Why Puerto Rico Matters In The 2012 Elections

Puerto Rico - Color (Photo credit: fortherock)

The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico will have no say in the presidential election come November, and its Sunday primary has been overshadowed by bigger upcoming races in states like Illinois.

Still, frontrunners Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum ventured off the mainland this week to woo Puerto Rico voters. In a race in which every delegate counts — and in which a connection with the Latino vote could pay off in the long run — the Puerto Rico primary will matter more than many probably expected it to this year.

Delegates: Puerto Rico will award a total of 23 delegates after Sunday’s primary — 20 at-large delegates will be allocated proportionally while the last three will remain unbound to any candidate, though they can state their candidate preference.

That makes Puerto Rico nearly as delegate-rich as Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands combined. After Romney won 34 delegates delegates in those territories, his campaign noted boasted in a memo that they “helped expand his delegate lead, pushing him closer to the nomination.”

With that in mind, it’s not that surprising that Romney is heading to Puerto Rico on Friday, while his wife Ann joined Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno to meet with Puerto Rican senior citizens earlier in the day.

Newt Gingrich hasn’t traveled to the island himself, but his daughter Kathy Lubbers has spent the past two days there. Meanwhile, Santorum visited Puerto Rico earlier in the week, but the trip may have backfired after he stirred up controversy by asserting that English should be spoken “universally” in Puerto Rico before the territory becomes a state. Santorum said his initial comments were misconstrued, but they nevertheless cost him two important Puerto Rico supporters who found the remarks offensive.

via Why the Puerto Rico GOP primary matters – Political Hotsheet – CBS News.

Romney Is Puerto Rico’s Enemy…According to the PDP

Amusing, since I believe that some of Romney’s policies are more aligned with their party rather than with the GOP‘s:

According to the leaders of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), the presidencial candidate Mitt Romney is an “enemy of Puerto Rico” and governor Luis Fortuno must withdraw his support before the GOP Presidential primary on Sunday.

It will be confusing to many Americans the difference amongst both political parties. I like to use the “Hatfields Vs. The McCoys” approach because if you think the US has it bad, in Puerto Rico is three times worse, and then some. Almost everything revolves about Puerto Rico’s current territorial political status. This won’t stop until there’s a solution, and all candidates that travel to the island will either tiptoe around it, or give an answer non-answer that will not help and will stall the island’s fighting. Rick Santorum already stepped in it with his remarks with regards to the English language as one of the conditions to integrate Puerto Rico to the main Union.

Now the policies that the PDP complains about, my readers will either agree or disagree when it comes to Mitt Romney and will make his “relationship” with Puerto Rico somewhat familiar-rather than with Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich who have worked with Puerto Rico’s leaders in the past.

Also, keep in mind that when president Obama visited the island, he left with a little bit more than $1.2 million dollars from PDP’s donors-so their claim that they’re whining about $100,000 doesn’t fly. Heck, I bet that money is better put to use to Air Force One’s over-used presidential campaign airline of choice.

Read below for their reasons on why they believe Romney would be a bad POTUS:

• Appointment of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court;
• Repeal Obamacare;
• Lost jobs in Aguada (a city), 300 jobs from back to 1990 as a transaction that Bain Capital did when they acquired the DuPont manufacturing building in Puerto Rico;
• Believes in English language as the main language in the United States (LOL!);
• Claims as an accomplishment Romney’s cut of bilingual education in Massachussetts;
• Rejects the “Dream Act” that would benefit millions of Hispanics, including our Dominican Republic neighbors (?!?! they better explain this one!), and
• Not a single plan on job creations for the island.

They brought up the usual millionaire’s donors that lobby for Puerto Rico’s affair in Congress. Every single candidate for any position in any public arena will face oppo research that will whine and complain about campaign donors. The PDP argues that Fortuno donated $100,000 from Puerto Rico’s public funds and not from his own money.

NOTE: On Obamacare, I must point out that Rick Santorum is not aware nor does know that Obamacare will apply to the island. I wanted to throw those 0.2 because on the law’s language.

It is up to the lamestream media in Puerto Rico (yes, they are, and there’s a GOP establishment too) to report facts and do their homework, instead of parroting politician’s messages instead of performing real journalism.

Rick Santorum In Puerto Rico

(Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)

GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum arrived in Puerto Rico yesterday (Wednesday, the 14th) and will leave today Thursday. He has a heavy schedule, and I will translate it for you.

Greetings! I am the webmaster for The Palin Express blog; before you come to any conclusions, I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and lived there until my adult life. I know the “ins-and-outs” of Puerto Rico’s favorite sport: Politics.

*beginning of shameless blog advertising* This is a team of ONE as I like to call it, so most of my work is by myself, your average regular housewife. If you feel that I am helping you stay informed on matters the rest of the media is not covering, or not covering enough, please click on the “Pay-Pal” link. It does help me stay motivated, and I don’t get paid for this. *end of shameless blog advertising*

Rick Santorum’s first stop was to the Governor’s Mansion, the Santa Catalina Palace. He met with Governor Luis Fortuno, who in fact supports Mitt Romney, did so ever since the Florida primaries, and is setting up the ground work for Mitt Romney to campaign and win in Puerto Rico. Santorum was swarmed with journalists as soon as he got off the vehicle and answered a few questions before he went ahead to his meeting.

Rick Santorum traveled to Puerto Rico with his wife Karen, and five out of his seven children. They exchanged important matters to the island and the Caribbean region such as drug trade, Puerto Rico’s recession-this one is separate from the US-and Rick Santorum was very curious how Puerto Rico got out of their six-year recession, before the United States got into theirs and Fortuno explained to candidate Santorum why, and how they did it.

Santorum has been campaigning all over Puerto Rico and personally I am disappointed he’s leaving so soon. It would’ve been a treat to see all of them under the Caribbean sun. I still have no confirmation on Ron Paul making a trip there as I write this piece. As soon as I find out I will let you know.

-TPE

Related articles

• Coverage On Puerto Rico’s GOP Primary (thepalinexpress.wordpress.com)
• CNN Guest Calls Santorum ‘Doofus’ Over Puerto Rico ‘Speak English’ Statehood Gaffe, Will Cain Defends (mediaite.com)
• Puerto Rico Has It Better Than The USA When It Comes To Primary System (thepalinexpress.wordpress.com)

Overview Of Puerto Rico’s GOP Primary on 2012

The Electoral Commissioner of Puerto Rico, Jose Enrique Melendez confirmed this past Tuesday that everything is ready to go for Puerto Rico’s Sunday primaries. Puerto Rico, as I wrote in my first article, will hold their local primaries along with the Presidential GOP primaries.

In order to cast a vote in Puerto Rico’s GOP primaries, said voter must be registered to vote (sorry Texas, Puerto Rico has a Voter ID card), that the voter’s name must be in the “active” up-to-date vote registry and confirm his or her GOP affiliation. On Sunday, each voter will show their voter ID card. I can attest that without that, voters are turned away and show them the exit door.

There are forms to fill out aside of the ballots (still cast by paper) regarding the Republican Party. Now for whatever reason I am not aware of, the CEE (in Spanish) the entity that runs the elections in Puerto Rico will bypass the expiration date on the ID card. My take is that they seek as many voters as possible since this is only a local primary and on a Sunday, of all days. This will not be the case for PR‘s November elections for Governor and the rest of the

branches of government.

The GOP Presidential primary in Puerto Rico will determine the delegates to the National Convention in Florida, in August of this year. PR has right to three super delegates, and twenty delegates on “state” level. Out of a total of 2,286 delegates the candidate must clinch 1, 144 delegates.

This article made possible via WAPA-TV, translated to English by myself.

-TPE

Related articles

• Coverage On Puerto Rico’s GOP Primary (thepalinexpress.wordpress.com)
• Puerto Rico Has It Better Than The USA When It Comes To Primary System (thepalinexpress.wordpress.com)
• You Think the US Primaries Are Crazy? Spend Some Time in Puerto Rico (juliorvarela.com)
• CNN Guest Calls Santorum ‘Doofus’ Over Puerto Rico ‘Speak English’ Statehood Gaffe, Will Cain Defends (mediaite.com)
• Santorum: English Needs To Be ‘Main Language’ For Puerto Rico To Become State (tampa.cbslocal.com)
• Puerto Rico Primary Could Pad Romney’s Delegate Lead or Spring Santorum Surprise (abcnews.go.com)

Coverage Of Puerto Rico’s GOP Primary

Coat of Arms of Puerto Rico

I will cover Puerto Rico‘s GOP primary to be held this Sunday, March 18. Puerto Rico will give the winner three Super Delegates and twenty delegates. I don’t know if this is a “winner-take-all” US Territory, but five out of the six-I take that back- FIVE candidates will fly to the Island. In fact, Rick Santorum is in Puerto Rico right now.

Why six candidates, you may ask? Because there’s a candidate called Fred Karger. Ron Paul is the exception; so far there’s no plans for him to fly there, but he has his groundwork of supporters and his team.

So, there’s gonna be in the official ballot SIX candidates, and this is the order in which they will appear on the ballot: Boddy Roemer (1), Mitt Romney (2), Newt Gingrich (3), Ron Paul (4), Fred Karger (5), and Rick Santorum (6). Puerto Rico will have their own local primaries at the same time, so I expect a decent turnout for a Sunday, which I find it odd. These types of primaries are usually held on Saturdays.

The GOP team in Puerto Rico is ready for any tricks that may come from the left wing party in the island. Puerto Ricans do have an ID card to vote, and they do have to state that they are Republicans.

More to come soon. Remember: Puerto Rico can decide who the GOP candidate for President is-but cannot vote for the President in November.

Related articles

• Puerto Rico Has It Better Than The USA When It Comes To Primary System (thepalinexpress.wordpress.com)
• You Think the US Primaries Are Crazy? Spend Some Time in Puerto Rico (juliorvarela.com)

Sarah Palin’s Speech In Oklahoma City-Testimony Of God

Sarah Palin spoke to a full house of nine thousand women in Oklahoma City.

Via C4P:

Palin made her remarks at the Women of Joy Christian women’s conference held at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City. The event, sponsored by Phil Waldrep Ministries based in Trinity, Ala., drew more than 9,000 women to the Jim Norick State Fair Arena….

The former governor told those gathered that being a woman of joy is “seeking and living out your purpose to be in service to our Creator, to God.”

Palin said the Lord has been her strength throughout difficult times in her life, particularly when she learned her son Trig would be born with Down syndrome.

“I can’t even tell you what a blessing Trig has been to us. To us, he is perfect,” she said….

“If you are on your way to your purpose, I guarantee you will encounter them,” she said of critics.

“My prayer for all of you this year is that you’ll hone in on taking the steps forward to what God has prepared for you … To be a woman of joy, you might as well dance.”