Republicans try to squeeze Democrats on Sanders’ comments with anti-Castro resolution
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart wants Democrats to stand with or disavow Democratic presidential front-runner Bernie Sanders after he praised aspects of Fidel Castro’s Cuba in a recent interview.
The Miami Republican and longtime Castro critic will introduce a resolution on Thursday that condemns Sanders’ comments praising Castro’s literacy programs on a ”60 Minutes” interview that aired on Sunday.
Sanders’ comments provoked a wave of anger from Republicans and Miami Democrats.
“You know, when Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program,” Sanders told “60 Minutes” host Anderson Cooper. “Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?”
Sanders defended his remarks during Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate.
“Occasionally, it might be a good idea to be honest about American foreign policy. And that includes the fact that America has overthrown governments all over the world, in Chile, in Guatemala, in Iran — and when dictatorships, whether it’s the Chinese or the Cubans, do something good, you acknowledge that.”
The symbolic resolution, which was announced at a press conference with House Republican leaders on Wednesday, seeks to put Democrats in a political bind.
A vote by House Democrats in favor of the resolution would show party disunity and be seen as a rebuke to the potential Democratic nominee for president while a vote against the resolution would intensify criticism that Democrats are unwilling to disavow a Democratic socialist who has frequently praised aspects of Cuba’s communist government.
“If anyone wants to know the devastation of socialism, and the tyranny that is often invited by socialism, I invite you to come speak to some of my constituents, including the thousands, thousands of former political prisoners,” Diaz-Balart said. “This is not new, what Senator Sanders said the other day. It’s been kind of the calling card of the progressive movement in the United States, for a long, long time.”
Diaz-Balart represents more than 300,000 Cuban Americans in his Miami-based district that includes heavily Cuban cities like Hialeah.
Miami Democratic Reps. Donna Shalala and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who face competitive reelection races, have repeatedly criticized Sanders’ comments. In an interview on Wednesday, Shalala said Sanders’ defense of his remarks during Tuesday night’s debate further hurt his standing with voters in her district.
Shalala also added that his critical comments of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the most well-known lobbying group for Jewish people, will cost him votes in South Florida.
“He just reinforced and made it worse as far as I can tell, particularly with the Jewish community,” Shalala said. “Whether you like AIPAC or not, his attack on AIPAC just added fuel to the fire.”
Other House Democrats in competitive districts around the country have also condemned Sanders’ remarks.
Diaz-Balart’s office could not immediately provide a copy of the resolution to the Miami Herald.
“The reality is that regime is and has always been a threat to the U.S. national security and a threat to the well-being of the Cuban people,” Diaz-Balart said. “This resolution will highlight that reality, not those false claims by the apologists of the Castro regime and others who believe that somehow torturing, murdering and enslaving people is OK if you’ve given them some free things.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 6:52 PM.
