Selective Conservatives

Conservatives have a way a being very selective when it comes to which tyrants are reprehensible and which are approachable.

Has for example speaker Gingrich recently spoken out about the oppression in China?

How about the blood-soaked rice paddies of Vietnam has the former speaker condemned the fact that Americans now consider that Southeast Asian Nation one of their favorite vacation destinations?

How about the dictators of Africa or Saudi Arabia? Why are those oppressive leaders pragmatically acceptable and not Castro?

Why is it that alone among all the Cold War era opposing Nations only Cuba is the subject of an embargo to this day? Why is it that Castro is the devil and Vladimir Putin now someone the Trump wants to do business with?

Put another way I think that in all honesty hardliners should ask themselves a simple question: if Cubans voted Democrat instead of Republicans would they still feel the same?

I think the United States should treat Castro's passing with the same dignified response as we do the passing of any other major totalitarian leader.

I think that a high-level cabinet official, if not the vice president then the Secretary of State, should attend his funeral. I also think it's time to end the hypocrisy about Cuban tyranny when we deal pragmatically with tyrants the globe over.

PS we started commercial flights to Havana this week. Cruise ships now dock there. Our tourism dollars will change Cuba a lot more than Cuba changes us.

There is no way President Trump can put that genie back in the bottle.