Posted on 03/14/2012 1:47:45 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Puerto Rico primary is on Sunday and Rick Santorum made a quick campaign stop to the island.
While there, he told Puerto Ricans that if they want to pursue statehood, they should make English their primary language, Reuters reports.
Nevermind the fact that both English and Spanish are already the official languages of the territory. In an interview with El Vocero newspaper, Santorum said he does not support a state where English is not the primary language.
"Like any other state, there has to be compliance with this and any other federal law," Santorum said. "And that is that English has to be the principal language. There are other states with more than one language such as Hawaii but to be a state of the United States, English has to be the principal language."
The only problem with Romney's plan is that no part in the U.S. constitution stipulates that English must be the primary language of a territory before it becomes a state.
The U.S. Census Bureau did report in 2010 that 80 percent of Puerto Ricans self-reported that thee speak English less than "very well."
Twenty delegates are up for grabs in Puerto Rico.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
On second thought, what’s still keeping Puerto Rico from declaring independence?
The Philippines did that decades ago.
I doubt it matters. Puerto Rico doesn’t want to become a state.
Romney seems to be pickup up all the territories. Makes me wonder if they are out of the loop and voting for hair.
Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
Although American citizens, those living on Puerto Rico can’t vote in the Presidential election, they have no Congressional representation, nor Electoral College vote.
He’s there fishing for delegates to the RNC convention...they have 23 of those.
When California was admitted to the Union in 1850, there were more Spanish speakers than English speakers in the State, and the State's first Constitution was adopted in both English and Spanish versions.
Wow. Not only does this article have typos (’thee” for “they,” for instance), but it mistakenly says “Romney’s plan” when it’s referring to Santorum. Do they not have an editor?
Puerto Rico will never vote for either statehood or Independence. They don’t want to give up their Spanish culture and identity (separate Olympics teams, for instance)for statehood, but they don’t want to lose all that American cash either. They’re content to sit in the middle, playacting the independent country while letting America pay the bills.
Why did I burst out laughing when I read the headline?
Rick is getting good at making noise. The more noise he makes for better results in the primary race!
Well, maybe Newt Gingrich can win them — PR is in the south, right?
I know that Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory. Though its people are nominally U.S.citizens, they’re not natural born citizens. They cannot vote in national elections except when residing on the mainland.
They have a territorial setup that is sweet: they receive benefits, such as welfare and social security, but U.S. businesses located there either do not pay taxes or receive tax breaks. All this would disappear if they became a state.
Yes, but he doesn't speak English.
As south east United States as you can get. Way over here in the Caribbean.
Romney seems to be pickup up all the territories. Makes me wonder if they are out of the loop and voting for hair.
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The territories (and Hawaii) are all RAT/Commie strongholds ,, of course the most liberal republican will get the votes there.
Virtually no one in Puerto Rico wants independence. Whenever the issue is put up for a vote, the split is usually about 46% for the status quo, 44% for statehood and 10% or less for independence.
Incidentally, of the two major political parties in Puerto Rico, the one affiliated with the (mainland) Democrats is the pro-status quo party and the one affiliated with the (mainland) Republicans is the pro-statehood party.
I LOL’d.
Money! It’s a welfare gimme state.
Excuse me but we are natural born citizens and do pay taxes.
(Rick is getting good at making noise. The more noise he makes for better results in the primary race!)
Sorry, but I’m not impressed with that type of noise. At a time when Obama’s greatest vulnerabilities are the economy, his leftist hyper-partisanship, and his disregard for the Constitution, Rick helps him by talking about something that is not even on the radar screen of the electorate. WTF?
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