Florida Sen. George LeMieux Holds Obama’s Nominee For Brazil Ambassador Hostage Over Cuba Policy
Florida Sen. George LeMieux Holds Obama’s Nominee For Brazil Ambassador Hostage Over Cuba Policy
Shortly after Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) agreed to drop his opposition to President Barack Obama’s nominee for Ambassador to Brazil, interim Sen. George LeMieux (R-FL) decided to pick up where DeMint left off. DeMint had been blocking Thomas Shannon’s nomination over the Obama’s policy on the coup in Honduras; LeMieux, on the other hand, is accusing the former Bush nominee of being soft on Cuba.
According to an anonymous Republican aide, LeMieux is delaying Shannon’s confirmation over the role he played in initiating talks with Cuba on migration and direct mail service when he was Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs under the Obama administration. Yet while many suggest that LeMieux is trying to “burnish his Cuba credentials to help Crist,” he may not realize that Shannon’s actions were largely motivated by an effort to “bridge the gap” between Cuban Americans and their relatives in Cuba. The Obama administration has allowed Cuban Americans to visit their family members and lifted limits on money transfers to Cuban relatives, all while keeping in place long-standing trade restrictions. While still in office, Martinez chose to describe the developments as “good news for Cuban families separated by the lack of freedom in Cuba.”
Curiously, a new report recently revealed that wealthy supporters of the U.S. embargo against Cuba have contributed almost $11 million to members of Congress since 2004 and have been largely successful in blocking efforts to weaken sanctions against Castro’s government. In the meantime, long-time Republican Cuban Americans “drift[ed] to Obama” during the 2008 elections.
LeMieux was nominated and confirmed as Assistant Secretary by a Republican president and Republican-dominated Congress in 2005. Up until Obama’s inauguration, Shannon was working under an administration that approached Cuba with a heavy iron fist and often referred to Castro’s government as part of the infamous “axis of evil.”
Holding up Shannon’s nomination means the U.S. has limited diplomatic relations with the largest and most economically robust country in Latin America. Brazil also ranks fifth among the world’s most populated countries.
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The Party of ‘No’ strikes again. This is getting juvinile, these guys are pathetic.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:05 pmI guess Senators — even those who are interim — aren’t required to make any sense.
The President wants something: NO!!!
November 19th, 2009 at 8:06 pmZooey@2, This is a disgrace. It is so petty, so spiteful it defies description. They are like angry little children stamping their feet because they were denied a sweet. These aren’t men, they are infants.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:12 pmwhy doesn’t he start in his own backyard, informing his constituents on calle ocho in miami that they are “soft” on cuba when they visit the island loaded down with jewelry and hard currency for their relatives and are only helping to prop up the dictatorship?
November 19th, 2009 at 8:13 pmFlorida Sen. George LeMieux Holds Obama’s Nominee For Brazil Ambassador Hostage Over Cuba Policy
– - Time to set up a reverse-naval quarantine in the Carribean. This time it goes around Florida.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:13 pmBe prepared for this kind of conduct to continue until 2012. The Republicans have no intention of cooperating with any legislation or appointments. What will bring them around is no gains or even more losses in 2010.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:15 pmTroll,
You ought to have that VDT treated. It’ll eat up your tiny pea-brain.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:15 pmThere is a cowardly troll in our midst. Who could it be? CG? TTTL?
November 19th, 2009 at 8:15 pmi feel unloved and undervalued. i haven’t been voted down.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:17 pmBozo@9, LOL! YOU should be used to it by now. But I feel for you, I know how fragile you are.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:21 pmSeeing as TTTC has been here all day, I assume he is the one voting everyone down. He’s a sad piece of shit who is a coward to boot.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:25 pmangel@11, He’s an attention troll. He offers no insight, no rebuttals. I can see him now, all alone. With a photograph of his Queen Sarah drooling all over it while he insults everybody else. Sad really.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:27 pmTypo alert…
“LeMieux was nominated and confirmed as Assistant Secretary by a Republican president and Republican-dominated Congress in 2005.
Should read Shannon was nominated etc…
November 19th, 2009 at 8:31 pmThe republican party proves, once again, that thier opposition is effectively mindless.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:35 pmcaption…
“So, like, ya wanna go to Brazil for the weekend?”
November 19th, 2009 at 8:36 pmOh boy, here comes the Hitler dick with his words of wisdom. I’m really sick of these sack of hammers coming to a progressive blog, thinking that anyone cares what they have to say. A word of wisdom for you…Red State would love you over there, they think Hitler is the greatest thing since sliced white bread.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:38 pmQuit picking on Florida… consider what we have had to bear in the last fifty years, with basically no help from the feds or anyone else, and then 2000…
Still, no excuse for sending that little puke to the Senate… where I’m sure we’ve only just begun to experience his talents, let alone friends….
November 19th, 2009 at 8:42 pmNo.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:45 pmMy party says YES to one thing: abundant brazilian booty.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:50 pmHitler was a dick, I don’t hate you… I think you are dumb as a fence post, and think you are a waste of time on this blog. nobody cares what you have to say, and you just waste space. That’s why I said you should head over to Red State, where people of like minds would think you were a genius.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:57 pmblah blah, shove that rambling narrative up your ass, hitler. Anyone who tries to read your garbage in length finds their stomach turn.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:59 pmThe “Hitler” is one dumb piece of GOPshite.
Who even reads his crap?
I don’t even bother; I just vote him down, and move on.
I can tell he’s a holy roller because of his nasty name-calling, outright lying and general contempt for humanity, as well as his great admiration for public piety and overwrought flag-waving.
November 19th, 2009 at 9:02 pmHitler is a dick, Maybe I’m right??? There’s no question about it, you are dumb as a fence post.
November 19th, 2009 at 9:04 pmHitler was a dick…Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!
November 19th, 2009 at 9:16 pmHitler Was A Secular Progressive says:
angels81, when you hate someone you’re really hating yourself.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
~~~~~
Hitler – strange you should be using the same parable that “Tricky Dick (the original) Nixon used August 1974
“Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.”
["The announcement came as a result of the Watergate scandal and the subsequent collapse of political support for him in Congress."]
November 19th, 2009 at 9:31 pmTP has already pointed out the economic need to have good communication with Brazil.
But considering our poor relationships with other countries South of the Border, the rich natural resources in Brazil, and the fact that these are the closest countries to us, I can easily make a conservative argument about why we need an ambassador there.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:10 pmDemocrats rarely used this kind of blocking when they were the minority — and when they did, repugs were quick to the TV cameras, denouncing the dems for obstructing progress.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:14 pm‘…Soft on Cuba…’ One can be ‘hard’ on Cuba simply by giving it a hard stare! WTF?
November 19th, 2009 at 11:19 pmOk. Ya know what – maybe it’s too early, but I’m getting to the point that when the next Republican Administration rolls around, as someday it must, that absolutely NO appointment ever be given an up or down vote in the Senate. Absolutely NO bill gets passed without a 60 vote supermajority.
Republican’s want gridlock? Give them gridlock when it’s their turn at bat.
yeah, I’m miffed. I’m really miffed.
November 19th, 2009 at 11:30 pmDemocrats rarely used this kind of blocking when they were the minority — and when they did, repugs were quick to the TV cameras, denouncing the dems for obstructing progress.
The fact that the Dems aren’t denouncing it leads me to believe the whole show is scripted.
November 19th, 2009 at 11:33 pmPresident Obama is going to end up waiting and placing his people with recess appointments. Then we can spend the rest of the year listening to the cesspool which is the republican congress scream and whine. Throw them each a roll of Charmin and move on.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:24 amWhat the hell are the Cuban-Americans waiting for,they’ve sat on their arses now for almost 50 years whining about Castro!Revolutions take place everyday around the world,dictators are run out of office or hung from the nearest light pole!
November 20th, 2009 at 7:44 amWhat have the Cuban-Americans done to take back their country?
“NOTHING BUT WHINE,AND WHINE,AND WHINE” as they sit on their collective brown arses for the last 50 years! They deserve Castro!
Cuban-Americans, please tell me why you haven’t overthrown Castro! The Berlin Wall has come down, Russia broke up, but you leaches can’t muster up enough strength overthrow a tinpot dictator located only 90 miles from American shores!
What a sorry bunch of deadbeat muchers every single one of your are!
Chickenbone…. they have made an attempt or two, but the bottom line probably is that they are living comfortably here while enjoying mouthing off and flexing their political muscles, which they have done very successfully but which is winding down, because succeeding generations are too busy being fully-integrated Americans to be bothered with the nonsense. It will pass, but not until it is no longer politically useful…
November 20th, 2009 at 8:52 amIf the overthrow ever actually comes… and I think it will be a whimper, not a bang… watch how many go “home”….
November 20th, 2009 at 8:54 amHitlerwasaRIGHTWINGNUT
You have never influenced anyone except those repulsed by your abject stupidity. Just kill yourself you putrid pile of dogshit
November 20th, 2009 at 1:49 pm