While working on a documentary on Cuban history, I came across your site around nine months ago.

I've been fascinated to see the parallels of Castro's rise to power and Barack Obama's ascendancy.

They both have incredible charisma that can blind people from seeing what their intentions are, and I can understand why you have been skeptical and fearful of Obama.

I think skepticism is very health and necessary in a democracy.

But you've allowed your anger and fear to dehumanize Obama and supporters like myself. I've seen you place cockroaches on images of Obama and calling him names that have no place in a democracy.

Who knows how he will do in the next four years.
But he won fair and square. If he fails, just as Bush did (or worse), then we cank kick him out.

I guess I'm just writing this because I like to look at your site and sites like redstate as a check to my enthusiasm and to show me where my skepticism should be.

As a fan of your site, I hope that will be your focus.

I wonder if you went to Democrat blogs and told them that calling Bush a Nazi and worse has no place in democracy.

By the way, tell me one thing I said in this post about President-elect Hopeandchange that is factually incorrect.

If you want to equate your site with left wing nut jobs, that's your right.

I think we could argue back and forth about many of your posts, but I think for instance, calling Obama a socialist for wanting to raise taxes -- the recent financial bailout is way more socialist than anything that Obama has proposed.

"Calling people names" has no place in a dictatorship like Castro's Cuba, but is perfectly acceptable in a democracy where free speech exists. It may not be gentlemanly, but that's another matter entirely.

The recent financial bailout does indeed smack of socialism, but it was conceived as a temporary, emergency measure. I am not defending it, just pointing out that it's not meant to be a permanent thing. Of course, now that the Democrats will have power, God knows what it will turn into. On the other hand, the concept of sharing the wealth, or redistribution of income, is textbook socialism. If Obama is espousing socialist ideas, it is ridiculous to say that one can't call him a socialist, or that calling him such is "calling him names." It's merely a statement of fact. Let's hope his socialism doesn't extend to banning criticism, although he has already exhibited troubling signs of that, as well. For now, at least, I am free to state my opinion that the guy is an imbecile who will put the final nail in the coffin of this once-great nation.

Henry,

Conservatism has been lost by several years. McCain's nomination didn't lose it. This election, looking back as we can so clearly see it now, was lost as soon as Obama started to take the lead vs. Hillary. No other Republican would have absorbed the Obama/Media onslaught PLUS the economic meltdown in Sept. Romney? Giuliani? Thompson? Pick any name...same result if not much worse.

Remember, this is coming from someone who shares your overall view of McCain.

McCain did better than I thought. We never stood a chance in this election. Conservatism has been lost in the wilderness for almost 8 years. The worst part is that we really don't have anyone ready to pick up our standard. Tragically the most qualified, eloquent and brilliant defender is unelectable because his brother has turned out to be the second worst two-term president in the history of our great Republic. Don't blame Mc for the mess...it was DeLay, W, Hastert, Lott, et al. who destroyed our movement and our party.

This blog (since introduced to me by Val Prieto), has taught me so much about Cubans and Cuban-Americans. This site made Fidel Castro real to me and not just some guy on the camera. This site made me tell friends and family that wore those Che Guevara t-shirts to rip those damn things up. But like fraunk, I've been a little turned off by the dehumanization of Obama here (and some other Right wing sites) and the living canonization of Obama by many lefty sites.

But I'm not going to try to convince you to change the way you feel. As a black man, I understand in many ways how a candidate can cause a visceral reaction. All I can say is that America is a strong and dynamic country. This union will survive and continue. I hope President-Elect Obama will do the right thing for all of us here in America. Only time will tell.

T-Steel, I hope you're right. But past is prologue. And Obama alliances, allegiances, associations, friends, et al do not bode well for our future.

Fraunk, the inanity of your argument is this: Bush is not a "Nazi"; Obama, by his own words, convicts himself as a Socialist.

I remember one LIverpool night in 1945, my father carried me on his shoulders to vote conservative. Clement Attlee won and things went from bad to worse. We went to Cuban in 1948 to family land. Batista came and destroyed democracy in 1952. The press deceived us and Castro betrayed our hopes I arrived in the US in 1962, and a SOB at the Refugio, full of joyous malice. denied me support even though he had gone to school with me at the Escolapios of Guanabacoa, even though my mother's family were old Mambi. Still I, made a life, had a family, and survived, now I look at the Obama victory with the greatest trepidation, is he Attlee, worse is he a Castro, ... I worry

McCain is still hope, and Palin is a promise for the future. I know you will not give up the fight ... and neither will I till the day I die.

The good thing is that the liberal press is slowly fading the NYT may be dead or a Castro like a siguato zombi by 2012. Even by 2010 things will change ....

What seats are up for grabs in 2010? Maybe we should all get active in those races.

Has anyone here called GOP headquarters yet? Has anyone heard from them?

Does anyone think that the GOP will see that conservatism works not just as a functional way to run things but as an ideology that is embraceable by the average Joe? Or does everyone think that they will believe that they need to move more to the left as I feared when McCain became the nominee?

To all:

I sent this to the local paper (Corvallis-Gazette Times):

Dear Editor:

Yesterday, with the support of a partisan press including the G-T which helped hide or minimize his many flaws, a new president was elected. The only good thing I see is that he is “Black.�

Perhaps that is sufficient and yet today there are already calls from the “Democrats� to muzzle the radio programs by reviving the Orwellian “Fairness� doctrine…

Tomorrow G-d knows what will there be “show trials� of opposition members … a civilian pro-Obama militia? … the abandonment of Israel? … Will our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan be left without support as in the Somalian disaster of “Black Hawk down�? Will there be recognition of the racist government of Cuba which despite the racial composition of that country has very few senior “Black� members? … Only the L-rd knows.

Now the GT which helped put him there, has a duty to watch and when necessary criticize. … I am not hopeful you will.

Larry Daley

A veces hay que probar el mojón para saber que sabe a mierda.

Henry, you're so right with this comment.

The sad part of this story is that we Cuban-Americans got the taste of this "MOJON" 49 years ago and still lingers in our mouths several generations later (born in both Cuba and exile) and over 20 percent of the Cuban population exiled outside their country.

If only the American people that voted for Obama would have learn our lesson today the McCain/Paulin would be the elected ticket.

T-Steel makes a valid point and a depressing one. The amount of hatred spewed on sites. It is fine to disagree with Obama, personally I think he's a Socialist but there is no need to revile him for his views. Maybe it's the Catholic in me but I tend to think that if people believe in something it's because they want to make things better not worse. So don't question motives or people just what they push for. There are exceptions (Castro, Rangel, et al.) but for the most part most politicians, no matter how misguided, do want to improve our lot.

I commend T-Steel for entering the lion's den and making his point. I will say this however, I'm almost certain to be in that hardcore 30% that will never approve of Obama. I'm sorry but despite popular opinion I am a conservative and there is not one single issue that I have EVER agree with him on.

TheCardinal is right and he's wrong.

Conservatism has been lost in the wilderness for almost 8 years.

That's correct. And we really have only one person to blame for that: George W. Bush.

It is fine to disagree with Obama, personally I think he's a Socialist but there is no need to revile him for his views.

I don't revile him for his views, I revile him for his refusal to be candid about his views and I revile the media for refusing to investigate his views, associations, etc.

I suppose in America today it's more disturbing to be associated with Halliburton than the PLO and the Weather Underground.

theCardinal,

What about the far loony left, the MSM, etc attacks on John McCain and most of all Sarah Paulin.

While Barack Hussein Obama's choices of friends, acquaintances, associations and most of all his beliefs and values made him prime target for these attacks.

On the other hand, the loony left attacked Sarah Paulin and John McCain on issues that were trivial in nature compared with Obama's; yet the MSM concentrated their attacks on the Republican ticket while treating Obama's baggage with kids gloves.

Yet the left prevailed because the American people naivety swallowed the line, hook and sinker of the lies cooked-up by the liberal conspiracy (that one day years from now it might be made public) in which George Soros, the MSM and the Hollywood elite (among many others) are the main conspirators and money contributors.

But most of all only God knows how many international accomplices are part of this conspiracy as they contributed these large amounts of money to the Obama campaign that are undisclosed .

One day we might get to know who was behind all that excessive money raising that went into Obama's campaign and it might become scandalous.

I don't revile him for his views, I revile him for his refusal to be candid about his views and I revile the media for refusing to investigate his views, associations, etc.

I suppose in America today it's more disturbing to be associated with Halliburton than the PLO and the Weather Underground.

Henry,

I fully agree with these comments you made.

Freedom4Cuba - I'm only speaking to us here, not the loony left. By the way it isn't just the loony left that went gunning for Palin people I had once thought to be semi-reasonable (Andrew Sullivan) went bonkers. On election day he was STILL asking for proof that Palin was Trig's mom. They are just as bad if not worse than we are - I just expect more from us. Anyway I was taught in school that there is a special place for people like Kos - and it will make Guantanamo seem like Spring Break.

Every campaign has its nuances but short of bringing back Abe, TR or Ronnie we weren't going to win this presidential election. I voted for W, not once but twice so I'm obviously at fault. I realize now that perhaps a Kerry victory would have served our movement and party more but I'm not sure if it would've been better for the country.

I think what we need to do is play our hand and play it smart. If there is something rotten behind Obama money lets nail it down when we have something concrete. Let's not go Clinton crazy and make him into some sort of victim and make him popular. This guy is going to make mistakes, he is going to trip - we have to be there to make sure we get him when he's down. But it's important that we not overplay our hand.

Sadly Henry is right about associations and right now if you are a capitalist you are more likely to be vilified than an unrepentant terrorist.

this is just a tough time to be a free-market, conservative Republican but we can't lose the faith, we can't give up on our principles. there have been darker days...think of what Mises, Hayek, Buckley, Goldwater, Friedman and others had to put up with for over 40 years. Or even worse what a lover of free enterprise had to go through during both New Deals. Our day will come again - we just can't give up.

theCardinal,

These are the toughest times in our history since the end of WW2 because the American people have lost their moral values, standards, patriotism more than ever.

In another era, another time no candidate with the qualifications that Barack Hussein Obama (and I'm not talking about race here)has shown and his associations with so many shady characters with such an anti-American background would had a snowball chance in hell to become President of the USA.

Make no mistake the enemies of this country have finally gotten control of the highest office in this nation in it's 200+ years history.

It is really quite simple. Find out from the Club for Growth who THEY are promoting. They are single handedly trying to undo rinos in congress and replace them with low taxing, smaller government conservatives.
Some of the best people we have in congress are there because of the Club for Growth.

I agree and disagree. Americans like stories - nice tight stories they can wrap their hands around and Ayers just didn't work for them. Since Americans can be a tad too forgiving (Clinton) and since Ayers activities were thirty years old they just let it go. If they would have been buddy-buddy when Ayers was blowing up stuff then it would have been different. I never understood how Obama was able to shake off Wright, but he did.

So why did Americans lose their moral and patriotic compass? Because we are in war in Iraq that very few people believe in, because our confidence in markets have been shattered and because frankly the rest of the world can't stand us. Some of this could have been avoided but much of it just happened. We must face up to the fact that WE screwed up. We put in a President ill suited to the task of leading. As inspiring and reassuring as he was after 9/11 he proved an outright disaster in Iraq and everything else. Our leaders in the Senate and House also did nothing except spend, spend and spend. Now Dems are viewed as tax cutters and fiscal conservatives...what kind of Bizarro world is this? Don't blame Americans for losing faith - we gave them nothing to believe in. It's time for us to take stock, renew and rebuild. No more dimwitted Texans, Machiavellian VPs or all-knowing Secretaries of Defense. No more crusades to establish democracies where there had never been one. We ripped Clinton for trying it in Haiti and instead we try to do the same thing in a country a whole world away, with warring tribes with centuries of animosity.

Our Republican leaders gave the American people no choice.

I don't think the Ayers story is hard to understand or easily forgivable. I think a good portion of the people who voted for Obama never have heard the name Bill Ayers, even today.

it just doesn't have resonance. most americans can't remember what happened last week or even 10 years ago. If you mention Weathermen Underground then you have to explain what they did, who they were and what happend. We live in a bumper sticker society - if you can't fit it on a sticker or on a t-shirt you aren't going to get your message accross.

That may or may not be true Cardinal but the fact is we will never know because the media didn't do its job. If McCain had had an similar relationship on the other side of the political spectrum it would have been been heavily reported by the MSM.

on that we can agree. if Mc would have won an election by literally buying it like Obama I can't even imagine the hue and cry