The always contentious Cuba issue

Mari Carmen Aponte (shown above right) has been down this road before. This time it does not look like she is backing down—yet.

Senate Republicans (including Senator Jim DeMint, above left) are blocking approval of the Obama administration’s nomination of Aponte to the post of Ambassador to El Salvador, claiming concern over her past ties to Cuba. Their reasoning? She once attended a party at the Cuban Mission to the United Nations in New York City, and her once-boyfriend might have had ties to the Cuban government, maybe.

And indeed, the FBI has already investigated and cleared her for this before when pressed similarly by Republicans during the Clinton administration. At that time, she had been nominated to serve as Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, but eventually withdrew her nomination after the issue stirred up Senate controversy.

She is an impressive woman: she has extensive legal experience and has served as President of the Hispanic National Bar Association; she has served on the boards of the National Council of La Raza and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund; and she has held political appointments in both the Carter and Clinton administrations. Yet her credentials apparently matter little in the face of barely founded accusations about a past relationship.

Looking forward to the day when the Cuba issue is no longer the making of a political stalemate.

(Photos from AP/USGOV)