The path is clear; we don’t seem to want to take it

MIAMI – It’s not that difficult to understand. And it’s not a surprise. The latest Cuba poll shows a path to victory for those of us who’d like to see a change in U.S.-Cuba policy. One that has been proposed, pushed, and lobbied for by Progreso Weekly over the past 14 years.

Register the right voters and we win. It’s that simple.

The difficulty lays in pursuing and persuading a very defined group of potential voters that they must register and vote on Election Day. Part of the process includes making the new voter understand that election day comes often in the U.S. – not just every four years when a new president is elected. Accomplishing this takes money, a lot of money.

It is why my conclusion from the Cuba poll, released Tuesday (June 17) morning in Miami and conducted by the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, is one that should not surprise anyone.

Some will call me a cynic, but American politics and its politicians, who love to boast and declare their exceptionalism, lack real courage. And not to put the president down because I happen to like him, but President Obama could easily be the poster boy for America’s ability to huff and puff – and not blow the house down.

Few politicians, in the U.S. anyway, do what they feel is best for the country – if the polls don’t back them. At one time it was referred to as leadership. Not any more. Today’s politician follows what a poll tells them is the easiest path to victory on Election Day. If “the right thing to do” must be sacrificed, then don’t be surprised to see it thrown overboard.

So for the umpteenth time let me repeat myself. If we don’t take the bull by the horns, Obama or Hillary Clinton, or whoever follows the president in 2016, will not resolve the U.S.-Cuba issue based on what’s right – no matter how many books they write… before the election.

Now, promise the presidential hopeful(s) 100,000 new Cuban-American voters in Florida and watch how their ears perk up.

It is why the only solution is to push them to do so. And the only way I know of pushing a politician (apart from buying him or her with boatloads of millions in campaign contributions) is by registering to vote and then our side voting massively and electing our own candidates. [By the way, if you doubt my words… check out the recently completed Eric Cantor congressional race in Virginia.]

Surprising

It reminds me of a story of Lyndon B. Johnson and Dr. Martin Luther King. I will take some liberties here because this is way back in the files of my mind… It was a just completed meeting between Johnson and King at the White House. As he exits, Dr. King turns to the president and excuses himself for his relentless pestering of the administration. King and many others were involved in the fight for civil rights legislation. The president then turned to King and told him to keep pestering – that he needed to be convinced.

The Cuba poll released Tuesday (June 17) morning in Miami drew a firestorm of opinions on the future of U.S. policy towards Cuba. It drew praise, criticism and even hope among some. Whatever the case, it was pretty convincing.

I am dumbfounded that the main storyline from our side, then, has not been the establishment of a massive campaign to register new voters we know can turn this thing around. This surprise then leads me to wonder, to really question, if some of the people who claim to want to see a change in Cuba policy, really want a change in Cuba policy.

Millions spent

Millions are spent every year around the Cuba issue. But for years we’ve put the cart before the horse. And with the money already spent, at times it’s been a beautiful cart; but there have been very few pulling it.

At times I think some expect a “Eureka” moment from some politicians when we show them our optimistic new poll results. The fact is whether they tell you or not, that politician you visit is probably thinking, “Come back to visit when your register those voters that overwhelmingly support your ideas…” And he or she will probably add at the end of their thought: “Bring me a check while you’re at it.”

But picture that same member of congress, maybe from South Florida, being told that we’ve just registered 25,000 new voters – in their district. I assure you that member of congress will ask you to take a seat in his or her office.

Once you have their attention you then tell the politician of the next step of the campaign that will assure that at least 80 percent of those newly registered voters vote on Election Day. And our message to our new voters, we’ll assure the politician we’re talking to, will have nothing to do with posters of Yoani Sanchez, or democracy in Cuba, or even human rights.

Our message: “Your actions on Cuba policy, Mr. or Mrs. Congressperson, are responsible for the loss of 40,000 new jobs in Miami-Dade County, and about a billion dollars a year to our local economy.”

Then you hit him or her with the kicker: “Change or we’ll ask our new voters to punish you at the polls.”

So let me finish by stating that the results are in. And it seems that the roadblock to success is staring us in the face.

The choice is ours. Voter engagement is very hard work, I know, I’ve done it. Or we can always continue doing what we’ve been doing, and expect the same results.