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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (79376)	4/29/2010 3:45:37 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

The endgame for Democrats is that they will likely pick up seats (and seats will be eliminated in other areas of the country after the next Census redistricting) -- and not just in Puerto Rico. You can bet that D.C. won’t sit idly by if Puerto Rico gains statehood. Stealth Statehood By: Naomi Lopez Bauman The Corner Alex Castellanos’ post discussing the Puerto Rico Democracy Act (HR 2499) correctly points out that “the principles of democracy, inclusiveness, and self-determination belong to all U.S. citizens.” What he misses, however, is the Puerto Rican government’s plan to rig their election by eliminating the commonwealth option in their next series of self-determination elections. Puerto Ricans have rejected statehood in the last three self-determination elections, and independence is extremely unpopular. The strategy to virtually eliminate as an option for voters Puerto Rico’s current status as a commonwealth, leaving only independence and statehood as options, will all but guarantee a statehood landslide. The plan is spelled out in their legislation (pp. 7-8) and can be found here. The New Progressive Party (PNP), which is pro-statehood, controls all branches of government. There is little doubt that this bill would become law soon after the U.S. Congress passes the Puerto Rico Democracy Act. The plan is this: After statehood wins a landslide majority, Puerto Rico will elect a congressional delegation to send to Washington, D.C., and they will demand to be seated. This is the same strategy Tennessee used to gain admission to the Union in 1796. The PNP party platform can be found here, and it says on p. 179 (translation from Spanish): “After having obtained a majority vote for Statehood, we will implement the most effective strategies to have Congress approve an enabling act admitting Puerto Rico as a State of the Union, by including the strategy known as the Tennessee Plan.” PNP leader and former governor Carlos Romero Barceló once told local newspapers, “They [congressional leaders] will have to support [statehood] in order to avoid being accused of bigotry against Hispanics.” In other words, they won’t hesitate to denounce anyone who resists their demand as “racists.” Mr. Castellanos further claims that Puerto Ricans overwhelmingly support conservative values and elect Republicans to office in the commonwealth. But in reality, Puerto Ricans cannot be counted on to support free-market and conservative candidates on the national level. In the 2008 presidential primaries, more than 388,000 Puerto Ricans turned out to vote for then-senators Obama and Clinton. Fewer than 1,000 voters turned out for the Republican caucus. Why do pro-statehood leaders use such strong-arm tactics to force their way into the Union? The main reason is that Puerto Rico’s economy is in shambles and it needs a bailout from the U.S. Treasury that it could not hope to get as a commonwealth. The endgame for Democrats is that they will likely pick up seats (and seats will be eliminated in other areas of the country after the next Census redistricting) -- and not just in Puerto Rico. You can bet that D.C. won’t sit idly by if Puerto Rico gains statehood. Rather than conduct an honest and open debate about the potential costs and benefits of Puerto Rican statehood, congressional leaders -- on both sides of the aisle -- are preparing to pass this resolution with no opportunity for public debate and amendments. Furthermore, by sanctioning a rigged election process in Puerto Rico, Congress will be running roughshod over Puerto Ricans’ desire -- expressed in three previous elections -- to remain a U.S. commonwealth. Republicans need to remember the old adage, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Republicans should continue to support the ideals of self-determination for Puerto Rico, but it should be done in the light of day with an opportunity for public debate. -- Naomi Lopez Bauman is a public policy consultant. She lives in Shreveport, La. . .

To: Sully- who wrote (79376)	4/30/2010 2:39:52 PM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Respond to of 90947

Playing The Puerto Rico Card IBD Editorials Posted 04/29/2010 07:05 PM ET Politics: Faced with losing Congress, the Democrats want to make Puerto Rico a state whether the people want it or not. The Democrats would get two new senators, new congressmen and a campaign issue. Throw in voting representation for D.C., amnesty for illegals and voting for felons, all items on the Democrats' agenda, and in their cookbook you have a recipe for Democratic majorities as far as the eye can see. It's a plan to retain control at all costs and counteract a Tea Party movement that threatens to throw their big-government liberalism on the ash heap of political history. You also have the added bonus of energizing Hispanic activists all too eager with administration help to paint the GOP as racists, particularly in the light of the new Arizona law that does nothing but say that since the feds dropped the ball on border security, Arizona will pick it up and run with it. A scheduled Thursday vote in the House of Representatives on HR 2499, dubbed the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, was designed to rig the game in favor of Puerto Rican statehood, something native Puerto Ricans have rejected in the last three self-determination elections. Puerto Ricans like their current status just fine. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders do not. HR 2499 would not make Puerto Rico a state. It would split the past voting process into the two parts. The first would be an up-or-down vote on whether Puerto Ricans simply want to change their island's status from a commonwealth in association with the U.S. instead of an up-or-down vote on statehood in the past. Democrats hope enough people favor independence or statehood to cobble together a majority in favor of status change. Once the first hurdle is cleared, a second vote will determine what the new status should be with the choices being commonwealth, statehood or independence. This is where the Democrats' subversion of the democratic process begins. The second vote winner is determined by a mere plurality of one of the choices. Under this plan, if statehood just finishes in the lead, it wins, even without a clear majority. It gets better. Under HR 2499, nonresident Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states could vote in the new referendum. According to the U.S. Census, there are more eligible Puerto Ricans living outside the proposed 51st state than in it. So native Puerto Ricans could vote no on statehood while their mainland cousins could make it a yes. In case the vote is still no, HR 2499 requires a new referendum every eight years or until it becomes a yes in favor of statehood. This still wouldn't make Puerto Rico a state, but it would grease the skids and let supporters paint opponents as racists in an election year. This would be ironic, since letting nonresident Puerto Ricans vote is making ethnicity a qualification rather than residency. Isn't that racist? The new state would automatically make America a bilingual nation in perpetuity. At least half of Puerto Ricans do not speak English. It would create new spending demands to bring Puerto Rico's economic status up to the mainland's level. Puerto Rico's median income is nearly a third lower. Statehood for Puerto Rico would undoubtedly send two Democratic U.S. senators to Washington as well as six to eight more Democratic congressmen. Puerto Rico the state would have a larger delegation than 25 of the current 50. The Democrats are also pushing amnesty for illegals and putting them on the "path to citizenship" to quickly add a massive new voting constituency likely to vote their way. Another bill, HR 3335, would give convicted felons no longer incarcerated the right to vote. Think they'd vote for a law-and-order Republican? Not likely. All these actions are designed to provide fresh sources of votes to replace those they are clearly losing — middle-class, tax-paying, Tea Partying Americans. .