Democrats and happy colonials: A wink and a smile

[IndianaGreen]

Democrats and happy colonials: A wink and a smile

By Manuel Rodríguez Orellana
Puerto Rican Independence Party
Secretary for North American Relations
The San Juan Star
Thursday, February 12, 2004

Fellow STAR columnist Juan M. García Passalacqua has humorously-and tragically-identified the local politicos who oppose Puerto Rico's decolonization as "happy colonials." Lately they have been anxiously changing lanes in the narrowing race of U.S. Democratic candidates for president.

One of Puerto Rico's worst kept secrets is that there really aren't very many Democrats here. (Or for that matter, Republicans; but that's another story.) There are mostly Popular Democratic Party (PDP) leaders who favor the status quo-and some in the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (NPP)-who strive to pass as Democrats. Truth be told, they could care less whether the presidential candidate is liberal or conservative, a Northern Yankee or a Southern Dixiecrat. They really don't care if he is a pacifist or a warmonger; and they are ready to cheer whether he refers to them as "Hispanics," "Latinos," or "little brown ones."

Despite more than a century of U.S. colonial rule, the happy colonials are tripping over each other like rock band groupies desperate for bland declarations on status that include preservation of the status quo. This is something they can sell to an unwary electorate as everlasting love and undisputed commitment for greater dependence and "permanent union."

As reported by Robert Friedman (STAR, Feb.9), the decision to support Dean while he looked like a winner rested mostly on the status issue. The "premature" jump on his ship before it appeared to capsize was made after Dean, who had previously said he supported statehood, toned it down to meaningless pap. Since philosophy, ideology, or governing policy do not matter much, local opportunity shoppers keep shopping around for more of the same in the Kerry and Edwards camps. Even a leading would-be Democrat in the NPP unabashedly admits that after Dean's ship sinks, he will gracefully "jump from one ship to another and not land in the water."

http://www.independencia.net/articulos/mro_demkrts_hap_colonials.html

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