OR-05: Mike Erickson's Magnificent Cuban Vacation
by brownsox
Sun Aug 17, 2008 at 03:41:11 PM PDT
When last we checked in with checkered GOP Congressional candidate Mike Erickson, he was busy denying allegations that he used to throw wild cocaine parties on his private yacht, claiming to have had no idea what cocaine looks like:
"I've never used cocaine. I wouldn't know what it looks like," Erickson said, adding that he has never used illegal drugs or tobacco.
That's as may be (though if it's true, I can only wonder if Erickson has been to the movies since 1975, or uses baking soda). However, the Oregonian has come out with evidence that Erickson is certainly no stranger to the high life.
Mike Erickson, Republican candidate for the U.S. House, made a six-day visit to Cuba in 2004 that he described as a "humanitarian trip" to help disabled Cubans oppressed by Fidel Castro. But the visit was actually a vacation that included marlin fishing, nightclub visits and Cuban cigars.
See, Erickson has been boasting that he traveled to Cuba to provide aid and comfort to the oppressed multitudes:
Four years ago I was given an opportunity to make a humanitarian trip to Cuba, providing medical supplies and equipment to the disabled and Cuba's impoverished. The Cuban American Alliance Education Fund was looking for donors to help raise money and deliver supplies and equipment to Cuba's less fortunate. I was able to purchase badly needed medical supplies and equipment from the US and bring them to Cuba's disabled and poverty stricken communities.
The trip also provided me the opportunity to see firsthand just how horrific Castro's stronghold on the nation had oppressed and mistreated people. The living conditions and healthcare were horrible.
Yeah, but see, the Oregonian obtained a copy of Erickson's itinerary for the trip. It seems difficult to imagine him having much time for humanitarian activities, fitting them in between such enjoyable pastimes as
- Mojitos and cigars at cocktail hours - Dove shooting - Cock fighting - Cigar conventions and a tour of a notable cigar factory - Rides in vintage automobiles - Lodging in five-star hotels - And the creme de la creme, the centerpiece of the trip..."Comandante Fidel Castro's Annual Gala Cigar Dinner And Auction".
Well. That is a lot of cigars, for someone who has claimed never to have used tobacco.
It's also a lot of leisurely activities for someone traveling to Cuba for "humanitarian" purposes. Since, you know, actually vacationing there is forbidden.
Oh, and Erickson's trip was not sponsored by the "Cuban American Alliance Education Fund", but rather by an organization called "Safari Clubs International". They may be in hot water themselves, as the most damning part of their itinerary indicates:
I will provide each person with the information on how to acquire the travel license if they want to fulfill the obligations set forth under a humanitarian license. If not, I provide itemized, personal, hotel receipts and leter from concierge from the Hyatt Regency in Cancun, Mexico to show a proof of visit to Mexico not Cuba from February 25 Marc 2, 2004.
I believe this is also called "forging documents". Which is, I am told, very illegal.
So here is a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, who went on a $1700, top-shelf vacation to Cuba, hung out at Fidel Castro's gala parties, gamed the system by calling it a humanitarian trip, and traveled with an organization which offered to illegally forge papers for its guests.
Any guesses on what might have happened if a Democrat had done this?
