Call 9-1-1! Rick Santorum just burned himself inPuerto Rico. Totally.
Maybe it's a good thing he's heading to Missouritoday.
The backlash over his "speak English" comment istoo strong. He just got voted off the island.
One of his committed Puerto Rican delegateswithdrew his endorsement. The president of theisland's House of Representatives told him, inSpanish, "No!"
And Latinos in Puerto Rico and on the mainlandexploded in outrage.
"It might play well in Alabama and Mississippi,but it's not going to play well in Miami or SantaFe," Florida International University politicalscience professor Dario Moreno said. "What they donot like is when people make anti-Hispanicstatements. Statements saying that everybody inPuerto Rico needs to learn English might be takenby Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Hispanicgroups as very anti-Hispanic. And, at the veryleast, insensitive and uninformed."
That, in case Santorum didn't understand, explainsthe reaction. But it's nothing compared to whatOreste Ramos, a former Puerto Rican senator andone of the island's 23 primary delegates, said ashe yanked his support for Santorum.
"Although such a requirement would beunconstitutional, and also would clash with oursociological and linguistic reality, as a questionof principle I cannot back a person who holds thatposition," Oreste said, according to El Vocero."As a Puerto Rican and Spanish-speaking U.S.citizen, I consider the position of Mr. Santorumoffensive."
It was El Vocero that sparked the firestorm. Or,actually, Santorum's comments as reported by theSpanish-language newspaper.
Wednesday, as a jubilant Rick Santorum trottedaround the island fresh off his twin victories inthe primaries in Alabama and Mississippi, ElVocero said Santorum told it Puerto Ricans wouldhave to speak English if they want statehood.
"Like any other state, there has to be compliancewith this and any other federal law," Santorumsaid, according to El Vocero. "And that is thatEnglish has to be the principal language. Thereare other states with more than one language suchas Hawaii but to be a state of the United States,English has to be the principal language."
Trouble is, there is no such federal requirement.And, Puerto Ricans, proud of their culture andtheir language, bristled.
"We are not going to stop speaking Spanish,"Jenniffer Gonzalez, president of the island'sHouse of Representatives, told Univision. "Theycannot require us to do something that they havenot required any other state in the U.S. to do."
Thursday, trying to put out the blaze, Santorumsaid he was misquoted. But then he repeated thatEnglish needs to be a "condition" for statehood.
"I think English and Spanish - obviously Spanishis going to be spoken here on the island - butthis needs to be a bilingual country, not just aSpanish-speaking country, and right now it isoverwhelmingly just Spanish speaking. But it needsto have, in order to fully integrate into Americansociety, English has to be a language that isspoken here also and spoken universally," Santorumexplained to reporters in San Juan.
Then, asked if English would be a requirement forgranting the island statehood, he said, "I thinkthat would be a condition...That's how youintegrate fully into American life. It's the bestopportunity for you to be economically successful,is to speak English."
This from a guy who said that while he was in theSenate, colleagues used to call him "SenadorPuertorriqueño."Puerto Rico is scheduled to vote in November onwhether it wants to become the 51st state.Congress has the final say.
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have both said theywould support the people of Puerto Rico if theyask for statehood. Neither insisted on English asa pre-condition.
"To impose on Puerto Rico a condition that noother state has - it's unreasonable," PuertoRico's nonvoting representative in Congress,Democrat Pedro Pierluisi, said on CNN on Thursday.
Pointing out that the island has two officiallanguages, English and Spanish, Pierlusi calledSantorum's view "narrow and limiting."
Even Santorum's campaign co-chairman on theisland, Henry Neumann, was forced to admit howdamaging the "speak English" comment was, even ashe tried to lessen its impact.
"The majority of Puerto Ricans don't speakEnglish, so they would feel threatened if acandidate would come backing statehood and sayingthat everybody would have to speak English,"Neumann said in the New York Times. "He has neversaid that."
Friday, as Romney arrived to begin his weekend ofcampaigning in Puerto Rico, Santorum planned tospend his time in Missouri, where party membersare finally awarding delegates from the caucusSantorum won there last month.
But FIU's Moreno said the damage is already done,for Santorum and the GOP.
"I think it hurts the Republican brand," he toldthe Associated Press. "I mean, Santorum is one ofthe two frontrunners for the Republicannomination. He has been trying to appeal toworking-class voters and Catholic voters, and thisreally hurts his efforts and damages the brand."
