PDP resident commissioner candidate meets with Virginia Senator

By John McPhaul

jpmchaul@gmail.com

The candidate for resident commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington for the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), Pablo José Hernández Rivera, recently met with Democratic Senator Timothy ‘”Tim” Kaine, who since 2013 has represented his state of Virginia, of which he was also governor.

“In my goal of promoting the economic development of Puerto Rico, we must gather all the good contacts and opportunities. Senator Kaine is a good friend of Puerto Rico and is particularly remembered because he ran for vice president of the United States alongside Hillary Clinton in 2016. In our conversation we discussed the importance of tax incentives, bringing manufacturing that is now in other countries, back to the United States via Puerto Rico,” said the lawyer. “There is a national security issue where Puerto Rico can be a solution, in cases like what we now see in China and Taiwan.”

Similarly, the issues of parity in federal programs such as SSI, SNAP, Medicare and Medicaid were part of the meeting.

Regarding Kaine, the renowned blog FiveThirtyEight (538), which focuses on political analysis and polls, gives Kaine an average score of −37 (−100 is the most liberal, and 100 is the most conservative). FiveThirtyEight characterizes him as a “centerist Democrat” and notes that his ideological score is very similar to that of President Joe Biden. This blog is named after the number of electors in the State Electoral College. In fact, The New York Times wrote that “in super partisan Washington, Kaine is often seen as a centrist”.

“In the mission of promoting the economic development of Puerto Rico, I am counting on all the sectors that can contribute to that goal. There are many Democratic, Republican and independent legislators who see positively that Puerto Rico effectively uses the tools we have right now with the Commonwealth for its economic development. Let us remember that in the past twenty years that had been set aside. It is time for us to work for economic development that benefits us all,” concluded the PDP candidate.