While Gov. Rick Scott was in Orange County touting another drop in Florida's unemployment rate, we took the opportunity to ask him about his reaction to President Barack Obama's first step toward normalizing relations with Cuba.
Scott, who blasted Obama over the plan Wednesday, remained firm Friday, saying the Cuban embargo should stay, and that whatever Florida loses in restricted trade is worth it.
"We've got to stand for democracy. We've got to stand for freedom. That's what this country stands for," the governor said. "That's not what the Castro brothers stand for. That's not what Cuba stands for today. They stand for oppression. They don't believe in civil rights. They don't believe in political freedom. And we need to stand up with individuals in Cuba that are saying the only way they're going to get Democracy is if America stands with them."
That said, Scott did concede that the homecoming of Alan Gross, who was held prisoner in Cuba for five years, was a good thing.
However, the governor added, "It's hard to believe we sent spies back that murdered Americans."
Gov. Scott was in Maitland on Friday to announce that the state's jobless rate fell to 5.8 percent for November, a 0.2 percent drop from the previous month. He used the Maitland-based Internet security company Viewpost as a backdrop for his announcement, because the three-year-old company was planning to add more than 260 new jobs.
Scott's stance against Obama's new plan for Cuba mirrors that of Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Cuban-American.
Rubio derided the Obama action as naive, saying the economic relationships with other authoritarian regimes haven't necessarily increased freedom in those nations.<