Public Supports Normalizing Relations With Cuba

President Obama recently announced that he is taking steps to once again normalize relations with Cuba. That means that soon we will have an embassy in Cuba -- and the president also relaxed some rules on doing business with Cuba, is going to allow more money to be sent there by private citizens (although most citizens will still be restricted from traveling there).

These moves (and more) have needed to happen for quite a while now in my opinion. But naturally, the Republicans in Congress hit the roof when the president announced his plans. They accused the president of supporting the abuse of human rights (even though they have recently defended this country's use of torture) and complained that he us supporting a dictatorship (ignoring the many right-wing dictatorships they support themselves, like Saudi Arabia). I suspect that, as usual, their opposition springs more from the fact that it was done by President Obama, than any feeling that it was the wrong thing to do.

So, who is right? Does the public support the president's actions or the Republican's outrage over those actions? After examining several new surveys on the subject, it looks to me like the Republicans have positioned themselves in opposition to the desires of the American public. About 54% of the public supports normalizing relations with Cuba, while only 28% oppose that.

In fact, the American public would like to see our government go even further. A whopping 77% think all Americans should be able to travel to Cuba (like the people of all other nations can do), while only 17% want to keep the travel restrictions in place. And about half of the public (49%) would like to see the U.S. completely lift the embargo against Cuba (something only Congress can do), and only 28% would oppose lifting the embargo.

If the Republicans think they will win support by opposing the president on Cuba, they are sadly mistaken. Americans are ready to end the diplomatic and economic war on that island nation. And the charts below show us why that is. About three-quarters (74%) of the American people no longer see Cuba as a threat to the United States. And that includes those over 50, many of whom are old enough to remember the Cuban missile crisis.

I doubt that the Republican Congress will lift the embargo against Cuba. They wouldn't want their teabagger base to think they agree with the president on anything -- even something that makes sense and is wanted by most Americans. But they should do it.

The top two charts above are made from a CBS News Poll -- done between December 18th and 21st of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, with a 3 point margin of error.

The third (bottom) chart above is from a Rasmussen Poll -- done on December 19th and 20th of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error.

The two charts below were made from a CNN/ORC Poll -- done between December 18th and 21st of a random national sample of 1,011 adults, with a 3 point margin of error.