(Former Senator Jesse Helms was the partner of Dan Burton on Helms-Burton Law)

Perhaps it was too good to be true. Congressman Dan Burton -- co-author of the Helms-Burton Law imposing extraterritorial sanctions law towards Cuba -- seems to have reversed himself -- or is at least seen to be flip-flopping this way and that -- on relaxing the Cuba travel ban.

Burton told Cuban-American Iraq War veteran Carlos Lazo and Sarah Stephens, Executive Director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, that he was supporting the Delahunt-LaHood bill removing travel restrictions for Cuban-Americans wishing to travel to Cuba.

I saw this as progress in the right direction -- even though I believe that U.S. laws that discriminate among classes of Americans based on ethnic descent are probably unconstitutional. Such a law permitting travel restrictions to be lifted for Cuban-Americans while not all Americans seems to be discriminatory and would unfairly limit my human right to travel as compared to Cuban-Americans.

But that said, Congressman Burton did communicate his intention to support Congressman Delahunt's and LaHood's legislation.

What also accompanied Sarah Stephens' press release yesterday was that Congressman Burton "had communicated" his position to both Congressmen Bill Delahunt (D-MA) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), the latter a proponent of lifting the travel ban to Cuba without restrictions.

So, has anyone called Congressmen Flake and Delahunt to see if Dan Burton did what he said he did?

-- Steve Clemons