It’s no secret that this state — from Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio to Gov. Charlie Crist to members of Congress — has been weighing in on the Obama Administration with hefty, Florida-centric wish lists.
Amid the appeals for Medicaid help, Everglades restoration and infrastructure dollars is a less-publicized entreaty from Gov. Crist. In his recent request letter to (then President Elect) Obama, Crist also asked for political support for Florida’s substantial international trade.
Specifically, Crist made the case for the Colombian Free Trade Agreement. He noted that such an agreement could increase Florida’s exports to Colombia by more than $160 million in the first year. It would also create an estimated 1,775 jobs.
While he was lobbying for Florida’s 14 seaports, the “people’s governor” steered clear of an opportunity to lobby for much more. Why not remind the new president that an end to the Cuban embargo would, according to estimates from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, be worth at least $1.2 billion in U.S. exports – a sizable share of which would accrue to Florida?
And in the process, why not remind the new president — seemingly content for now with merely undoing the George W. Bush embargo add-ons — that the critical swing state of Florida can obviously be had without pandering to the clout-diminished Cuban exile vote? Why not, in effect, remind the new president that the low-hanging fruit that is the Cuban embargo is now there for the picking during a recession for the ages?
Unless, of course, the governor himself needs more than reminding that the nearly half-century Cuban embargo, that quintessential Cold War relic, has never made less sense or been more counterproductive for this state and this country.