Friday, February 03, 2006
"Oh, What a Circus, What a Show"
sang Che Guevara in Evita. The "best show in town" here in Washington, D.C. in months is likely to be next week's "Rainbow Tour" by Puerto Rico's deposed Statehood Party Governor Pedro Rossello.
Because Rossello "comes from the people, they need to adore me," he is expected to spend his time talking up the statehood cause at plush receptions and costly press conferences. Like Evita Peron, this "savior" of the Puerto Rican people plans to wave 100,000 petitions in our face and hope no one asks how many people live in Puerto Rico (answer: four million) or how statehood did during the last three votes on the issue (it lost every time).
Rossello's entourage may be reduced from previous visits, given many of his close associates took part in corruption schemes which NEVER involved their beloved governor. Remember, it is not polite to ask Rossello how he managed to hire so many crooks and embezzlers.
His remarks are expected to be in English, which means that, as far as 90% of the residents of Puerto Rico are concerned, he might as well be speaking Turkish. As far as his English-speaking audience is concerned, he is counting upon American ignorance of basic facts, such as the majority of the island's population opposes the nation of Puerto Rico being annexed by the United States.
Rossello will claim Puerto Rico statehood is the key to unlocking the Hispanic vote from Maine to California and hope no one remembers that Castro is a bigger issue for Florida's Cubans than Puerto Rico ever will be, while Mexican Americans are far more concerned about immigration issues than Puerto Rico's status. Even the Puerto Ricans who live in the United States don't agree about statehood.
Rossello will attempt the feat of convincing Republicans that the island is a bastion of conservative politics while not allowing Democrats to hear anything except that an island entirely dependent upon Washington's treasury will send nothing but Democrats to Washington, once statehood is granted to Puerto Rico.
People of Puerto Rico, don't cry for Pedro Rossello. After all, you are paying the bills for his Rainbow Tour.
|posted by Jim on 3:52 PM|
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