Free Elections Have Consequences

November 7, 2010


Some people just can't accept democracy, so they resort to political fiction.

That seems to be the case of former Castro regime bureaucrat, now University of Denver doctoral student, Arturo Lopez-Levy.

Still in denial over Tuesday's electoral choices by Cuban-Americans in Florida, he writes this jaw-dropping "Argument" in Foreign Policy:

"The Cuban exile community, in Miami and elsewhere in the United States, has grown apart from the politicians who represent its interests in Washington. Miami's Cubans may keep voting for Ros-Lehtinen and Rubio, but they no longer agree with them."

Newsflash #1 for Mr. Lopez-Levy:

You are no longer in Cuba, where people are forced to "vote" for the Castro regime because they have no other alternative (and would otherwise face repressive consequences). In this country, you are free to vote (without repercussions) for whomever you want. Furthermore, you are free to vote candidates that you disagree (or simply no longer agree) with out-of-office, as happened in over 60 Congressional Districts this past Tuesday.

But even more absurd, is the basis for his thesis -- a 2008 push poll claiming that a majority of Cuban-Americans want to establish relations with the Castro regime.

Newsflash #2:

Push polls, particularly issue polls -- not to mention those conducted by entities heavily invested in procuring a specific result -- are not fact. Furthermore, they can be easily disproven by other polls. However, elections results are fact -- no matter how unpleasant they may be for your views -- and in this case, the Cuban-American community has once again elected candidates that (very strongly and publicly) reject unilaterally easing sanctions towards the Castro regime.

And finally, Mr. Lopez-Levy claims:

"Joe Garcia, a former leader of Mas Canosa's Cuban American National Foundation who has reinvented himself as a Cuba policy reformer, got 42 percent of the vote against Cuba-hardliner David Rivera -- a loss, but in an exile-heavy district and an election year that favored Republicans, a hopeful sign for the future."

Newsflash #3:

Joe Garcia lost to David Rivera by over 10 points. That's almost double his margin of loss from 2008. Furthermore, 42% is essentially the base-bottom for any Democratic nominee in that District (FL-25) based on a straight party-line vote. Whether the Democratic nominee in FL-25 would have been Joe Garcia, Joe Smith, or even Joe Stalin, they'd essentially start with a floor of 35-40% (Cuban-Americans, which comprise a third of FL-25 but are mostly Independents and registered Republicans, account for only a small portion of that). Once again, this is not Cuba, where the Castro regime claims to "win" with 99% of the "vote," and thus 42% might seem impressive to the democratically untrained-eye.

In sum -- elections matter, and in this country, they even have consequences.