Republican Hypocrites Shun the Free Market
But all of the old Cold Warriors seem to agree that our Cuba policy must never modernize and that old man Castro is a grave threat to US national interests. Therefore our embargo on Cuba must stay in place. Even though the GOP supposedly loathes protectionism and loves free markets, when it comes to Cuba, any talk of a sane economic or foreign policy is off. According to a May 23 article by the Washington Post, "Republican leaders are working overtime this week to persuade Congress to normalize trade relations with China's communist government.... Less publicly, but with almost as much zeal, those same leaders are also working this week to block a measure allowing minimal trade with Cuba's communist government." Don't get the wrong idea, though. This isn't a double standard or hypocrisy coming from the Republican Party. Trent Lott pointed out the obvious fact that, "It's very easy to see the distinction. And if you all can't see it, I don't know. Maybe you're just blind to it." Well, no, Trent, I don't see it, and a lot of other people can't either. Trent and the rest of his free market-bashing buddies in the GOP are again showing themselves to be hypocrites in the area of economics. While they lecture that free trade "spreads freedom all over the world" and brings peace and prosperity to nations, they seek to prolong Cuban suffering and rob American farmers of the opportunity to sell and make profits. If trading with China is so great, what is so bad about letting starving Cuban kids have some food and medical supplies? The truth is that trading with China and lifting the embargo off Cuba are both the right things to do. And many of the reasons for both cases are overlapping. We naturally want to see Cuba become freer, but there is also no reason to erect such economic barriers to American businessmen and farmers. Why should European real estate investors be acquiring prime locations and reaping the benefit of the Cuban market while Americans are shut out? Why should we avoid a market of 11 million people that once bought all the rice the United States exported? The embargo also is a propaganda tool for Castro to use to whip up resentment against the United States and capitalism in general. Castro also uses the embargo to play the victim on the international stage, appealing to the United Nations and other foreign powers to denounce America as heartless and inhumane. The embargo also gives Castro an excuse for one of the reasons that Cuba has not yet turned into the Worker's Paradise he promised, and that the glories of collectivism still remain to be seen. In fact, Castro may not even want the embargo lifted, as it would cost him an effective piece of propaganda against America. How can we also overlook the moral components of this embargo? The Catholic Church, which has opposed the embargo since the beginning, is appalled at any policy that harms innocent poor people whose only fault was being born in a country that embraces an evil economic and political system. (Please, no e-mails from liberals telling me about the free health care and education available in Cuba.) The embargo has not harmed Castro or any of his cronies, only the majority of Cuban people who do not have a decent standard of living and who seek proper food and medical care. The goal of forcing Castro out of office has also been a dismal failure as Castro has seen eight US presidents come and go. Those who still consider Castro a threat to US interests are living in a paranoid world apart from reality. " Neither Castro nor Cuba poses any threat to US interests. This is especially true since Castro lost his subsidy from the Soviet Union in 1991. "But Castro is only 90 miles away from home!" you say. We should be more concerned about disposing of the high number of socialists right here in the United States. Many of them are quite prominent figures. In fact, just turn on C-SPAN and watch congressional proceedings and you might get a glimpse of a few of them. It's shameful when the old Cold Warriors are more paranoid about a dinky poverty-stricken country than they are about socialist politicians influencing public policy right here at home. The differences between the two major parties seem to be fading, though. The Democrats seek to sprint towards socialism while the Republicans just want to take their time and crawl there. Will the same Republican Party, which roundly denounces protectionism, continue to endorse economic sanctions, which is nothing but a brother of protectionism? Or will Trent Lott and the gang continue to try to relive the good old days of the Cold War? Our Cuba policy is absurd and outdated. Our embargo is immoral and economically stupid. A post-Cold War foreign policy is long overdue. It's time for Republicans to step up to the plate and become the champions of the free market they claim to be instead of economic frauds and Cold Warriors living in the 1940s. May 26, 2000 Bill Barnwell is a freelance journalist and co-editor in chief of www.thepotatoe.com |
Will
the Stupid Party, as columnist Sam Francis calls it, ever get it
through its thick skull that the Cold War is over? That inconvenient
little fact has caused great distress in Republican circles. The
party that is supposedly an enemy of the State longs to go back
to the good old days of grand statism during the Cold War. Since
the Cold War ended some years ago, the Buckleyized Republican Party
has grown increasingly restless while waiting for a new Soviet Union
to pop up. Some have tried to start a new Cold War with China. Others
want the Russians to remain as permanent bogeymen.