Florida GOP invokes Elian in fund-raising letter

By Beth Fouhy/CNN

April 4, 2000
Web posted at: 6:10 p.m. EDT (2210 GMT)

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- State Republican officials Tuesday tried to distance themselves from a fund-raising letter to Hispanic voters that exploited the Elian Gonzalez standoff.

Party leaders said its strong language may have "overshadowed the letter's intent."

The letter was criticized in newspaper editorials and by the state's Republican governor, Jeb Bush, whose brother, George W. Bush, is running for president.

Written in Spanish and signed by state GOP Chairman Al Cardenas, the letter was sent to 10,000 Hispanic households in South Florida in early March.

It described how the 6-year-old Cuban boy was rescued at sea last Thanksgiving Day, two days after his mother and 10 others drowned when the boat that was taking them to Florida capsized.

"By the grace of God, he was found tied to an inner tube in shark-infested waters but protected by a school of dolphins," the letter said.

It called Cuban President Fidel Castro a "hysterical lunatic and loose tyrant."

And, it charges that President Bill Clinton, "with characteristic cowardice," has treated the Elian issue as "another avenue through which to ingratiate himself with the dictator Castro."

The Florida GOP provided a translation of the letter for English speakers, but said the English-language version was not mailed out.

Bush spokeswoman Elizabeth Hirsh said the governor "believes it was and is inappropriate to use Elian Gonzalez for political purposes."

The letter also criticized the Clinton Administration's handling of Cuba's downing of planes flying missions for the anti-Castro Brothers to the Rescue.

The letter concludes by saying "the rampant repression, persecution, propaganda, indoctrination, harassment and misery is worse than ever before ... We must elect Republican leaders who understand that and we need your financial help to achieve it."

Jamie Wilson, executive director of the Florida GOP, told CNN this was the first time the party had targeted Hispanic voters using Cuban issues.

He said the letter was a "prospecting" piece, designed to expand the party's donor base rather than raise money from existing donors. Wilson said all money raised by the letter will be sent to the Elian Gonzalez legal defense fund.