The “conservative” versus the liar; and Gingrich’s support for Puerto Rican statehood

Newt Gingrich accuses Mitt Romney of “the most blatantly dishonest performance by a presidential candidate I’ve ever seen” in the latest debate Thursday night. Having been shocked by Romney’s previous slanders of Gingrich, I am ready to believe that it is true. But here are some of the things Gingrich said in the debate. He said that Romney is “anti-immigrant,” and that he, Gingrich, will give Puerto Rico a chance to vote on statehood. You know, so that a Spanish speaking, economically dependent island which is culturally and racially a part of Latin America and has a deep resentment against the United States can become a state of the United States.

That’s Gingrich, the grassroots conservatives’ champion.

Gingrich also said that if Romney is dishonest as a candidate, he will be dishonest as president. Well, then, it is also the case that if Gingrich calls his opponents “anti-immigrant” as a candidate, he will surely do the same as president. And he will have lots and lots of opponents, including you, reader, when he strives to push through amnesty for illegal aliens who have been here a yet-to-be determined number of years or who have been approved by a local community board.

- end of initial entry -

January 30

Alexis Zarkov writes:

Mr. Auster wrote:

He [Gingrich] said that Romney is “anti-immigrant,” and that he, Gingrich, will give Puerto Rico a chance to vote on statehood. You know, so that a Spanish speaking, economically dependent island which is culturally and racially a part of Latin America and has a deep resentment against the United States can become a state of the United States.

Today Puerto Rico is actually more white than the United States. According to the 2010 Census, non-Hispanic whites are 63.7 percent of the U.S. population. If we add white Hispanics at 8.7 percent, we get 72.4 percent. Compare that to Puerto Rico, which is 75.8 percent white. [LA replies: I am extremely skeptical of these figures. Many people whom ordinary people (of all races) would not consider white are labeled as white today by various government agencies.] Let’s also not forget that anyone born in Puerto Rico automatically qualifies as a natural-born U.S. citizen, and Puerto Ricans can travel to (say) New York City as easily as a Californian. Puerto Ricans can settle anywhere in the U.S. and instantly qualify to apply for public assistance. Residents of Puerto Rico also enjoy exemption from U.S. federal income tax. But they do pay U.S. payroll taxes, and thus qualify for Social Security and Medicare benefits. In other words, they have their cake, and can eat it too. Why would Puerto Rico ever want to become a state? It doesn’t, and that’s why every referendum ever held there for statehood or independence fails. For very good reasons, the residents of Puerto Rico want to continue their commonwealth status. For example in the 1993 status plebiscite, 46.3 percent voted for statehood, 48.6 percent for remaining a commonwealth, and 4.4 percent voted for independence. So I don’t understand what Gingrich means by “giving Puerto Rico a chance to vote on statehood.” They have already voted on statehood—more than once—and turned it down. This is a non-issue, and shows how erratic Gingrich can be.

LA replies:

What is terribly unjust about giving the Puerto Ricans a vote on statehood, then and now, is that it leaves the issue up to the Puerto Ricans. What about us? Why should the Puerto Ricans determine whether Puerto Rico, a Spanish speaking island, becomes a state of the United States, but the rest of don’t have a voice in this fundamental decision that would forever alter the nature of our country?

Jeanette V. writes:

I’m Puerto Rican. I am fair (My father was British), but when I lived in Eastern Europe it was quite clear to the British expatriot community there that I was not white. I have a copy of my mother’s birth certificate, on which everyone is listed as white for three generations back. My maternal grandfather was clearly not white. He was very dark and was mostly of Taíno Indian extraction. So you are correct that most people listed as white on birth certificates in Puerto Rico are more than likely of mixed heritage.

LA replies:

Thanks to Jeanette for this information.

Just to underscore her point, her maternal grandfather, who was mostly of Indian heritage, was officially listed as white.

Jeanette continues:

I found it very revealing that in the U.S. people usually see me as white, yet when I travel to Europe that is not the case.

LA replies:

That is very interesting. We could have a whole discussion on why that is so. Maybe we will…

James P. writes:

You write:

What is terribly unjust about giving the Puerto Ricans a vote on statehood, then and now, is that it leaves the issue up to the Puerto Ricans. What about us? Why should the Puerto Ricans determine whether Puerto Rico, a Spanish speaking island, becomes a state of the United States, but the rest of don’t have a voice in this fundamental decision that would forever alter the nature of our country?

We were never given a voice in the immigration policy that has forever altered the nature of our country, so why would we be given a voice in this?

Anyway, in theory, we do have a voice. Our voice would be expressed through Congress, which determines whether new states shall be admitted to the Union.

U.S. policy is to hold periodic plebiscites on Puerto Rico’s status—and the problem is that we’re going to keep asking them until they say “yes” to statehood or independence. Since I doubt they’ll ever vote for independence, it is only a matter of time before they say yes to statehood, and if they do so when Democrats control Congress, the deal will be irrevocably sealed.

LA replies:

James says: “Anyway, in theory, we do have a voice. Our voice would be expressed through Congress, which determines whether new states shall be admitted to the Union.”

My point is that the Congress, at least in previous Puerto Rican plebiscites, never, to my knowledge, proposed or debated an explicit bill on whether the Congress approved Puerto Rican statehood. Instead, the whole thing was passed off to the Puerto Ricans. If they wanted it, they would have gotten it, if they didn’t want it, they would not have gotten it. Prior to any Puerto Rican plebiscite, there should have been and there should be an up or down vote on whether the American people, speaking through their elected representatives, approve Puerto Rican statehood.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 28, 2012 01:07 PM | Send