The Marietta Daily Journal – U S Sen Chambliss Only so much Republicans can do without White House

MARIETTA — Retiring U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) said Monday the members of the Republican majority in the upcoming Congress should temper their expectations of what they can accomplish.

Chambliss, during an interview with the MDJ’s editorial board, likened the current Congressional situation to the one he experienced in 1994, when Republicans were given a majority in both chambers.

Here’s a sampling of Chambliss’s thoughts on his career, U.S.-Cuba relations and North Korea.

Q: What do you make of President Barack Obama’s move to defang the embargo with Cuba?

A: Well, No. 1, the embargo is congressionally imposed. The only way you’re going to lift that embargo is for Congress to do it. The president can’t do it. The president, as he has done so many other times before, over an 18-month period apparently engaged in discussions and negotiations with the Castro-Cuban government and struck this deal without consulting Congress. No member on either side of the aisle was consulted. This is a major change in policy, and you just don’t do that without consulting with Congress. So that’s why you’re hearing this huge backlash coming out of both sides of the aisle over this deal.

Long term, should we re-engage with Cuba? You bet. I mean, they’re 90 miles away. We had a good relationship with them pre-Castro and we’ll have a good relationship with them post-Castro. But as long as the Castro brothers are there running that government, you cannot trust them. We got nothing out of this deal — nothing whatsoever — except the release, obviously, of the prisoners, but they got a better deal on that than we did. … Those that are engaged with the state department on a regular basis should have been consulted on this, and they weren’t. That’s going to prove to be a big mistake for (Obama).

Q: Given the embargo hasn’t resulted in the Castro dictatorship’s fall from power, what steps can be taken to fix the problem?

A: The only way you’re going to fix it is for the Cuban people to fix it. And we don’t do very well when we inject ourselves into the politics of other countries. … I don’t think striking a deal with (the Castros) long-term benefits U.S.-Cuban relations. There are too many people, too many Cuban-Americans who now still remember what it’s like to live under Castro. And there’s no indication whatsoever that life in Cuba’s ever changed. I mean, they’re still driving 1957 Chevrolets down there. Their economy, in spite of the Russians and others trying to benefit them, is still struggling. The only way it’s ever going to improve is for U.S.-Cuba relations to become better and there be an open trade relationship between our two countries. Under the Castros, I just don’t think you’re going to see that ever happen.

via The Marietta Daily Journal – U S Sen Chambliss Only so much Republicans can do without White House.