New York – Delegates from the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (DPPR) pledged to support Kamala Harris in her aspiration for the nomination as a candidate for the presidency of the United States, the president of that group on the island, Charlie Rodríguez, confirmed to El Diario
“The Puerto Rican delegation, which is 60 delegates and five alternates, a total of 65, I called them all together (on Wednesday) as president of the Democratic Party and president of the delegation in Chicago to have a discussion. We had a very positive, very good meeting; and we all, unanimously, agreed to support Kamala Harris in the presidential nomination and in the candidacy for the White House,” Rodríguez indicated in an interview with this newspaper.
Rodriguez added that, although he had a feeling that all members of the delegation would agree, he understood that he had to carry out an open and transparent process of dialogue regarding Harris’ candidacy after Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race.
Rodríguez, who described the Puerto Rican delegation as the largest Latino delegation, revealed that people close to Harris’ campaign contacted him to find out about the Democrats’ position on the island, and that he told the “Harris for President” committee that they had the support for the national convention of
On April 28, the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico held its presidential primary.
The 65 delegates that PR contributes are more than 24 states and the other four territories. Of the 65 Puerto Rican delegates, 36 were selected in the presidential primary; the rest were chosen at the State Democratic Party Convention on June 8. The other five are automatic delegates. These include Rodríguez and the island’s governor, Pedro Pierluisi.
In the case of the island, Biden was the only candidate for whom 102 people expressed their willingness to be delegates and occupy one of the 36 available positions per district in the primary.
The former president of the Senate of Puerto Rico also indicated that the delegates on the island agree that the Biden-Harris Administration has demonstrated with facts that it is a friend of Puerto Rico.
In this sense, the vice president’s candidacy represents a continuation of the efforts made under Biden in favor of the residents of the territory.
Among the actions taken by the Democratic administration that, according to Rodríguez, have benefited Puerto Ricans is the release of federal funds for reconstruction following hurricanes Maria and Irma.
“There has not been a president in the American nation who has given as much aid to Puerto Rico as the administration of President Biden and President Harris has done… over $40 billion dollars are committed for a period that can extend up to 10 years, and the aid is already arriving. The problem was that in the second half of President Trump’s four-year term, the House of Representatives was dominated by the Democrats; Nancy Pelosi was the ‘speaker’. A lot of money was approved for Puerto Rico to deal with the Maria problem… Administratively, President Trump imposed restrictions and limitations on the use of federal funds approved for Puerto Rico that made the disbursement of the funds impossible… These restrictions that he imposed on Puerto Rico, Donald Trump did not impose on Florida or Texas, which had suffered the onslaught of hurricanes; they were imposed only on Puerto Rico. That is why the funds were approved, but they could not be used. When Biden arrived at the White House, he immediately removed that restriction…”, the politician highlighted while arguing that Trump treated Puerto Rico “miserably.”
Rodríguez also mentioned the commitment with Biden regarding parity in federal funds under programs such as SSI (Supplemental Security Income), from which Puerto Ricans were excluded with ratification by the Supreme Court of the United States despite being American citizens.
The member of the New Progressive Party (PNP) is one of the four Puerto Ricans who are part of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
DNC Early Voting August 1-7
The agency recently announced that it will conduct a virtual process between August 1 and 7 to confirm Harris as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Rodriguez explained that the DNC had already made that decision before Biden announced his withdrawal from the race in response to a law passed by Republicans in the Ohio legislature and signed by the governor of the same party, Mike DeWine.
“The state of Ohio, which has a Republican governor, has a Republican state legislature, they passed a law stating that in order to be eligible to appear on the presidential ballot in the state of Ohio, you had to have your official nomination on or before August 7th. Obviously, that is a trick that they set, because the Democrats have had our convention announced for a long time from August 19th to 22nd,” the statesman considered.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said this week that the Ohio General Assembly made an exception that temporarily extends the deadline until Sept. 1.
However, the arguments of the governor and his team were not convincing to Democrats, so the DNC decided to hold early voting, Rodriguez argued.
“To avoid falling into that trap and having to deal with legal issues, the Democratic committee decided to opt for an online early voting process to say that we already have the official candidate and we are in compliance with the August 7 date, and we are not at the mercy of an interpretation that accommodates what the Ohio Republican legislature did,” the former legislator said.
Rodriguez explained that delegates from all 50 states, Washington DC, and the five territories, including Puerto Rico, will participate in the online vote.
“There are no special provisions in the regulations for delegates from Puerto Rico or other territories; everyone is guided by the same process in terms of early voting, including Democrats abroad,” he explained.
Is Kamala Harris a sure thing about the nomination?
“When it is said that Kamala has the necessary delegates, at this point that we are talking about, is it referring to a verbal commitment, to which delegates told her that they are supporting her?” asked El Diario.
“Of course…”, he replied.
“It has also been suggested that it is not that she has this nomination assured…when would it be more certain that Kamala is the candidate, after this virtual process or after the national convention?” this newspaper inquired.
“The virtual process is for the purposes of compliance with state laws, particularly with this maneuver by the Ohio Republican legislature. Obviously, whatever is done online starting on the first day is valid; she becomes our official candidate, but, really, for internal purposes of the Democratic Party, the key thing will be at the convention from August 19 to 22, where there will be a roll call for the states and territories,” he explained.
“Could there really be a turnaround? A candidate could come out and say, ‘Oh look, I want to challenge Kamala,'” this media outlet posed.
“There is no probability. The truth is that today (Thursday), for example, delegates are receiving what is an endorsement form for a presidential candidate, so to be objective in the process, the Party tells anyone who wants to run in this process that begins on August 1st, that they have to submit requests for endorsements from at least 300 delegates, of the 4,000-odd delegates there are, 300 delegates have to appear endorsing any person who wants to participate in this process… I do not anticipate that there will be another candidate because all the potential candidates have already publicly come out to support Kamala Harris,” the Democratic delegate added.
The possibility of a vice president from a swing state
The New Progressive Party leader does not foresee any problems with the votes for Kamala, particularly since the delegates at the general level in the states and territories were committed to Biden’s candidacy and Harris represents, indirectly, an extension of it.
“The delegates were elected committed to Joe Biden. The moment Joe Biden withdraws his nomination, he frees up the delegates to vote for whoever they want. What has happened is that the vast majority of the delegations have already announced that they are endorsing Kamala,” he said.
Regarding the choice of the vice presidential candidate, which Harris is expected to announce before the convention in Chicago, Rodriguez placed his bets on figures in key states or those that determine the outcome of the elections, such as Pennsylvania and Arizona.
One of the Puerto Rican Democrat’s favorites is Pennsylvania Governor Joshua David Shapiro.
“Pennsylvania is a very important state and he is a governor who is very popular. He has an appeal, because it is not only in Pennsylvania, where there are many Puerto Ricans, (a potential appointment as vice president) influences Wisconsin, Michigan, which is another important state. So that governor must be in the running in the evaluation that Kamala is making,” analyzed the lawyer born in New York.
“In terms of the Arizona senator, to what extent could he help balance the ballot or tip the balance in favor of Harris on issues such as the border?” asked El Diario.
“I think he would be excellent. Mark Kelly is a senator from a crucial state, a border state. He is a veteran. He is a former astronaut. He experienced firsthand what the indiscriminate use of firearms and their sale and distribution in the nation is like when his wife, who was a congresswoman, had an attempt on her life. In fact, the bullet lodged in her head and has brought a series of consequences. And he is a person who has also been moderate and a person who wants to find a solution to the border issue, and he agreed with the project that Biden and Kamala Harris had achieved together with Democratic and Republican senators. So I think he would be an excellent candidate. For me, those are the two that I see with the most possibilities,” he said.
In this context, Rodriguez pointed out that, at the end of the day, what weighs most in the evaluation is how many Electoral College votes the potential candidates can bring, and that, in that case, Arizona and Pennsylvania are fundamental in the electoral race.
Asked about the focus of Harris’ message from now on in view of her closeness to Trump in the polls, Rodriguez considered that the issue of gender equality and women’s reproductive rights should be one of the main ones, as well as gun control.
“I think she has to connect with the people based on what her proposals are. As for women, without a doubt, a defense of reproductive rights and equality. And the fact that she is aspiring to the Presidency shows how committed she and the Democratic Party itself are to women’s equality. Two: she has to show that she is going to be strong in the area of gun control in the nation. All the polls in the continental United States show that the people are in favor of imposing restrictions on weapons. How curious that the weapon with which Donald Trump was almost killed was an AR-15, one of the semi-automatic weapons that when Bill Clinton was president, the Democrats dominated Congress and a ban was put in place that lasted 10 years with the idea that it would be renewed. Those 10 years were completed under the presidency of George Bush, Jr., and a Republican Congress, and the Republicans, as they are so committed to the National Rifle Association, did not want to approve it,” he questioned.
Two other key issues Harris must focus on are illegal immigration and border control.
“This is an issue that was not resolved by any means.” Donald Trump’s lpa. Biden and Kamala Harris as president of the Senate achieved a bipartisan consensus project that addressed the serious problem of lack of resources in the border area with amendments to provide mechanisms for people to request asylum and other things that were necessary. That was all in a bill that was very good. Everyone said that this was the step that had to be taken, and everything was going very well until Donald Trump arrived; everything he touches he damages. He told the Republican senators that they could not approve this measure because if they approve it they will take away a campaign issue from me,” he said.
“Kamala has to come with her program, which is going to combat illegal entry; because, obviously, it will be combated, but it will be combated with legislation that addresses the issue, not with a wall. Trump promised us a wall; he never finished it, and people continue to enter even under the wall,” he concluded.
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