Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
Posted on 09/12/2008 5:59:24 AM PDT by cll
Daddy Yankee has gone on the defensive after his endorsement of Republican presidential nominee John McCain prompted Fat Joe to dub him "a sellout."
"A man does not sell out when he backs his ideals," the Latin Grammy-winning reggaetón artist told the New York Post from his home in Puerto Rico.
Yankee's unwavering support of the Arizona senator shocked several in the hip-hop community, but that doesn't mean Yankee is about to stop backing the man he feels is best suited for the gig.
"I don't care who I piss off," Yankee told the Post, while promoting the movie he produced and stars in, "Talento del Barrio." "This is about my ideals, not about making friends. Senator McCain is the kind of man whose promises you can actually believe in."
Yankee met McCain in 2006, when both were included in Time magazine's list of 100 People Who Shaped Our World. He said he hit it off with McCain and recently visited Washington, D.C., to meet with the senator.
"I like his stance on immigration reform, that he works across party lines to help immigrants, that he agreed to take a look and help the dire situation of aid to the veterans of Puerto Rico," Yankee said. "It's not fair that Boricua soldiers die and fight in wars and don't get the same benefits as those on the mainland. I like that el senador agreed to take a serious look and help those kinds of issues affecting us on the island."
When asked if he ever considered Democratic nominee Barack Obama for the nation's highest office, Yankee said "never — not for a minute." He also tiptoed around Fat Joe's challenge to a debate, saying, "Look, I'm not a politician. I am a man with ideals, and I think that el Senador McCain is the best candidate. I asked el senador point-blank about whether or not he will seriously help Puerto Rico and our veterans here, and he said, 'Yes. You endorse me, and I will do it.' I believe he will back up his word."
As a Puerto Rican resident, Daddy Yankee can't vote for president, but he urged other Latinos to participate in the election. "There are 18.1 million Latinos who are eligible," he said. "Let your voices be heard."
Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
Who the hell is “Daddy Yankee?” George Steinbrenner??
PR veterans don’t get the same benefits?..................
Daddy Yankee is a hipster from Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, ‘Yankee’ is slang for a tall or big person.
Don’t see a problem here. Puerto Ricans aren’t immigrants. Even some in entertainment have principles, surprising as it may be.
Glad I am not alone ;).
“..Senator McCain is the kind of man whose promises you can actually believe in...”
Lets see when Obama flips Biden for Hillary
“PR veterans don’t get the same benefits?..................”
No we don’t. For starters, there’s close to 200,000 veterans, mostly aging Korea and Vietnam vets, on the island and only one VA hospital.
The “Hip-Hop Community” took time out from shooting each other to castigate Daddy Yankee?
I’m shocked.
I would think that this would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL!......It is definitely not right!................
I have to give it to this Hip Hop singer Daddy Yankee.. standing up for your values against an MTV crowd, is quite an achievement.. Good job , Daddy Yankee. I am a bit too old for hip hop, but I am not too old to appreciate your character.
I have to believe that more people would tune into the Daddy Yankee versus Fat Joe debate than the Palin interview and presidential debates combined.
My father always talked about men whose handshake was worth more than a written contract. Guess we may find out what Obama’s handshake is worth.
That’s certainly eye opening to me. PR vets deserve equal benefits. Besides needing another VA hospital, what else aren’t they getting?
Even active duty and retired soldiers get a watered down version of Tricare while serving on the island.
You don’t deserve a ZOT!
This is exactly what we all need to do. We all need to go out there and vocally support John McCain and Sarah Palin to our families, friends and co-workers.
Out there in the hustings, there are an awful lot of people who are not really paying attention who are going to wind up voting for Obama by default. They have absorbed the message that Obama is for change and change is good, and don’t know the arguments of our side at all. This leaves them thinking that there is really only one choice in this election.
By advocating for McCain/Palin, you are demonstrating to people that it is acceptable to vote against Barack Obama. A lot of people are skittish about this, because they figure they don’t want to be a racist, and only a racist would vote against the Historic Agent of Hope and Change and all that rot. By being a earnest, calm and reasoned advocate for McCain, you can demonstrate to people that voting against Obama means nothing more than that you don’t support his policies and the direction he wants to take this country, and that you really support this other guy, John McCain, who has a heck of a lot going for him, etc.
It seems like a simple thing, but it is at this retail person-to-person level that elections are won or lost. I know a lot of people want to avoid confrontation and don’t like to discuss politics for fear of giving offense, but we can’t let Obama walk away with this election by default.
I think this is why the selection of Sarah Palin was such a master stroke. It broke through the fog and people just had to talk about it. Once people started talking about it, a lot of folks started speaking up about how they support McCain and Palin. This has a snowball effect, as it puts a human face on the opposition that Obama has just tried to paint as “against change” and imbue with vaguely racist overtones.
So those are the Marching Orders. Go forth and tell people what you think. Be polite and earnest, and be willing to take “no” for an answer. The job, at this point, is to show that reasonable people can support McCain, so people will have the chance to come around in the coming weeks.
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