Reagan v. Clinton
April 6, 2000
Even
those who consider Ronald Reagan something less than the ideal
conservative must miss him as they observe Bill Clintons handling
of the Elián Gonzalez case.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that
wall! Reagans ringing challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev to
destroy the Berlin Wall was one of the most stirring moments of his
administration. It resounded throughout the world, including the
Communist world. Without firing a shot, Reagan dealt a tremendous blow
to the legitimacy of Communism. If Clinton had been president, hed
have pretended the Wall wasnt there.
American liberals deplored
Reagans bellicosity, his Manichean
view that Communism was a horror and the Soviet Union an evil
empire. But his words had their effect. A few years later the
infamous Wall came down. When the Soviet Empire crumbled, it appeared
that even liberals finally realized that Reagans view of
Communism was shared by everyone who had lived under Communism.
It shouldnt have taken the
destruction of the Wall to prove that; the Wall itself was sufficient
testimony. Communism is a system that has to lock people in, threatening
them with death if they try to escape from its utopia.
Cuba being an island, Fidel
Castros version of the Berlin Wall is a fleet of gunboats that
patrol the shorelines and shoot those trying to flee by water. Elián
Gonzalezs mother was on a small boat that managed to elude
Castros killers.
Castros
philosophy was stated succinctly by Luis Fernandez, a Cuban diplomat in
Washington: Elián is a possession of the Cuban
government. That is the issue here. Castro and his flunkeys
dont even pretend to be supporting the rights of
Eliáns father. Under Communism, all are slaves of the state,
mere possessions of the government; now the Cuban state
wants its property back so it can turn him into a good little
Communist.
Castro even has a special term of
abuse for those who try to escape: worms. He needs such a
term because so many Cubans do want to leave. Most countries dont
have that problem and dont feel compelled to revile their
emigrants. Communist countries always do.
In contrast to Reagan, Clinton has
said nothing to challenge Castros right to the moral high ground in
this case; hasnt retorted to Castros bluster that the United
States has kidnapped Elián; hasnt said a word
in praise of Eliáns mothers courage; hasnt
questioned the legitimacy of Cuban Communism.
It would be easy, and inspiring, for
Clinton to make even a brief Reaganesque statement condemning
Castros tyranny and demanding that he let Cubans migrate freely.
But Clinton, who is forever pulpiteering in behalf of our
children, values good relations with Castro above human liberty,
and in particular above the welfare of the child who is at the center of
this drama. He thinks children must be protected against tobacco
and guns, but not against a totalitarian state.
Unlike most previous presidents,
Clinton doesnt see himself as the leader of a country that takes
pride in standing for freedom. He doesnt feel viscerally that he is
the moral opposite of a Castro. So he isnt inclined to argue with
Castro about principle in order to dramatize the difference between
American liberty and Communism assuming he even thinks there
are significant moral differences between the two. Maybe the greying New
Leftist of the Sixties just cant bring himself to criticize Fidel, an
icon of the New Left.
If anything is more shameful than
Clintons moral cowardice, its the bitter hostility of the
liberal press to the Miami Cubans who have escaped Castro and want to
protect Elián from him too. Liberals accuse the exiled Cubans of
politicizing Eliáns case for insisting on his
right to be free. The New York Times suggests that
their animosity toward Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader has
clouded their judgment. The truth is that the Cuban
exiles experience of the Cuban leader has given them
clearer judgment than the Times, which has plenty of vitriol
for the obdurate foes of Mr. Castro, but none for Mr.
Castro himself.
If Clinton wants a memorable
legacy, he could stand up to Fidel Castro not
militarily, but morally. But he wont. Faced with a Communist
tyrant, our most voluble president has developed laryngitis.
Joseph Sobran
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