It's not 'panderitis' to reject Cuba's communist tyranny

It's not 'panderitis' to reject Cuba's communist tyranny
Friday, April 04, 2008

It was disheartening to read your March 23 editorial, cynically titled
"Diagnosis: Panderitis." I was elected to represent my constituents who,
unlike your editorial board, do not take communism, tyranny and
legalized discrimination lightly, since many of them have suffered its
effects firsthand. As a member of the Florida House of Representatives,
I have the constitutional authority to file legislation to regulate the
issuance of licenses, medical or otherwise. This bill that would prevent
American doctors from practicing in Florida if they earned their medical
degrees in Cuba does not affect our relations with any nation and is
therefore not a foreign-policy initiative. Rather, it sends a clear
message that Florida will not recognize medical degrees from a regime
that so unashamedly rejects the basic tenets of humanity. This bill has
wide support, including many of my colleagues, constituents and
organizations, such as the Florida Medical Association.

Specifically on the issue of health care, ordinary Cuban citizens are
relegated to subpar, archaic, and quite frankly, abusive conditions in
absolute squalor, while high-level government officials, Communist Party
elites and hard currency-paying foreigners are treated to proper care in
state-of-the-art facilities. This Cuban version of "free" health care is
nothing more than health-care apartheid, and I believe that those who
turn a blind eye to such human and civil rights abuses do not possess
the basic judgment and character required for the ethical practice of
medicine in Florida.

To his credit, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., rightfully championed
U.S. sanctions and divestment against the repressive apartheid regime of
South Africa in the 1980s, and I salute him for it. In 2000, the very
same Rep. Rangel led a congressional delegation to Cuba to meet with the
architect of Latin American apartheid himself, Fidel Castro. The Cuban
tyrant unveiled a program offering 500 medical scholarships to U.S.
nationals, which was classified as a "cultural exchange" program by the
State Department to avoid the restrictions of the embargo against Cuba.
Our students should not be contributing to, nor legitimizing such a
blatant system of apartheid, nor should they be used in what is merely a
propaganda and public relations ploy by a sworn enemy of America.

There is no question that the merits of my bill are open to debate and
discussion, and had one of your editorial writers taken the time to
contact me, I gladly would have explained the bill. However, to broadly
label those of us who condemn tyranny, oppression, terrorism, and
institutionalized discrimination as "extreme" is irresponsible and
intellectually lazy.

REP. EDDY GONZÁLEZ

R-Hialeah

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2008/04/04/m19a_edletters_0404.html