Obama helps Democrats gain ground among Cubans

[ariesgem]

y JOHN LANTIGUA

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, September 30, 2007

MIAMI — Giancarlo Sopo, son of Cuban exiles, pulled into the Miami-FIU college football tailgate party recently at the Orange Bowl.

Sopo likes football, but he had another reason for being there, besides knocking back beers. He was distributing "Barack Obama for President" material.

s he approached a group of tailgaters, a middle-aged Cuban man confronted him.

"He said to me, 'Where is your Che Guevara T-shirt?''" recalled Sopo, referring to the famed hero of the Cuban revolution. "In other words, he was calling me a communist. To some of the older Cubans here, if you're not a Republican, you're a communist."

For Sopo, 24, those might be fighting words. His father, Edgar, was a veteran of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, when exile fighters tried to take Cuba back from Fidel Castro. And the late Jorge Mas Canosa, the most revered of all Cuban exile leaders, was not only the godfather of Sopo's sister but also gave Sopo his first skateboard at age 7.

After a few words with his accuser, Sopo shrugged it off.

"That's all right," he said later, "because we still have the best candidate."

The incident illustrates how difficult it has been over the years for Democrats to court the majority of Cuban-American voters. That almost certainly won't change in 2008.

But given Sopo's pedigree in the exile community, his political position - and that of his politically active friends - may indicate a shift among some younger Cubans.

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Group is seeking converts

Sopo's group, "Unidos con Obama," founded just last month, may end up disappearing into history as quietly as "Republicans for Dukakis." But for the moment, the platoon of Obama supporters, which includes both Cubans and other Hispanics, is trying to "convert" voters one at a time.

On a recent Saturday night, at Sopo's mother's house in the Kendall area of Miami-Dade County, about 25 guests ate arroz con pollo, listened to Willy Chirino music and applauded as five people "converted" from either GOP or Independent to Democrat, so they can vote for Obama in the Florida primary election.

Among the converts was Sopo's mother, Madelaine, 50. His grandmother, Adelaida Garcia, 86, who has never voted Democratic, didn't change party affiliation but said she also was leaning toward Obama.

"I like his position on health care and his concern for children," she said as she fried empanadas for guests.

A few nights before, Spanish-language television giant Univision hosted a debate among seven Democratic candidates at the University of Miami. "Unidos con Obama" rallied nearby on South Dixie Highway with placards, cheering their man.

Their efforts attracted media attention and raised the question, "Why is Obama the one to lead Cubans into the Democratic camp?"

"The main issue is the war in Iraq," Sopo said. "People are tired of this war, and he is the only viable candidate for either party who has always opposed it. That's what turned my vote."

One of the Cuban-Americans who converted that night from Republican to Democrat was Carlos Modia, 22.

"I grew up Republican because I grew up in Cuban-American culture," he said. "But in 2004 I got turned off. The Iraq war was the main thing. You vote for a Democrat once, and then you realize you are agreeing with Democrats on most things, so you switch."

Another issue that could help Obama and the Democrats in general, especially among middle-aged Cuban voters, is recent changes in U.S.-Cuba policy.

In 2004, the Bush administration changed laws so that exiles no longer could visit family members in Cuba once every year, as was customary, but only every three years, to further isolate Cuba. And the amount of money that can be sent to a family on the island was reduced from $3,000 every three months to $300.

In August, Obama spoke before hundreds of people at Dade County Auditorium in Miami and received prolonged applause when he said he strongly opposed those changes.

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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/world/epaper/2007/09/30/a25a_cubans_0930.html

[bluestateguy]

1. Our nominee should be able to poll 40% of the Florida Cuban vote in 2008

That should be enough to put Florida in the bank.

[illinoisprogressive]

2. Obama keeps converting the unlikliest people to democrats and supporters. that is leadership

[PDittie]

3. Mi esposa nacida Cubana prefiere

Kucinich. So there you you go; diversity among the Cubans. Whooda thunk?