Subject: Re: For Review: Cuba Speech - Wednesday evening draft
From: Amanda Renteria <[email-masked]>
To: John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Cc: Lorella Praeli <[email-masked]>, Laura Rosenberger <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], Dan Schwerin <[email-masked]>, Daniel Kurtz-Phelan <[email-masked]>, Megan Rooney <[email-masked]>, Jake Sullivan <[email-masked]>, Jennifer Palmieri <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2015 12:08:46 -0400

A couple of thoughts.

I'd take out "The capital of Latin America".  Concerned that this could
offend other Latin groups bc it implies Cuban-Americans are the leading
Latino group.  I worry about that and I'm not sure we win enough by
claiming that line.

Love that we give a shout out to the Pope.  Great.

Not a huge fan of talking about Carlos - I think Bush would use it to later
be reasonable/understanding of folks who want to open up Cuba.

Power of proximity - I've asked Paola Luisi to think of something that
captures this concept in spanish.  It doesn't quite apply as a direct
translation.  But, by the way, this is a cool concept with Mexico too.  So,
building this out is interesting.

In the world of coming up with what I call "original content" is the idea
below.  Not sure what others think but may be an easy line to add (flags
also raised below):

"If Republicans had their way, they would relegate the island to 100 years
of solitude."

One Hundred Years of Solitude is the title of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's most
famous novel and is the second most printed book in Latin America after the
bible. The story is about a mythical town named Macondo that is doomed to
the inescapable repetition of history as protagonists and their descendants
are haunted by ghosts and outside forces that represent colonialism and
ideological struggle.

This would need to be heavily vetted by policy and run by and a literary
expert as there are many metaphors in the book, but I think it would be
interesting to quote Latin America's most famous novelist if the speech
indeed plans to frame Cuba policy within the greater context of the
Americas.

Political considerations:

-Garcia Marquez met with Castro, but he has also met with WJC. The author
had a personal relationship with Castro and criticized the revolution in
later years.
-There is a part of the book where the Marquez illustrates the 1928 Banana
Massacre by the United Fruit Company in Colombia and it highlights the dark
history of American multinational corporations in LatAm. Some could link it
to American companies that operated in Cuba before the revolution.

On Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 8:15 AM, John Podesta <[email-masked]>
wrote:

> This is solid. 2 ideas:
> 1) should she mention Oswaldo Paya on page 2 in the parade of regime
> horribles? A particularly horrific example and a cause celeb for Wapo.
> 2) I think the internet graph would be strengthened and more newsy if we
> had more specific ideas on how to accomplish and it was more linked to her
> work at State on open internet issues.
> On Jul 29, 2015 10:03 PM, "Lorella Praeli" <[email-masked]>
> wrote:
>
>> Love this. It strikes the perfect balance. Also think there's a lot we
>> can do with the "power of proximity." just loved it. great work.
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 10:34 PM, Dan Schwerin <
>> [email-masked]> wrote:
>>
>>> Team, attached please find a draft of HRC's Cuba speech for Friday in
>>> Miami. We make the case for lifting the embargo and pursuing a strategy of
>>> engagement, and then stepping back to offer a vision for U.S. leadership in
>>> the Americas and a broader contrast on foreign policy with the Republicans.
>>> In this draft we don't hit Rubio or Jeb by name, so that's one question
>>> to consider.
>>>
>>> HRC is excited about this one and thinks we're in a pretty good place,
>>> so that's encouraging.  Would be great to hear any comments or concerns on
>>> Thursday morning.
>>>
>>> Also, most of you have met our new speechwriter Megan Rooney, who wrote
>>> for HRC for four years before going to work for President Obama.  I am
>>> super excited to have her on board and I'm sure you'll soon love her as
>>> much as I do.  Later this evening she'll be sending around an Urban League
>>> draft.
>>>
>>> Thanks as always
>>> Dan
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Lorella Praeli
>> Director of Latino Outreach || Hillary for America
>> <http://www.hillaryclinton.com>
>> 203.417.1436
>> @lorellapraeli <https://twitter.com/lorellapraeli>
>>
>

-- 
Amanda Renteria
National Political Director
Hillary for America #Hillary2016
559-426-5756 (o)
650-868-1188 (c)
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