Senate Candidate Jeff Greene: Liar, Liar, Cuban Cigars on Fire

Showing his readiness for the Senate seat into which he is investing millions, Jeff Greene continued his history of totally lying about proven facts, this time in a televised debate with his opponent, Kendrick Meek.  When Meek asked him about Greene's yacht trip to Cuba – a violation of U.S. law –Greene insisted he had not personally taken
the yacht to Cuba.  After the debate, though,
Greene acknowledged he "may have gone in 2007". He said the Jewish
Federation had obtained a visa for him to visit Cuba and that he and
other members of the federation visited a synagogue.

Having LEGALLY been in Havana several times, there are two possible responses:

1- Mr. Greene was AGAIN lying, a habit with which he is increasingly identified OR

2- The poor man's memory has deteriorated to the point that he can spend a week partying in Havana and sincerely forget about it.

Either way, folks, I don't want this guy representing me.  And his Trumpish wealth has nothing to do with it.   It is the arrogance of the POWER that wealth can bring that creates this kind of perceived ability to get away with anything by simply pulling a Shaggy:  "It wasn't me."

Mr. Greene's lies about taking his yacht to Cuba have been refuted by (so far) two crew members who accompanied him to the island for a week; both have said that the purpose of the trip was to party in Cuba, that Greene's assertion about waiting in Havana (IF he was there, remember he MAY have been there) for a spare part was nonsense, and that he and his girlfriend returned to Marina Hemingway laden with purchases, including Cuban cigars.  (It's not just the cigars that were illegal but his expenditures probably exceeded the daily limit permitted by the State Department, that is IF Mr. Greene was ACTUALLY in Cuba when he took the purchases aboard his 150 yacht which MAY have gone to Cuba…).

Look: I'm not bashing him for wanting to go to Cuba and certainly not for his clear opposition to an embargo which is, IMHO, the single most catastrophic continuing U.S. policy blunder in Latin America of the past 50 years.  I'm bashing him for having the absolute arrogance to continue to lie every time he gets caught doing something wrong.  If you run for office, you need to fess up.  "Sure, I went to Cuba.  I think the embargo is a farce and that the only ones who suffer are Cuban families".  But please…"I MAY have been there"??? Don't insult us.

Mr. Greene's "if I say it didn't happen, it didn't happen" audacity is hardly new.  His business dealings are peppered with this kind of duplicity and just last month (or so) he denied that his yacht had slashed through a prized reef in Belize, despite numerous eyewitness accounts and a site evaluation by marine biologists.  But my favorite quote in today's Herald article was this:

“There's
still a Jewish community there, I don't know if you know that,'' he
said. “There's still two synagogues. But there was no partying going
on. Who would you party with?"

Let's see…who would you party with in la Vieja Habana? (-:  I think the question is better phrased as "who would you NOT party with during a week in Havana".  Party on, Jeff, and I hope that if you keep spending and spending and manage to get that Senate seat you have your eye on, you'll take the lead on changing the rules about visiting Cuba so that those of us with smaller vessels can make trips like yours…legally.

Here is the Herald Article:

"What? I was in HAVANA?????"

Tags: Current Affairs