Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico (Ricardo Mangual/Flickr)
We HAVE to give it up to the ignorance coming from the keyboard of Breitbart’s Patrick Howley. In an August 4 “article” called Hillary Plots to Import Puerto Ricans to Win Florida, Howley shows how people get actually paid money to fabricate political narratives based on misinformation, fear, xenophobia and idiocy.
Where to begin?
Let’s start with the lede:
Democrat Hillary Clinton is plotting to invite in as many Puerto Rico nationals as possible to vote in central Florida in November’s election.
To this we say:
The “piece” continues to paint the picture that the reason why Puerto Ricans are leaving the island has all to do with “activist” voting groups and the Clinton campaign. Guess Breitbarters like Howley have no f-ing idea about the real reasons Puerto Ricans are leaving. But outside of an economic mess that has been caused by the colonizers (the United States) and the colonized (specifically, Puerto Rico’s political leaders), what Howley’s piece is just yet another example about how Americans view Puerto Ricans: as foreign, as backwards, as ignorant, as being manipulated.
We are absolutely certain that Howley doesn’t even know that Clinton’s support of the PROMESA bill has left a bitter taste on the island. But outside that point, this is more about respect and how Puerto Ricans continued to be disparaged with no consequence. Whether it’s a Boricua winning the Powerball or dealing with crap from other news outlets, this idea that Puerto Ricans are not part of the American fabric is still outrageous to see in 2016.
As one quote in Howley’s story from pollster Fernand Amandi says:
Puerto Rican voters have completely upended the understanding of how the state is going to vote in November. They could wake up in San Juan, have breakfast and be registered to vote in the U.S. come dinnertime.
Not only do we call bullshit on this (in Florida, you have to register 29 days before an election), it’s how Amandi explains this point that should piss off any Puerto Rican. Does Amandi even know that Puerto Ricans have died in combat for his ass so he can freely say stupid shit like that? Maybe he can tell it to the Borinqueneers?
And what is the difference between say, someone from New Jersey, moving to a place like Kansas and registering to vote? Since Puerto Ricans are American citizens, they can freely move to any part of the mainland United States and (here’s a shock) exercise their duty as citizens to vote.
But hey, we are talking about Americans here who still think Puerto Ricans act like this:
Seriously, there is no “plot” to bring in new Puerto Rican voters to Florida. In fact, Puerto Ricans are already there (over 1 million and counting) and if Trump-loving outlets like Breitbart keep it up, Republicans will never ever win Florida again. Ever again. Enough with the ignorance, xenophobia, masked racism and fear.
So this one is for Howley:
