Many people have their ONE ISSUE in life, that seemingly overrides all other concerns... like the McCain-Bush-Rumsfeld-Cheney war or Tom Tancredo on immigration, say.
After reading the Miami Herald article.. here are my 2 cents.
If you read the (previously linked) Democrats torn between party, GOP allegiances story in the Miami Herald, Debbie Wasserman Schultz's issue is maintenance of the status quo with regard to Cuban isolation.
Lesley Clark writes
But Wasserman Schultz and Meek say their ties to the three Republicans are personal as well as professional: Both served in the state Legislature with Mario Diaz-Balart and say they work in concert with all three on South Florida issues.
Wasserman Schultz has also played a leading role in persuading the new Democratic majority to sustain the economic embargo against Cuba and has established close ties to the staunchly pro-embargo U.S.-Cuba Democracy political action committee, which has contributed thousands to Wasserman Schultz and Meek's campaigns.
This does explain, for me exactly why she is close to these republican candidates... but the revelation moment about this, for me, was further down the article:
Wasserman Schultz said the PAC support played no role in her decision, but she acknowledges she's closer to the Republican incumbents on Cuba issues than she is to the Democratic challengers, who favor easing restrictions on family travel to the island.
COURTING COMMUNITY
Wasserman Schultz has courted the Cuban-American community since she came to Washington: As a freshman legislator, she helped found the Cuba Democracy Caucus, a bipartisan group of pro-embargo legislators that works to thwart efforts to ease the embargo. She worked last year, Ros-Lehtinen says, ''like a tiger'' to help quash a push to ease travel and trade restrictions, delivering pro-travel advocates a big loss.
I knew Florida is a special place... fark.com, the outrageous news newsfeed has a special Florida category, even. I did not however understand the DWS issue until I read this article.
This has NOTHING to do with "neutrality", as the DCCC has claimed, or "friendship", as DWS has claimed, and everything to do with the Cuban issue. If these 3 democrats replace the 3 republicans, then Debbie's one big issue, Cuba, will have a weakened coalition.
I don't have a particular dog in the Cuba fight. I probably lean further towards a more moderate policy, simply because the existing policy has shown no evidence of changing the situation (and with Venezuelan backing, I do not see the situation changing going forward.)
It is interesting to me that people can develop into these single issue caricatures... as if they have become 2 dimensional cutouts of themselves.
I'll note that this has an interesting parallel between the Obama-Wright issue: I feel that peoples issue with Wright isn't exactly about what he has said... its that he's seen as a "single-issue" guy, on black separation/equality, or what-have-you. People wonder if Obama is the same "single-issue" guy, which he has been so careful to distance himself before now.
P.S. Please do not take this "understanding" as support of DWS's neutrality/support of republicans. She's wrong. I was just speculating as to WHY she is wrong. I am also not anti-Cuban-American. I do, however, think that you need to be American 1st.