During the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on Thursday, CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes reported on the continued response from members of Congress to the move by President Obama to normalize relations with Cuba, but chose to exclusively play up the split among those in the Republican Party on the issue.
Cordes first focused on the many Republicans against the President’s decision, with soundbites from Republican Senators Marco Rubio (Fla.) and John McCain (Ariz.) and Congresswoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), but then made a point of pointing out that not all Republicans feel the same way. [MP3 audio here; Video below]
“But his fellow Republican, Kentucky's Rand Paul, told a local radio station he thought it was a good idea,” Cordes stated.
Using Paul’s comments, Cordes reported that they “reflect a softening in American attitudes toward Cuba” and pointed to a New York Times poll from Octuber in which 56 percent said diplomatic relations should be reestablished “compared to just 40 percent in 1998.”
From there, she fretted how Republicans will “control the agenda” come January with the new Congress, and that GOP leadership is on the side of Rubio, who “opposes lifting the trade embargo and wants to block confirmation of whomever the President nominates as U.S. Ambassador.”
Earlier, in introducing the segment, anchor Scott Pelley added from Havana, Cuba, that: “Now, of course, Congress slapped that embargo on Cuba, and only Congress can lift it. Today, some members said they're going to try to keep that from happening.”
Cordes’s segment on Thursday was markedly different from a story she had on congressional reaction from Wednesday, during which she mentioned stiff Democratic opposition from New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez (N.J.), who also is Cuban-American.
In an article from Politico on Wednesday, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman and Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz seemed far from wholeheartedly embracing the President’s decision:
The move puts Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a bind, for example. She has been staunchly pro-embargo in the past but waited until Wednesday evening to weigh in. Wasserman Schultz said in a nuanced statement she has “always opposed…unearned changes in the status of our relationship” with Cuba but “will continue to work with the Administration…to support policies that benefit the Cuban people and do not further entrench the Castro regime.”
The transcript of the segment that aired on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on December 19 can be found belwo.
CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
December 18, 2014
6:34 p.m. Eastern
SCOTT PELLEY: Now, of course, Congress slapped that embargo on Cuba, and only Congress can lift it. Today, some members said they're going to try to keep that from happening. Here's Nancy Cordes.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (FLA.): This is the kind of deal you get when you send your speechwriter to negotiate with a tyrant.
NANCY CORDES: Republican Senator Marco Rubio took his opposition to Miami today, where he was joined by a group of Cuban-Americans, including Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
REPUBLICAN CONGRESSWOMAN ILLENA ROS-LEHTINEN (FLA.): The Cuban people are no more free today than they were before Obama's terrible deal.
CORDES: Arizona Republican John McCain panned the deal, too.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (ARIZ): Any normalization, in my view, should have been gauged on progress of human rights and other issues, and I haven't seen that.
CORDES: But his fellow Republican, Kentucky's Rand Paul, told a local radio station he thought it was a good idea.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR RAND PAUL (KY.): The 50-year embargo with Cuba just hasn't worked. If the goal was regime change, it sure doesn't seem to be working.
CORDES: His comments reflect a softening in American attitudes toward Cuba. In October, 56 percent told The New York Times they favored reestablishing diplomatic relations compared to just 40 percent in 1998. Still, the Republican leaders in both the House and Senate, who control the agenda, side with Rubio. He opposes lifting the trade embargo and wants to block confirmation of whomever the President nominates as U.S. Ambassador. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest called that hypocritical.
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JOSH EARNEST: It seems odd that Senator Rubio would be reluctant and, in fact, actively seeking to block the appointment of an Ambassador to Cuba when earlier this year he voted to confirm the Ambassador to China that the President nominated.
CORDES: Congress has made only two major changes to Cuba policy since 2000, and both were aimed at easing restrictions. One law allowed the sale of food and medicines to Cuba. The other made it easier for people to travel there for family and business reasons. Scott?
PELLEY: Nancy Cordes on Capitol Hill for us tonight. Nancy, thanks very much.
