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Rico must not become for the Bush administration what China was
for Bill Clinton: a place where political
calculation
and campaign fundraising overrule our national-security interests.
U.S. troops
have trained on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, since World
War II. In April, 1999, a civilian security guard was killed by
an off-target bomb. Since then, Puerto Rico has been the scene of
anti-Navy protest marches, rallies, and demonstrations. Months
of bargaining resulted in an agreement to allow the Navy to continue
training on Vieques, albeit in a limited way.
That agreement
on Vieques by Gov. Pedro Rossello was credited with the rout of
his Statehood Party last November. The island's Commonwealth Party
won control of the governorship and both chambers of Puerto Rico's
legislature.
Keep in mind
that elections on the impoverished island of Puerto Rico mean considerably
more than they do in the United States. The government controls
about 50% of the island's economy directly or indirectly, which
means every election determines who gets to earn a living.
Accordingly,
residents of Puerto Rico follow political matters with the keen
interest Texans reserve for oil prices. Meanwhile, most U.S. residents
have difficulty locating Puerto Rico on a map and follow the island's
politics not at all. This situation maximizes opportunities for
political pandering to the most parochial interests of Puerto Rico,
such as Vieques.
Both Hillary
Clinton and Rick Lazio called for an end to "military target
practice on the island of Vieques" during their 2000 contest
for the Senate. (About 1.3 million Puerto Ricans call New York home.)
On March 13th, now-Senator Clinton joined with her colleague, Sen.
Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) in calling for a permanent end to bombing
on Vieques.
A steady stream of politicians have found their way to the island
recently, including New York's Republican governor George Pataki,
who traveled to Puerto Rico in April.
Pataki's visit
included a quick $1,000 per plate fundraiser. Those aware of Puerto
Rico's role as the piggy
bank of American politics were not surprised.
Any politician,
Republican or Democrat, will find Puerto Rico a place where people
understand fundraising. Puerto Rico residents invested $3,672,259
during the 1999-2000 election cycle. George
Bush received $345,650 for his campaign, Al Gore $223,250, Bill
Bradley $200,500 and John McCain a relative pittance of $11,750.
Puerto Rico
was also the source of $2.8
million in campaign contributions for 1996 races. Ted Kennedy
(D., Mass.) received $93,800 directly for his campaign as well as
$95,000 for his Committee for a Democratic Majority; Robert Torricelli
(D., N.J.) earned $56,400; House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt received
$40,000.
When it comes
to obtaining soft money for political parties, once again, Puerto
Rico is the place to go. Puerto Rico provided $429,404
in 1999-2000. Puerto Rico's top
15 soft money donors gave $286,750 to Democrats and $16,750
to Republicans.
According to
the American
Prospect, Dr. Richard Machado, a Puerto Rican hospital owner
and Commonwealth Party supporter gave the Democratic National Committee
$250,000 "includ[ing] a gift of $200,000 on November 3, 1995,
the largest single donation from guests who breakfasted with Clinton
between 1995 and 1996."
A 1998 Boston
Globe report found that $1,041,350 in soft money was sent from
Puerto Rico to "political committees on the American mainland
for the 1996 elections." Oil-rich Alaska, by contrast, generated
but $154,000.
Puerto Rico
is a major player in the lobbying game as well. Puerto Rico's various
government entitles have a lot of money to spend: $4,758,113
in 1999, $4,044,505
in 1998, and $4,115,396
in 1997.
To put these
sums in perspective, consider that in 1998, "the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico" was 59th on the list
of top spenders on lobbying. The AFL-CIO ranked 57th that year,
while Microsoft was 68th.
The lobbyists
hired by the Rossello regime earned their daily bread in part by
working on the Vieques issue. Now the Calderon government can spend
similar sums on behalf of her agenda — which includes a complete
U.S. Navy withdrawal from Vieques.
There will
no doubt be respected Republican political advisors who will once
again sing the tired song of winning the Hispanic vote by pandering
to Puerto Rico. "Since we are going to lose Vieques anyway,"
they will whisper, "President Bush should order the Navy out
in order to win Hispanic support."
Congressman
Jose Serrano (D., N.Y.) told the New York Times that Pataki,
and by extension, Republicans generally "will be surprised
to find out that Puerto Ricans will be grateful but will still vote
Democratic."
The main reason
the Bush Administration should stand firm on Vieques is that the
lose of Vieques will put at risk all American military training
everywhere else.
The Navy has
pursued two possible alternatives to Vieques, Cape Wrath in northern
Scotland and Capo Teulada in southern Sardinia. Why would Scotland
or Italy tolerate Navy training that Puerto Rico rejects? Thankfully,
Bush blocked Clinton's last-day Executive
Order directing "the secretary of defense to develop alternatives
to training on Vieques."
If the Navy
is expelled from Vieques, other places which currently host U.S.
military installations, such as Okinawa,
will surely follow.
It is not like
the military presently has an easy time conducting needed training:
"U.S.
pilots of Apache helicopters needed remedial training once they
reached Albania because authorities in Germany, where they were
based, had banned nighttime training."
Some Maryland
residents want the Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center, in operation
at its current location since 1918, to move because of the noise
produced by ammunition tests. A lawsuit was recently filed in El
Paso against the Air Force conducting practice bombing runs. (No
complaints have been filed as yet by Oklahoma residents objecting
to live-fire training in their state by Puerto Rico's National Guard.)
President Bush,
please stand with our men and women in uniform who are depending
on you to make sure they get the training they need.
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