[NYTr] Huckabee Wins Backing from Fla. Gusano House Speaker

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Jane Franklin


The Miami Herald - Dec 11, 2007
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/339906.html

Fla. Speaker Rubio backs Huckabee

BY BETH REINHARD AND LAURA FIGUEROA

Up-and-coming Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee defended
his flip-flop on the Cuba embargo Monday as he cinched an endorsement
from one of the most prominent Cuban-American politicians in Florida.

The endorsement from House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami was a coup for
a candidate dismissed as an afterthought just two months ago.

At a news conference Monday morning at La Carreta in Westchester,
Huckabee said he opposed the U.S. embargo on Cuba when he was governor
of Arkansas because of its impact on the state's rice industry. But as
a presidential candidate, he said, he puts the interests of the nation
before his home state.

While courting Rubio's support over the past year, Huckabee said he
began to appreciate the perspective of many Cuban-American exiles, who
believe lifting the embargo would support a repressive regime.

''He really helped me understand some of the key issues that are so
very important not just to Cuban-American community but to all
Americans in terms of protecting freedom and standing tall,'' Huckabee
said. ``As president I commit that we would veto any legislation that
would lift the embargo that is currently in place because we must keep
that pressure on.''

While national and statewide candidates have long trekked to South
Florida to flog Fidel Castro, Huckabee's statement reflected one of the
most dramatic reversals by a major presidential candidate on the issue
that has defined U.S.-Cuba policy for nearly half a century.

In 2002, Huckabee urged President Bush to end the embargo. His lobbying
effort was brought to light by rival Fred Thompson's campaign, which
circulated press clippings during Sunday night's debate.

'The United States' policy of unilateral embargo against Cuba continues
to harm our own agricultural and business interests here at home and
has certainly not helped the people of Cuba,'' Huckabee wrote in the
letter to Bush at the time.

DRAMATIC CHANGE

Huckabee's change of heart, coming during his first public appearance
as a presidential candidate in Miami, provided fodder for rivals who
have spent months courting the influential Cuban-American community.

''Another part of running for president is that people take the views
they have had their whole life and change them when it becomes
convenient,'' said Thompson, campaigning Monday at the Bay of Pigs
Museum honoring Cuban-American veterans. ``I think it raises issues
when a candidate changes their mind on a dime.''

Supporters of Mitt Romney, whose success in the influential Iowa caucus
is being threatened by Huckabee's rise in the polls, also blasted
Huckabee in a call with reporters arranged by the campaign.

''His lack of sophistication and lack of experience in foreign policy
has shown through,'' said U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney of Oviedo. ``While we
welcome him to the ranks of freedom fighters, how could it be that only
in the last week he realized that dealing with Fidel Castro is
something we don't do?''

Huckabee's conversion also surprised the Arkansas Rice Growers
Association, which represents the state's top agricultural industry.
Cuba is one of the largest potential U.S. markets for rice in the world.

''Our guys, they're not going to like that he doesn't want the
restrictions loosened,'' said Greg Yielding, executive director of the
association. ``It's not just about rice. It's about understanding what
the embargo is doing and whether it's doing any good. Those people in
Cuba, they need food.''

STATE'S CLOUT

Rubio put a positive spin on Huckabee's change of heart, saying it
proved that moving up Florida's primary from March to Jan. 29 had
boosted the state's political clout in the presidential race.

In addition to his remarks on the embargo, Huckabee took up other
demands from hard-line Cuban-American exiles. He said he supports
allowing U.S. citizens to sue foreign companies doing business in Cuba
on confiscated property, and favors the indictment of Raúl Castro, head
of Cuba's military, for the 1996 shoot down of four Brothers to the
Rescue pilots flying out of Miami.

''Would these issues have been addressed at this stage in the campaign
if not for the Jan. 29 primary?'' Rubio asked. ``I would hope the other
candidates in the field match him on Cuba policy.''

The endorsement also spoke to the priorities of the ambitious state
legislator. Supporting Huckabee, a former Baptist minister known for
his staunch positions against abortion and gay marriage, could shore up
Rubio's credentials with the religious right.

Rubio has also staked his reputation on cutting taxes, and he dismissed
the tax-and-spend attacks against Huckabee from rivals and special
interest groups. Huckabee has also faced questions in recent days about
his 1992 statement that AIDS patients should be quarantined.


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