Subject: 07.30.15 Friends & Allies TP's - Hillary Clinton's Speech on Cuba
From: Adrienne Elrod <[email-masked]>
To: Adrienne Elrod <[email-masked]>
Cc: Xochitl Hinojosa <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2015 13:07:00 -0400
List-Id: <toptalkers.hillaryclinton.com>

Friends -

Tomorrow during a speech at Florida International University in Miami,
Hillary will give a major policy speech on Cuba, where she will call on
Congress to lift the trade embargo with Cuba. Read more about her speech
here
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/07/29/clinton-to-call-for-lifting-cuba-embargo-in-miami-speech/>.

Below are talking points on her speech; please let Xochitl or me know if
you have any questions.

Thanks! - AE

*Friends and Allies TPs- Cuba*

*Hillary for America*

*July 30, 2015*

·         *Hillary Clinton is making a strong statement by going into Miami
to deliver this speech. *This is a debate that she wants to have because
there couldn’t be a clearer contrast between her forward-looking vision of
engagement, and the Republican vision of returning to five decades of
failed Cold War-era policies.

·         *Simply put, Republicans refuse to learn the lessons of the past
or pay attention to what’s worked and what hasn’t. *Why would we continue
policies that have accomplished absolutely nothing? Fifty-four years of
isolationism has *strengthened* the Castro regime’s grip on power, not
crippled it. It’s time to start empowering the Cuban people, not the
Castros.

·         *In 2009, the US began relaxing some policies toward Cuba, and
we’re already witnessing the benefits.* Since then, we’ve seen a boom in
Cuban entrepreneurship that validates the power of engagement and direct
exposure to American free-market capitalism.

·         *As President, Hillary Clinton will continue to use engagement
and American leadership to build on this progress. *She will take advantage
of our enhanced presence to advance our values and interests, engage with
those who support change in Cuba, address human rights abuses, and restore
our influence in the region.

·         *So the choice is clear. *We can chart a different path forward
in Cuba, betting on American influence to lift up the Cuban people with
free-market principles and access. Or we can turn back the progress we’ve
made in favor of failed isolationism, and leave both our foreign policy and
the Cuban people imprisoned by the past.

·         *Across the spectrum, people are ready for a new chapter in the
relationship between the United States and Cuba:*

o   According to Pew
<http://www.people-press.org/2015/07/21/growing-public-support-for-u-s-ties-with-cuba-and-an-end-to-the-trade-embargo/>,
72% of Americans -- and 59% of Republicans --support ending the trade
embargo with Cuba.

o   According to Univision
<http://huelladigital.univisionnoticias.com/destino-2016/analisis/>*,* among
Cuban-Americans, 40% are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports
normalization, compared to only 26% who are against it, and an overwhelming
majority
<http://bendixenandamandi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Cuba_Final_4.7.15.pdf>
of
Cubans in Cuba support normalization

*If asked about the Helms-Burton Act, signed by Bill Clinton, which placed
preconditions on lifting the embargo:*

·         Hillary Clinton will address this in her speech.  We know what
works and we’ve witnessed the benefits from relaxing some policies.
Hillary Clinton understands that we must look to the future and engage Cuba
in order to build on the progress already made.

-- 

Adrienne K. Elrod
Spokesperson
Hillary For America
*www.hillaryclinton.com <http://www.hillaryclinton.com>*
@adrienneelrod

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