deal with fidel). In fact, I'm sure many if not most Cubans agree with certain core Democratic issues.

But as long as the Democrats have Rangel and others in their ranks, Cuban-Americans will have good reasons to be more skeptical of Democrats than Republicans when it comes to Cuba.