Peter Schorsch
Florida politicians, especially of the Republican stripe, were quick to shovel dirt on the grave of Fidel Castro after his death was announced late Friday night. Their statements, many of which were propelled with well-deserved, pent-up rage, condemned Castro for his brutality and tyranny.
On Twitter, Florida Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera sounded as if could not believe the day of Castro’s death had finally arrived.
“Has it finally come? FIDEL IS DEAD! I pray this is beginning of a free and democratic Cuba. Wish my Abuelo & Abuela were alive to see this,” wrote Lopez-Cantera.
U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo wrote on the social media platform, “The passing of the dictator marks the end of a long, horrifying chapter in #Cuba‘s history. The #Cuban people need our solidarity,” while state Rep. Jose Feliz Diaz (when he was not broadcasting live from the street celebrations), tweeted, “Tonight we close a dark chapter in the history of Cuba – a day after Thanksgiving – we give thanks and pray for a free Cuba.”
Statements like these stood in stark contrast to the sympathetic, if not revisionist, messages from many world leaders, such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who sounded as if he was in despair that Castro had died.
Castro, Trudeau wrote, had “served his people for almost half a century” and was possessed of “tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people.”
Indeed, so dedicated and loving was Castro that he absolutely refused to let anyone else serve the Cuban people as president for 47 years, from 1959 to 2006, at which point he installed his brother in his place.
Castro, Trudeau ventured, was a “remarkable leader” who “made significant improvements to the education and health care of his island nation” and was rewarded with the “deep and lasting affection” of Cubans.
The only nod to the fact something might have been amiss in Fidel Castro’s Cuba was the word “controversial” and a reference to the existence of “detractors.”
Sen. Marco Rubio called Trudeau’s statement “shameful and embarrassing.”
As for American president Barack Obama, by not offering a full-throated condemnation of Castro’s brutal record, he seemed to have more interest in preserving the legacy of his efforts to restore relations with Cuba.
“We know that this moment fills Cubans — in Cuba and in the United States — with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation,” Obama said in a statement. “History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him.”
“In the days ahead, they will recall the past and also look to the future,” Obama said in his statement. “As they do, the Cuban people must know that they have a friend and partner in the United States of America.”
Obama’s comments drew criticism from many of the same Republican lawmakers who exalted in Castro’s death.
“Look, it’s just a reflection of the way he views the world. It’s a very lukewarm approach. It’s why so many people in this country are frustrated and voted for a change candidate in this last election because they see and listen to politicians like the president in this case who are unwilling to state a simple truth that Fidel Castro was a dictator, a murderer, an enemy of the United States,” said Curbelo.
Miami-based reporter Marc Caputo pointedly observed that “Obama’s statement on Fidel is so anodyne that it sanitizes his atrocities and terrible place in history.”
Other Florida Democrats also struggled to condemn Castro’s decades of tyranny and oppression.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor‘s statement avoided any criticism of Castro. Instead, she took aim at President-elect Donald Trump.
“Cuban families and small business owners are eager to accelerate economic and human rights reforms and America must continue to support them, especially Tampa Bay area community leaders who have been at the forefront of progress and change.
“With the election of Donald Trump, hardliners opposed to diplomatic relations and engagement with everyday Cubans have urged an end to new flights, travel, and cooperative efforts. Slamming the door shut at this point in time would be disastrous. Instead, Fidel Castro’s death should encourage all of us to meet the challenge of better diplomatic relations, economic opportunities for Cubans and Americans, expanded travel, and support for the dignity of the Cuban people.”
Leave it to, of all people, newly-elected Charlie Crist to deliver the kind of message Obama, Castor, and other Democrats should have.
“History will remember Fidel Castro as a tyrant, a represser of democracy, civil rights, and human rights,” Crist starts out, making it clear that, no, history will not decide Castro’s legacy; he already defined it with his oppression.
Continued Crist, :But my heart isn’t full of hate today, it’s full of optimism due to the progress we’re already seeing in bringing our American ideals of freedom and prosperity to Cuba through improved diplomatic and economic relations.”
Of course, Crist was not going to be as celebratory as the South Florida Republicans, but his simple statement was pitch-perfect.
Other Democrats should take note.
