How Chris Dodd Earned My Respect

I just read something this morning that almost, ALMOST, made me decide to change my steadfast support from John Edwards to Chris Dodd.  I was browsing Political Wire and came across this jewell:

Democrat Christopher Dodd pledged Saturday that as president he would end a decades-old trade embargo with Cuba and lift travel restrictions to the communist island.

The Connecticut senator also said he would open an embassy in Havana and shut down the 17-year-old TV Marti, a U.S. government-run station that broadcasts to Cuba.

http://politicalwire.com/news.html?artic leId=8844194&buyerId=PoliticalWireco m&channelId=793

I've said it in the past, and will reiterate it now.  If any of the major three Democrats comes out in favor of ending the Cuba embargo, they get my support.  I hope John Edwards joins Dodd on this.  The Cuban embargo has outlived 9 US presidents, all the while the Cuban people suffer and the same man has controlled their government.

What is the basis for a continued embargo?  We trade with China, a nation that poisons the goods it sends to us, and Vietnam, a nation that defeated us in war.

The embargo is insulting to the concept of freedom.  Part of our rationale for having the embargo is that the Cuban people aren't free, they don't live in a democratic society.  The irony doesn't amuse me.

While I can't bring myself to give money or offical support to Chris Dodd, I have to thank him for having the courage to take the right position.  While Edwards has led on nearly every other issue this primary season, Dodd is leading on Cuba.

Tags: 2008, Chris Dodd, Cuba, John Edwards (all tags)

Comments

7 Comments

Obama did open the door

for others to start taking a less hard nose stance with Cuba by announcing he wanted to ease restrictions on family travel.

by lovingj 2007-09-12 04:26AM | 0 recs
Re: Obama did open the door

Dodd has led on Cuba for years.  I was happy to see Obama take the baby step he took with family travel, but I want a full revocation of the embargo.  When that happens, I'll buy the first ticket to Havana.

by Vox Populi 2007-09-12 06:58AM | 0 recs
Re: Obama did open the door

Obama didn't open this door.  Jimmy Carter and other liberal-progressives have been arguing this for years.

by justinh 2007-09-12 07:02AM | 0 recs
Re: Obama did open the door

Obama should have gone all the way. Too bad.

by Korha 2007-09-12 07:18AM | 0 recs
Re: How Chris Dodd Earned My Respect

I agree that we should end the trade embargo but I disagree with you that China defeated us in a war. It didn't happen.

by DoIT 2007-09-12 06:10AM | 0 recs
Re: How Chris Dodd Earned My Respect

The diarist said Vietnam beat us. Admittedly, that was with the help of China and the Soviet Union.

by Korha 2007-09-12 07:18AM | 0 recs
I like Chris Dodd

but I think that he voted for some bills in the 1990s that led to accounting abuses, stock-option scams, and other things that benefited Wall Street but allowed a lot of corruption.

My brother the investment adviser is outraged by some of the things Dodd has proposed on the mortgage crisis--he thinks this is stuff that will benefit Fannie Mae but not ordinary people so much. I don't follow those issues closely.

by desmoinesdem 2007-09-12 08:46PM | 0 recs

Diaries

Advertise Blogads


----------- myDD - skin -----------