Where do they stand on the Cuban trade embargo?

I think its time to move away from the Cuban trade embargo. 

It hasn't significantly changed the behavior of the Castro regime.  That the U.S. would be willing - in some circumstances - to impose an embargo for over 40 years might have a deterrent effect on other countries.  However, if a foreign country is weighing actions that might lead to an embargo, I suspect the difference between a 46 or a 50 year embargo would have a small marginal deterrent effect.  Cuba is no longer the client state of a hostile great power. This recent Government Accountability Office report (ECONOMIC SANCTIONS.  Agencies Face Competing Priorities in Enforcing the U.S. Embargo on Cuba, November 2007) suggests that the embargo may be interfering with other important U.S. security efforts.

Reform would reduce the burden on Cubans, create more opportunities for Cuban-Americans to reconnect with their country of origin and families, create opportunities for new business for U.S. firms (in fact we relaxed the embargo a few years ago and now sell hundreds of millions of dollars of agricultural products to Cuba - The Fading U.S. Embargo on Exports to Cuba), provide new recreational and cultural opportunities for all U.S. citizens, reduce the scope of the Cuban government to exercise dictatorial powers, resonate well with world public opinion, and, by suggesting an improvement in Cuban-U.S. relations, give Chavez pause.

Do any of the Presidential candidates think this way?  Some do, but they are behind in the pack, or have left the race.  The Council on Foreign Relations summarized the candidates' positions on the Cuban embargo: The Candidates on Cuba Policy (December 11).  So has 2008 Election ProCon.org

I've excerpted selections on some key candidates from both sites in the table below.  Both sites have information on additional candidates.

Candidate	Extracts from Council of Foreign Relations web site	Extracts from 2008 Election ProCon.org website	Notes
Obama	Sen. Obama (D-IL) has broken with the status quo on U.S. policy toward Cuba. In August 2007, he called for travel and remittance restrictions on Cuban-Americans to be lifted. In an op-ed in the Miami Herald, Obama also said he would engage in bilateral talks with Cuba to send the message that the United States is willing to normalize relations with Cuba upon evidence of a democratic opening there. He has voted twice to cut off TV Marti funding (WashPost).	Barack Obama, U.S. Senator (D-IL), in an exerpt of a speech given in Miami, FL, Aug. 25, 2007, stated: "That's why, when I'm President, I will grant Cuban-Americans unrestricted rights to visit families and send remitances to the island. Because that's the way to bring about real change in Cuba. Through strong and smart diplomacy, not just tough love... As President I am not going to take off the embargo, it's an important inducement for change because we know that Castro's death will not automatically guaruntee freedom." Aug. 25, 2007 Barack Obama	The Village Voice carried a long story comparing Clinton and Obama, favorably to Obama, on this issue (Hillary's Infidelity, Kirk Nielsen, October 9, 2007).  In this case the infidelity is supposed to be a failure to be faithful to Bill Clinton's pre-1996 Cuba policy.  The article has a lot of background on the politics of the issue.
Clinton	Sen. Clinton “is going with the status quo” on Cuba policy, said Sergio Bendixen, an expert in Hispanic public opinion research, in the Washington Post in 2007. In a recent Senate vote, Clinton supported maintaining funding for TV Marti, television programming that the U.S. attempts to broadcast in Cuba. The Castro government has been successfully blocking the signal for this programming, and viewership of TV Marti in Cuba is estimated to be extremely low. In a 2000 speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, Clinton said she was opposed to lifting the economic embargo (NYT) on an undemocratic Cuba.	Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator (D-NY), in an Oct. 17, 2000 speech at the Council of Foreign Relations, stated: "I support the congressional action...to increase food and medicine, exports to Cuba, to increase travel between citizens, but I am not ready to vote to lift the embargo." Oct. 17, 2000 Hillary Clinton	Lots on Clinton in The Village Voice story.  The presumption that Senator Clinton has a responsibility to be consistent with President Clinton's policies seems inappropriate.
Edwards	Edwards has expressed support (BosGlobe) for the economic embargo on Cuba. In August 2007, Edwards, like Obama, said he would support an end to travel restrictions (AP) on Cuban families. Still, he said, he would not change remittance caps for now. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Edwards said he supported sanctions that “target Fidel Castro's regime but help the innocent Cuban people, allowing trade for food and medical supplies that help ease the horrible burdens (AP) they suffer.”	John Edwards, former U.S. Senator (D-NC), stated in a Jan. 29, 2004 Associated Press article titled "Candidates on the Issues: Cuba" on WSVN/Channel 7 FOX News: "The goal of our policy in Cuba must be the promotion of democracy and human rights. I support sanctions that target Fidel Castro's regime but help the innocent Cuban people, allowing trade for food and medical supplies that help ease the horrible burdens they suffer. Full sanctions should not be lifted until Castro and his brutal regime are gone. At the same time, along with our allies, we must increase our support and assistance for dissidents and democracy advocates inside Cuba who are struggling to be free." Jan. 29, 2004 John Edwards
Huckabee	Though Huckabee previously supported lifting the Cuban embargo, he has since changed his position (LAT). In December 2007, Huckabee said he would veto any effort to end the trade restrictions on the Carribean country. As governor of Arkansas in 2002, however, Huckabee argued that the embargo was harmful to American business. He now says he took that position in an effort to revive Arkansas rice markets (CBS).	Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, in a Dec. 10, 2007 CNN.com article titled "Huckabee Backtracks on Cuba Embargo," stated: "As president, I commit that we would veto any legislation that would lift the embargo that is currently in place, because we must keep that pressure on." Dec. 10, 2007 Mike Huckabee	As noted, as Governor of Arkansas Huckabee called for an end to the embargo.  His change of position on this issue was so egregious it has generated a lot of web commentary.  See Huckabee does a flip-flop on Cuba (Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times, December 11, 2007) and Huckabee backtracks on Cuba embargo (Dana Bash, CNNPolitics.com, December 10, 2007).  From CNN: "In 2002, then-Gov. Huckabee wrote President Bush urging him to lift the embargo on Cuba, saying the U.S. position was harming agriculture and business interests, and providing Fidel Castro with a "convenient excuse for his own failed system of government."  Now Huckabee explains that the change of view is associated with a change in the size, scope, and needs of the constituency he hopes to represent.
Giuliani	The CFR website doesn't say anything about Giuliani's support for the embargo.  It does discuss his criticisms of the regime.	Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, according to the Miami Herald's June 22, 2007 article titled "Giuliani Visits Hialeah, Courts Exiles," took the following position: "If there were a conservative litmus test for the Cuban exile community, Giuliani would have aced it. He vowed to maintain the embargo and travel restrictions on visiting the island, and he railed against Castro. When Castro visited New York City in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, Giuliani, then the city's mayor, explicitly excluded him from a banquet of world leaders." June 22, 2007 "Giuliani Visits Hialeah, Courts Exiles," Miami Herald
Romney	Romney supports a continuation of the current U.S. embargo on Cuba. "America will never back down to the Castro brothers," Romney said (PDF) regarding the sanctions in September 2007. In a March 2007 interview on Miami’s WIOD radio Romney said, “I think we need to continue the pressure and to develop a Latin American strategy that will move more countries toward us and away from the Castro brothers and individuals like Hugo Chavez.” In a speech in Miami in March 2007, Romney praised TV Marti and other U.S. stations broadcasting into Cuba for delivering a "daily flow of truth." Romney’s campaign is supported (AP) by Cuban-born Al Cárdenas, former chairman of the Florida Republican Party.	Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated in an Aug. 21, 2007 press release on his official campaign website: "Unilateral concessions to a dictatorial regime are counterproductive, helping to secure a succession of power and repression instead of a transition to freedom. They will only embolden those who cling to power at the expense of the Cuban people. We must not weaken our policy on Cuba until the Castro regime is dismantled, all political prisoners are freed and Cuba transitions to free and fair elections." Aug. 21, 2007 Mitt Romney
McCain	Sen. McCain (R-AZ) has typically voted in support of sanctions on Cuba. In 1992, he cosponsored the Cuban Democracy Act. McCain’s campaign has been endorsed (AP) by three Cuban-American Republican representatives from Florida, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and Mario Diaz-Balart. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, McCain said that upon Castro’s death, the United States should “offer a package of trade, of assistance, of economic development, of assistance in democratization—and tell them we will give them all of those things and in return we are asking them to embark on the path to democracy. Including setting a date for free and fair elections.”	John McCain, U.S. Senator (R-AZ), stated in a June 20, 2007 speech titled "Senator John McCain Address on Latin America to the Florida Association of Broadcasters" on his official campaign website: "My administration will press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media and to schedule internationally monitored elections. And, the embargo will stay in place until those terms are met." June 20, 2007John McCain
Thompson	Thompson, a staunch critic of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, blames him also for “the terrible mess” in Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. He also says Cuba’s acclaimed free universal medical care system is a “myth,” and adds: “I guarantee even the poorest Americans are getting far better medical services than many Cubans.” Thompson supports the U.S. embargo on Cuba and voted in favor of the Cuba Sanctions Bills of 1995 and 1996. Thompson came under fire in July 2007 for suggesting that Cuban immigrants are a potential terrorist threat. “I don't imagine they're coming here to bring greetings from Castro. We're living in the era of the suitcase bomb,” Thompson said.	Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator (R-TN), stated in an Oct. 25, 2007 press release titled "Statement by Fred Thompson on the President's Speech on Cuba" on his official campaign website: "Our goal for Cuba is nothing less than the complete freedom of the Cuban people. All sanctions must remain in place as long as the current regime, or any 'transitional government,' refuses to hold free and fair elections, to release all political prisoners, to allow private enterprise to flourish, and denies the Cuban people their God-given freedoms. The United States must strengthen its ongoing efforts to build international support to isolate the Castro regime, and stand with the Cuban people. We also need to look at new ways to further weaken this regime, and hasten the democracy, freedom and self-determination of the Cuban people." Oct. 25, 2007 Fred Thompson

Comments

[John E. Rhea, Esq.]

If speaking withinn the context of improving human rights, it might be charitably diplomatic to ease the U.S. Embargo against Cuba. However, the U.S. is but one country, one trading partner and one source of revenue for the Cuban economy. That said, a change in the U.S. position without demonstrative efforts on the part of the Castro Regime would be irresponsible. Presently, Cuba has several significant trading partners, yet the people on the ground continue to suffer harsh inequities. U.S. trade flows with Cuba will not remedy that which plagues that nation.

[PR Girl]

Everyone interested in the Cuba trade embargo issue is invited to attend the first Cuba Trade Expo in Miami on March 19 and 20. The two-day conference will feature academic and business luminaries who will address issues and opportunities related to U.S.-Cuba relations in the face of impending legislative changes promised by the 112th Congress and the Obama administration. For more details, contact [email protected].

[Forex Trading]

I do think that what you say sound very promising! There are many opportunities lying in this country, but Cuba's problems will not be solved buy this. Perhaps the US could support Cuba in other ways to make sure change is near.