We’ve pointed out many times that statehood is a bipartisan issue, supported by both U.S. mainstream political parties. More than that, we want a clear statement from all candidates of all political persuasions.
Kimberly Ruff, the Libertarian presidential candidate, does not support statehood for Puerto Rico.
The Libertarian Party in the States is like the Independence Party in Puerto Rico: the number of voters who choose it is so small that Libertarian candidates almost never win elections.
But the Libertarian Party already has a presidential candidate for 2020, and this candidate was interviewed on a Libertarian podcast by a Puerto Rican host.
The question was phrased oddly. “Would you sell Puerto Rico, make it a state, or leave it the way it is?” the interviewer asked.
Ruff came back with another question:
“Why are we still maintaining them as a territory?” Ruff replied, “haven’t they been petitioning for a long time for autonomy and independence? Like what’s the value in maintaining them as a territory and yet not permitting them the same rights we permit other states?”
No, Puerto Rico has not been petitioning for independence.
“I would say give them their autonomy, let them do their thing!” Ruff continued.
Ruff’s response doesn’t reflect a lot of deep thought on Puerto Rico’s status. It appears that she was ready to come down on “sell Puerto Rico” as her answer after asking the podcast host a quick question about the Island.
Presidential candidates for 2020 need to learn about Puerto Rico. They need to care as much about Puerto Rico as they do about the states. And they need to have a good answer for the question: “Where do you stand on Puerto Rico statehood?”
“Let them do their thing!” is not a good answer.
4 Responses
“2020 Libertarian presidential Candidate Kimberly Ruff ks a Dumb!@#.”
There, I fixed the headline for ya.
First of all the Libertarian Party has not yet selected our candidate for President. That will occur at our convention May 22-25, 2020, in Austin, Texas. Kim Ruff is seeking the Party’s nomination. Further, my understanding is that Ruff supports the right of Puerto Ricans to self-determination.
At this point, we say “candidate.” Once a single person is chosen, we will say, “nominee.”
Except your article clearly implies that Kim Ruff already is the LP’s nominee: “…the Libertarian Party already has a presidential candidate for 2020, and this candidate was interviewed on a Libertarian podcast by a Puerto Rican host.”
Everybody makes such mistakes, not a huge deal. I do think it’s important however to be aware that the main reason the Libertarian Party hasn’t gotten more votes somehow is the stranglehold that the 2-party cartel (the Democrats and Republicans) have on the United States. This is due to several factors, including the country’s flawed “first past the post” voting system that lacks proportional representation for minority viewpoint, the cartel’s exclusionary debate practices and ballot access laws, and a widespread misunderstanding among voters that voting for a candidate who’s unlikely to be elected is “wasting their vote” (realistically, your vote is not going to change the outcome in any major election, you’re just adding to someone’s total – so the only “wasted vote” is a vote for a candidate you don’t really support/believe in).