Puerto Rico Does It Better: Bipartisan Politics

In a crazy-mad rush to attract Republican voters, Rick Santorum, recently called for the repeal of President Barack Obama's health care plan. The candidate also shared this nugget:

"We have to repeal the biggest abuse and abuser of the Constituion: Obamacare," said Santorum to large cheers and yells from the crowd. "It is the greatest affront to conservatism and American liberties."

Of course, when it comes to bipartisan politics, then Puerto Rico really does it better. Without question, almost every social or economic analyst agrees on one thing. By having our political parties cancel each other's programs is the leading cause of social and economic stagnation in Puerto Rico. I first called out our leadership in partisan politics over a year ago. This is only going to get worse, as we increasingly live within echo chambers only listening to the views we support and never looking deeper for different viewpoints or wider perspectives. Oh woe is us!

Live Tweeting the Digital Publicity in an Election Year Panels

Ernesto Gonzalez from the IAB Caribbean has asked me live-tweet tomorrows Digital Publicity in an Election Year Panels. I'm really excited for the opportunity to join this conversation. As I tweeted yesterday, I think that as it happened in 2008, I believe that next year's elections will be a tipping point for social media in Puerto Rico.

If you're not registered to go yet, I think you should drop everything and give Jessica a call at 787-289-8703! This may be one of the pinnacle events that finally starts the Internet marketing dams to start to crumble. As my good friend Don Dees has mentioned before, the advertising agencies have successfully held back Internet marketing in the Puerto Rico market. I'm convinced MC Don Dees is right, and 2012 just might be the year for that to happen; propelled by the role social networks play in the elections.

However, as I think we will hear tomorrow, all of the major politicians are in a race to dominate the local conversation on social networks. What I think will become clear to the political parties and candidates, is that advertising as we used to know it, will not produce the kind of engagement necessary to win the donation race and win elections. At this point, the only place to find the type of supporter engagement is on Twitter and Facebook.

Puerto Rico is the future of US Politics

Republicans in the Senate Thursday dealt President Barack Obama the third in a string of defeats on his stimulus-style jobs agenda, blocking a $60 billion measure for building and repairing infrastructure like roads and rail lines.

Supporters of the failed measure said it would have created tens of thousands of construction jobs and lifted the still-struggling economy. But Republicans unanimously opposed it for its tax surcharge on the wealthy and spending totals they said were too high.

The 51-49 vote fell well short of the 60 votes required under Senate procedures to start work on the bill. Every Republican opposed the president.

Analysis

A couple of years back, in conversation with Gil the Jenius I proposed that Puerto Rico was the future of US Politics. As this news confirms, unfortunately, I was right on the money. In one of the few times ever, Puerto Rico is actually leading the United States in something, partisan politics.

When politicians place party before people, Puerto Rico is what you get: record unemployment, record murder rates, and complete administration immobilization. Let's face the facts here, it's common knowledge that during a party change in the Forteleza, one of the first things they do is kill any programs started by the other party's administration.

That has devolved into daily acts in the US and Puerto Rican Congress to sabotage every initiative of the opposing party for simple political gain. The unwillingness of our political parties to work together for the greater good of the people, is reflected in the greater unwillingness of its' citizens to reach consensus on anything.

The chaos we are witnessing in the Occupy Wall Street movement is merely the tip of the iceberg; here in Puerto Rico we have daily public assissinations. I believe that all of this discontent comes from a larger problem, a lack of unity. Not since the Civil War has the United States been this fractured. The failure of our political systems only reflects the failure of our democracy to serve the interests of the people.

In Puerto Rico, ever since we created political parties that are based on the status of Puerto Rico, we have been a fractured society. In the end, what we have in Puerto Rico is simply the future of partisan politics in the United States. When political decisions are made based upon how they will be perceived by party faithful, it doesn't really matter who is in the Forteleza or the White House. When compromise is seen as a weakness, all progress will be blocked. When we seek out how to blame our problems on the opposing political party, we fail to lead. When we are willing to jeopardize our future, simply to prevent the other political party from claiming progress (winning), we all lose.

Puerto Rico becoming a Narco State?

A former head of the Puerto Rico Police Department, Miguel Pereira, said Monday that the U.S. commonwealth has become a "narco state."

Pereira, a one-time federal prosecutor, told reporters that drug trafficking had infiltrated into all sectors of the Caribbean island. Pereira, 64, is running in the 2012 elections on the ticket of the Popular Democratic Party.

The senatorial hopeful emphasized that if he enters the legislature he will promote providing medical treatment for drug addicts as a means for combating trafficking and consumption of narcotics in Puerto Rico, one of the main problems on the island and the cause of hundreds of deaths each year due to violence between rival gangs of dealers.

"Drug trafficking touches all spheres of Puerto Rico. We have the influence of drug trafficking in all our branches of government, at all levels of our society," Pereira said.

Read more on Fox News Latino.

Analysis

First, I'd like correct the aspiring politician. As a member of the PDP, he should know that we can't become a narco state, because we're not a state. Boom! So Let's call it a narco commonwealth. No narco territory, cause that's what gangs rule. Nah, nah.

Seriously? Well I'm glad someone near (in) the government is finally acknowledging what I've been blubbering about all year. Through a combination of the diminishing role of the rule of law, greed, massive consumerism, and little bit of '¡Ay Bendito!' we have the perfect storm for narco-trafficking.

What, I hope, people are starting to realize is that our streets have become the hunting ground for the largest illicitly armed force on the island. Five years ago, you never heard of assassinations involving the public in Puerto Rico. Now it's almost a daily occurrence. This is not going to end well for all of us.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor: Emilio Santacoloma

Puerto Rico Governor Backs Priebus For RNC Chair

From the National Journal:

"Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno will support Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus for chairman of the Republican National Committee, marking the fortieth public endorsement for Priebus and setting him up as the clear front-runner going into Friday's election."

I'm sure everyone's seen Stephen Colbert's treatment of "What's a Reince Priebus?" No? Watch for it at 2:54 over at Colbert Nation and don't forget your "Brie Penis Cure!"

Announcing! A new political party for Puerto Rico

(San Juan, PR) Yesterday, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star have joined together to create a new political party in Puerto Rico, "Puerto Rico is For BanacleHeads." Within the new party, SquarePants, the President of PRFB, is running for Governor of Puerto Rico and Star will be running for Resident Commissioner.

When asked if the name of the party shouldn't be BarnacleHeads for Puerto Rico, SquarePants responded, "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. But don't blame us because we are such big barnacleheads." Adding, "Ha, Ha, Ha. Ha, Ha, Ha. Ha, Ha, Ha."

A tip of the hat to Gil the Jenius for breaking this news. Well actually I can;t tip my hat to him, because he's the one who always weras a hat. SO tip your own hat Gil.

Political Star Trek - UN Decolonisation of Puerto Rico

In "I Mudd," a classic episode of the Original Star Trek series, a new officer named Lt. Norman, who is really an alien android, takes the U.S.S. Enterprise to an uncharted planet of androids. Captain Kirk and the Enterprise officers confuse the androids by behaving illogically, and are able to regain control of the Enterprise.

The finishing blow for the androids comes when Harcourt Fenton 'Harry' Mudd and Kirk pose Norman the Liar paradox, where Mudd claims he is lying and Kirk claims everything Mudd says is a lie. Short circuiting at this imponderable logical contradiction, Norman finally shuts down. The classic line goes:

Norman: "You say you are lying, but if everything you say is a lie, then you are telling the truth. But you cannot tell the truth, because everything you say is a lie. But... you lie... you tell the truth but you cannot, for you lie."

After the weeks of listening to the status issue surrounding the Democratic primary in Puerto Rico, years of hearing about status from all sides (including participating in several plebiscite votes), to the recent testimony before the (and I'm not making this up) Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila and subsequent resolution from that committee, I've come to one conclusion.

The Popular Independence Party, the Popular Democratic Party, and the recently converted Governor Acevedo Vila, are all engaged in a reenactment of "I, Mudd," where the government of the United States is playing the role of the androids, and for special dramatic affect, a majority of the citizens of Puerto Rico as well.

Here in bullet form is a list of the illogical statements and positions that drive the debate surrounding the issue of Puerto Rico's status:

• Ability to self-determine - If, at best, you can say that the results of all previous plebiscite votes indicate that the Puerto Rican people are mixed, weren't these attempts to self-determine? Disclaimer: Some claim that these were meaningless votes because they did not carry Congressional backing. (You say you want to self determine, but when given a chance to self-determine, you can't to determine.)
  
• Ability to self-govern - On July 10, 2005, Puerto Rican voters approved the change to a unicameral legislature by 456,267 votes in favor, versus 88,720 against. However, Puerto Rico legislators have resisted implementing the will of the people. Assuming self-government means a democratic society, if our government currently doesn't respect the will of the people, how will sovereignty change that? (You say you want to self govern, but when the people attempt to self-govern, the government doesn't want to.)
• Ability to conduct trade - Many people claim that the U.S. limits Puerto Rico's ability to conduct trade with other countries. But what are the products that we have to conduct trade with? We produce coffee, sugarcane, pineapple, and many a few other agricultural products. We have no natural resources (oil, diamonds, copper, etc). With no natural resources to draw from, we only have a hand full of companies that produce products (as opposed to provide services, which in all fairness is emerging as the new basis for international trade). (You say you want to conduct trade, but you have nothing to trade.)

And here a few more that illustrate individual actions or positions that demonstrate more illogic:

• Free association, sovereignty with free association, or independence - In the past year Governor Acevedo Vila has publicly supported all three of these positions. And of course, the position depends on whether he is asking for more money form the U.S., defending himself from federal charges, or seeking re-election.
  
• Sovereignty with free association - This is just a fancy way of saying, just give us all the money that you are currently giving us and, thank you very much, we'll take it from there.
• Economic capability - What happens to Puerto Rico's economy with the disappearance of tens of billions received in federal aid? Without any trade to speak of, how does the economy support 4 million people? (You say you want economic independence, but you have no economy.)
  
• Nationalism - Some people say that they want Puerto Rico to be free, independent, a nation of Puerto Ricans, because this would allow us to represent ourselves in the Olympics, International B3eauty Contests, etc. But we already have those things. (You say you want something, but you already have it.)
• Independence or Statehood - The ultimate self-determination is a choice between becoming independent or joining the Unites States. However, whenever polled or asked, given all of the above, the consensus is Statehood would win, mostly because the millions of people who are dependent on federal aid would choose to continuing receiving that aid. (So you say you want to vote so you can become independent, but the overwhelming majority believe you will lose the vote.)

No wonder everyone is so confused about Puerto Rico status. I know I am.

Me: "You say you want something, but don't really want it, then you don't really want it. But if you don't really want it, why would you say you really want it. But ... you don't want it... you say you want it. You want it and don't really want it."

I would like to commend two resources that I found while researching this article. First, if you want the real skinny on the whole UN bruhaha, check out this new blog that I found, the Overseas Territories Review, and this article. And if you want to read the most lucid description of what this whole monkey business is really about, then read this article "REAL SOVEREIGNTY FOR PUERTO RICO" by Dr. William Cleary, former assistant attorney general for the Government of Guam.

Hillary Clinton Wins Democratic Primary in Puerto Rico

With 15% of the precincts already reporting, Hillary Clinton is projected to win the historic Democratic primary in Puerto Rico. Leading by more than a two to one advantage, Clinton will win the majority of the 55 delegates available in Puerto Rico.

Of course the Clinton campaign is hoping that she will win the primary with more than 65% and that the turnout will exceed 2 million voters. While the final tally could exceed 65%, the Puerto Rico turn out will not be anywhere near that high. First because local election officials have admitted that they only printed 1.5 million ballots. And second, most estimates expect between 325,000 and half a million votes cast.

When I stopped by to vote this afternoon, there was hardly anyone. In the 14 years I've been here this was the least crowded I've seen a voting station. Even the poor turn-out for the past two New Progressive Party primaries or the vote for One Chamber weren't this small. So I'd put the turn out towards the lower end of the estimate, maybe somewhere around 325,000.

I, for one, will be glad to see the spotlight of the Puerto Rico Democratic Primary quickly slide into the history books. I think it's done nothing but stir up a lot of dust which I hope will be swept away as rapidly as possible. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud to have a say in the Democratic candidate election process, but it's raised up the same old issues of status, self-determination, colonialism, and anti-Federal sentiments.

As I've mentioned before, even after all of the analysis, opinion, resentment, and criticism that has been heard, seen, and read leading up to this historic vote, none of it addresses the extreme complexity of the status issue and I, for one, am tired of hearing simplistic pronouncements about how to solve it. Furthermore, I believe that there is such a powerful "illusion" that surrounds Puerto Rico's status, that it prevents anyone from speaking about or addressing the "reality" of the situation. Which is a mixture of pointless nationalism, hypocrisy, and lies.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: kakissel