Florida Politics

Part 3: Meet Jorge Bonilla, Candidate for Congress in FL – 9

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Jorge Bonilla

Previous: Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview with Jorge Bonilla.

Our interview with Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Jorge Bonilla, with his thoughts and views on the U.S. border and immigration…

Part 3: The U.S. Border

BB: Mr. Bonilla, what are your thoughts and ideas on how to handle the U.S. border security problem? What should be done about the massive illegal immigration problem in our country?

JB: Border security, is above all else, national security. Before we have a democratic conversation regarding the fate of the undocumented, we must address the border, ensure it is secure, and reform our visa system, which accounts for over 40% of our illegal immigration problem. We seemed to have an alternative in place, we just need to be sure it is funded and implemented. Once that is accomplished, we can begin to talk about everything else.

In August, The Heritage Foundation presented a list of U.S. border and immigration questions voters should be asking their Congress members. I felt it was a very good list to present to Jorge Bonilla to answer for this part of the candidate’s interview…

The Heritage Foundation: 5 Immigration Questions for Your Congressman

1. How can we afford an amnesty for illegal immigrants?

JB: I’ve read many different studies on the economic impact of legalizing the undocumented. I think that there might be a net long-tern positive impact under the right conditions, but am unsure that Washington is willing to do what it takes to ensure those right conditions.

2. If illegal immigrants win amnesty, how is that fair to the 4.5 million who are waiting to enter the United States legally?

JB: It is my personal belief that any proposed “pathway to citizenship” must first take into account those immigrants who arrived here via legal means.

3. Can we ensure that a House-passed immigration bill doesn’t become a vehicle, in a deal with the Senate, for blanket amnesty?

JB: It seems that the House and the Senate are at currently at an impasse, so it is up to the people to hold their representatives accountable; this is true on both sides of the issue.

4. Does Congress need to pass new legislation to secure the border and strengthen interior enforcement?

JB: In my view, these goals could be accomplished within existing legislation and the will to enforce it.

5. Is there any guarantee that we won’t face this problem again with millions of new illegal immigrants in the future?

JB: There is none whatsoever, which is why we need to ensure we have legislation in place that actually works, as well as the will to enforce it.

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Part 2: Meet Jorge Bonilla, Candidate for Congress in FL – 9

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Jorge Bonilla

Previous: Part 1: Meet Jorge Bonilla, Candidate for Congress in FL – 9

We pick up our interview with Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Jorge Bonilla, with his thoughts and views on domestic policy…

Part 2: Domestic Policy

BB: Barack Obama recently claimed the republicans in the Congress are being distracted by “phony scandals”. When asked about it the White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, stated Benghazi and the IRS are “phony scandals”. Do you think any of the administration’s scandals being investigated are “phony” and not to be taken seriously?

JB: The “phony scandal” narrative has been aided and abetted by a willing media. One only need to ask what coverage would look like if any of these scandals had transpired during the Bush administration. I doubt any of the current outcomes would be the same.

BB: I already asked you about Benghazi (in Part 1), but your thoughts on these as well:

a. The Holder DOJ’s and ATF’s “Fast and Furious” gunwalking program

JB: The First Scandal. I am shocked that no one has yet gone to jail over this. The blood of Agent Brian Terry cries out for justice.

b. The DOJ spying on the AP and other journalists/reporters

JB: Chilling supression of freedom of the press and the First Amendment.

c. The NSA’s metadata program involving massive gathering and storing of various communication data of Americans

JB: An unprecented and unconstitutional violation of our privacy in the name of national security.

BB: Do you think we need more gun control laws in the country?

JB: No.

BB: Do you think ObamaCare is bad for the country, and what do you think should be done with the law?

JB: ObamaCare is a poorly-written piece of legislation that is already destroying jobs and wrecking our economy, and should be resisted at every possible opportunity and by every means available- until full repeal is available as an option.

BB: a. We hear month-to-month that the economy is getting better, but American workers are having their full time jobs cut to part time and having to take 2 or 3 part time jobs just to try to make ends meet in their personal budgets. During this administration “average annual growth in real GDP has been only 1.075 percent” (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/1-average-annual-economic-growth-under-obama ). Do you believe Mr. Obama’s economic policies are working, or are Americans being conditioned to accept these changes as our “new normal”?

JB: Mr. Obama’s economic policies are failing miserably, and as a result, Americans are being conditioned to “the new normal”. Recall all the “funemployment” articles that were written in 2009-2010, and Nancy Pelosi’s recent statements to the effect that the decline of the 40-hour workweek is great because now people will be free to find their true passion.

b. Recently Mr. Obama scoffed at and downplayed the possible Keystone pipeline’s effect on jobs. Are you aware of the last few years of job and economic growth and development on many levels in North Dakota in response to that state’s oil industry, and do you agree with Mr. Obama that the Keystone pipeline would only result in an insignificant number of jobs?

JB: The president is way off base here, and his ideological rigidity is in clear display. If 312,000 people are dropping out of the workforce over the course of a month (BLS 8/13), then no amount of jobs created is “insignificant”. It’s time top stop playing politics with our job creation and with our energy independence.

c. What are your ideas on domestic energy policy? Should we be drilling more on our soil? Fracking? shale? More clean coal? Building more refineries?

JB: All of the above and then some. Oil, gas, coal, nuclear…and ease the regulatory burden on our refining capabilities.

BB: Do you think the EPA has too much power in the country, and hinders our rights and the country’s economic growth?

JB: The EPA is out of control, infringes on our individual rights and places an excessive regulatory burden on our businesses and job creators. This agency is, quite frankly, the poster child for our unhinged administrative state.

BB: Your thoughts on “global warming”/”climate change”? Should our government be telling us what light bulbs and toilets to use, cars to buy/drive, signing onto any domestic or United Nation ‘carbon’-related “taxes”?

JB: No one doubts that there are cycles in which the planet cools and warms. However, I have no basis to determine that any of these changes are man-made, and so I wouldn’t support any of the climate bills making their way through Congress- nor would I allow any U.N. erosion of our national sovereignty under these pretenses. Furthermore, government should not be telling us what toilets or lightbulbs to install or cars to drive. Surely there are better uses for our time.

BB: Your views on abortion? Do you believe Planned Parenthood should be defunded? Should there be a banning on when a “fetus”/baby can be aborted, or should abortion not be regulated and should be free and on demand at anytime during a pregnancy, even in “born alive” situations? Do you think individual states have a right to make their own laws on abortion?

JB: I am staunchly pro-life, and do not believe that federal tax dollars should go to Planned Parenthood- period. I support -and would have voted for- the 20-week ban which recently came before the House, and personally believe no pregnancy should be terminated except that the life of the mother be in grave danger, and then only by a licensed physician. Furthermore, I am in full support of Born Alive legislation. Roe v. Wade recognized that these issues would eventually become before the states as medical technology catches up to the law.

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Part 1: Meet Jorge Bonilla, Candidate for Congress in FL – 9

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Earlier this summer Jorge Bonilla announced he will be the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 9th Congressional District challenging, as The Daily Caller puts it, “the most colorful Democrat in the House of Representatives” Alan Grayson.

We definitely need new blood in the out-of-control spending and overreaching Congress (on both sides of the aisle), and more members who will take a seat as a Constitutional conservative that will, first and foremost, represent the American people under the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Here are some of Mr. Bonilla’s thoughts on the issues at hand in the United States.

UPDATE: Look for Jorge Bonilla’s opinion on the current federal government “shutdown” below the fold.

Introduction:

BB: Mr. Bonilla, please give our readers some background on yourself. Your family/family history, up-bringing, schooling, work history and anything else that would give us a good bio-picture of you.

JB: I am of Puerto Rican descent. My grandfather served in World War II and in Korea. My parents came here in the late ’60s in search of economic opportunities. My father started out as a day laborer, and my mom as a factory worker. They met and married in Brooklyn, New York, where I was born. They emphasized the importance of learning English and of persistence as keys to success and achievement in America. I would go on to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves and later in the Navy, during the Desert Storm era. Shortly after conclusion of my military service, I relocated to Central Florida (1994). I’ve worked in the service industry, in retail, mortgage banking, and am currently employed as a court interpreter for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. I’ve been married to my best friend for 13 1/2 years, and we are -through the miracle of adoption- parents of a 14-month-old and a newborn.

BB: What moved you to decide to run for the U.S. Congress?

JB: The policies of the last five years have made clear to me that unless we take decisive action right now, we are in serious danger of leaving a diminished America behind to future generations. As a new parent, this is unacceptable to me. I believe that we can do better than runaway deficits, healthcare reform that doesn’t actually reform healthcare, and millions of unemployed. We must do better, and we will. This is why I’m running for Congress.

BB: Given Mr. Grayson’s colorful and creative abilities over the years on the House floor and in election campaigns, do you look forward to some of that rhetoric aimed in your direction during your campaign challenge? And do you expect a nasty race ahead?

JB: Alan Grayson is what he is and always will be, no matter how hard the media may try to spin otherwise. I can’t say that I’m “looking forward” to the hell that is sure to come down the road, but it would be foolish to plan for anything less. So I guess that’s a yes to both questions.

Part 1: Foreign Policy

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FYI: meeting in Tampa on struggle for Cuba’s freedom on August 30 (with the Diaz-Balarts and David Rivera)

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If you’re in Tampa on August 30, this might be of interest to you. If you make it out, please do let us know how it goes and send us any photos of videos you can get.

From Diaz-Balart, PLLC:

PRESS RELEASE

WHAT: Meeting with the Cuban community in Tampa, Florida / Reaffirmation of the struggle for Cuba’s freedom

WHO: Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Congressman David Rivera (R-FL), former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart,  members of patriotic Cuban-American organizations in Tampa and former Cuban political prisoners.

WHEN: Thursday, August 30th, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: El Club Civico Cubano, 10905 Memorial Highway, Tampa, FL 33615

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

QUE: Reunión con la comunidad cubana de Tampa y acto de reafirmación patriótica por la libertad de Cuba.

QUIEN: El Congresista Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), el Congresista David Rivera (R-FL), el ex-Congresista Lincoln Diaz-Balart, miembros de organizaciones patrióticas cubanas en Tampa y ex-presos políticos cubanos

CUANDO: El jueves, 30 de agosto de 2012 a las 3:00 pm

DONDE: El Club Cívico Cubano, 10905 Memorial Highway, Tampa, FL 33615

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While in Florida Paul Ryan Stresses His Stance on Cuba

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You can read the full report for Ryan’s comments on Medicare and the future of NASA here…

During his interview with FLDemocracy, Ryan sought to reassure Cuban-Americans in South Florida that despite voting to lift the embargo against Cuba in 2001 and 2004, he has since changed his position on the issue.

Ryan, who opposed a measure that would have weakened the embargo in 2007, said he and Romney would maintain a hardline against the Communist regime.

Ryan pointed to his friendship with some of Florida’s most prominent Cuban-Americans as evidence of his commitment to seeing an end to the Castro regime.

“One of my best friends in Congress is Mario Diaz-Balart. I’m also good friends with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. And, I’ve had some great meetings with them — briefings from them — over the last number of years about how important it is to make sure we stare down the Castro regime and we do nothing that helps embolden the Castro regime.”

During an appearance on Miami’s Radio Mambí last week, Romney explained that Ryan changed his position on the embargo after meeting with Diaz-Balart and Ros-Lehtinen.

Says He Would Have Backed Rubio’s Immigration Plan

Ryan, who voted against the Obama-backed DREAM Act and has opposed amnesty for most illegal immigrants, said he supported — but hadn’t endorsed — the immigration reform efforts of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).

“I’ve been impressed with Marco Rubio’s leadership on this issue,” he said. “Marco Rubio was on the cusp of introducing the bipartisan solution to immigration problems. President Obama preempted that with what many people think is an unconstitutional move and denied the ability to have a bipartisan solution to these legitimate immigration issues that we have to solve.”

Journalists, human rights activists receive the 2012 “Boitel Award”

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The below is a release from Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 2, 2012

Event Recap: “Pro-Democracy Movements in Totalitarian States”

WASHINGTON, DC- The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, in conjunction with the International Republican Institute and the Center for Freedom and Democracy, hosted an event this afternoon entitled “Pro-Democracy Movements in Totalitarian States.”

Congressman Diaz-Balart, Congressman Sires, Congressman Diaz-Balart, Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, and Congressman Rivera

Offered remarks: Mauricio Claver-Carone, Cuba Democracy Advocates, András Bácsi-Nagy, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Hungary,Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio), Carl Gershman, National Endowment for Democracy, Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, White Rose Institute

Featured Panelists: Janisset Rivero, Directorio, Berta Antunez, Rosa Parks Feminist Movement, John Suarez, Directorio, Sylvia Iriondo, M.A.R. por Cuba, Marc Wachtenheim, Center for Freedom and Democracy, Horacio Garcia, Proyecto Pro Cambio, Carlos Ponce, General Coordinator, Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy, Frank Calzon, Center for a Free Cuba, Anibal Cabrera, Grupo Internacional de Solidaridad Social Corporativa, Darsi Ferrer, MD, Recently exiled Cuban dissident leader

Key activists in Cuba were honored by Members of Congress and the Senate for having received The Annual Boitel Award. Alongside Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Congressman Albio Sires (D-NJ), Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Congressman David Rivera (R-FL) were there to honor them.

RECIPIENTS OF THE 2012 “BOITEL AWARD”

1.      Julio Columbié Batista, was very involved in collecting signatures for the Varela project and emerged as a pioneer of public protests against Cuban prisons. He is the founding Director of the National Civic Resistance and Civil Disobedience Orlando Zapata Tamayo Front and just a short time later restructured the historic Pedro Luis Boitel National Civic Resistance Movement.

2.      Blás Augusto Fortún Martínez, spent time in a forced labor camp in his late teens, afterward becoming involved with the Cuban Nationalist Movement Party and then with the Pedro Luis Boitel National Civic Resistance Movement. He continues to play an important part in public protests all over the country.

3.      Damaris Moyas Portieles, Co-President of the Central Opposition Coalition in Villa Clara and chairwoman of the Rosa Parks Women’s Movement for Civil Rights.  She has become well known for her role organizing hunger strikes and standing by her principles.

4.      Donaida Pérez Paseiro, first became linked to the opposition in 2007 as a freelance journalist.  Joined the Independent Press Agency Laureles Press and was involved in the start of the National Front and the Rosa Parks Movement.

5.      Marta Díaz Rondón, one of the main coordinators of the Eastern Democratic Alliance and the Orlando Zapata Tamayo Civic Resistance Front.  She is a Dama de Blanco and Vice Chair of the Rosa Parks Civil Rights Movement.

6.      Jorge Olivera Castillo, writer, poet, editor and television journalist, he joined the opposition in 1993 and initially worked as part of the Independent Union Confederation of Democratic Workers of Cuba (CTDC). Beginning in 1999 and up until his arrest during the Black Spring of 2003, he was the director of the independent news agency Habana Press.  He was released in 2004 on medical parole due to health issues. Currently he is an independent journalist and president of the Writers’ Club Cuba, an entity that seeks to open a space for all Cuban writers committed to the defense of freedom of creation.

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Obama and Holder Take Another Hit…

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This time in Florida:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge has refused to stop Florida from removing potentially non-U.S. citizens from its rolls.

The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state to halt the purge, arguing it was going on too close to a federal election.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said Wednesday that there was nothing in federal voting laws that prevent the state from identifying non-U.S. citizens even if it comes less than 90 days before the Aug. 14 election.

Hinkle ruled that federal laws are designed to block states from removing eligible voters close to an election. He said they are not designed to stop states from blocking voters who should have never been allowed to cast ballots in the first place.

Gov. Rick Scott praised Hinkle’s decision, saying “irreparable harm will result if non-citizens are allowed to vote.”

We can only hope and pray tomorrow brings two bigger headaches for Obama and Holder.

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Obama The Neo-Soviet

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From PJM:

This is a political maneuver designed to punish Arizona, which is already reeling from the lawlessness on its border with Mexico. It also tells us that the administration has given up on winning Arizona, which until recently was considered a swing state, this fall. Obama has written it off, and is now going Soviet on it to make it an example to others. He is essentially kicking Arizona out of whatever is left of the federal government’s border enforcement, declaring to smugglers and traffickers that Arizona is very much on its own. The sucker punch comes when police enforce Section 2B of 1070 and get the state sued again. That’s likely to put the law back on hold, giving the green light to anyone who wants to sneak into Arizona from Mexico for any reason whatsoever.

While Obama has possibly written-off AZ in the November election, he still has Florida in his sights…

President Barack Obama has assured Florida Gov. Rick Scott that his state will have “no unmet needs” as it responds to extreme weather and flooding from Tropical Storm Debby.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says Obama expressed his condolences for the loss of life, as well as the extensive storm damage. Carney says Obama told Scott the federal government would be in close contact with the state and stood ready to provide additional assistance if necessary.

Debby has socked Florida with high winds and heavy rain that has already led to flooding, with officials warning of more to come.

Obama called Scott from Air Force One as he flew to Atlanta for a campaign event. The president will be in Miami later Tuesday to attend two campaign fundraisers.

Do What’s Right, Online.

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Read any Cuban newspaper or magazine from the early and late fifties you’ll learn that fidel castro and his Rebeldes were the best thing since sliced bread. Almost every major media source in Cuba supported his campaign and published accolades about the man and his “fight for change.” Many major American news sources followed suit, too, following the lead of Herbert Matthews and The New York Times. And when fidel castro and his Rebeldes “won” against the evil Batista, Cubans took to the streets in celebration. They were ecstatic. They were giddy. They were awash with hope for their futures, for their children’s futures. For the future of their country. They were convinced. Convinced! After all, they had been ensured by their major media sources that the man sitting atop a tank riding into Havana was their savior.

Now, in retrospect, we all know the truth. The people of Cuba were hoodwinked. Taken in not just by charm, a beard and a grin, but by those whose jobs as journalists wasn’t just to report the truth, but to dig behind that charm and grin and find the facts. The Cuban press never vetted fidel castro. They bought the bill of goods, whether consciously or not, that the man was selling and they not only gave him a free ride, they bought him the tickets, first class.

Ironically, when reality finally slapped the silly out of that press and they began to come to terms with the fact that they had bought the snake oil, it was too late. The press were the first ones jackbooted by the very same man they put in control over them. To this day, over half a century later, the Cuban press has been irrelevant.

I felt compelled to mention the above because we’ve faced and are facing a similar situation here in the Land of the Free. Those of you who read this blog regularly know this. You or your families have already seen this movie playing out before us. We all know the plot, and, unfortunately, we are all more than familiar with the ending.

There can be no argument that the Mainstream Media – or Legacy Media if you prefer – was instrumental in the election of Barrack Obama. Just like the Cuban press of the fifties, the MSM sold this country on Obama’s Hope and Change without even so much as a second thought as to what that hope and change would be, what consequences for same we’d have to suffer through and, most importantly, what motives the peddler atop the soap box hath.

And, for the past three and a half years, that Media has carried water for the man they put in office. Barrack Obama can do no harm. Esta es tu casa, Barrack. And make no mistake, the MSM will continue to hood wink us. They are all in. Their relevancy is as stake.

It’s not all gloom and doom, tho, folks. We don’t have to suffer the same fate as my island of birth as long as we are all willing to do one thing. We have to heed the words of Andrew Breitbart and GO TO WAR.

We’ve got our work cut out for us and in many respects it’s pretty nasty trench warfare, but if we don’t do it now, we may never get another chance. Either we do our time in those trenches right now and gain back our ground, or our children will live in the trenches to hold what little ground we’d have left them.

A week ago today I was in Las Vegas at the RightOnline Convention put together by Americans for Prosperity. It was there that I had the honor and privilege of meeting some of our fellow warriors who are in the trenches alongside us. Politicos, bloggers, social media gurus…people who understand the severity of our situation and who are already waging war on all fronts. From helping true Conservatives get elected into local, state and federal offices to facing off against the media sycophants and helping them off that precipice of irrelevancy.

We need more troops to stave off the lies and hypocrisy of the Left and their Media allies. Our greatest weapon, the internet, has already been deployed. Man it. Stay informed, read your favorite blogs, pass the information along. Use your facebook. Tweet the shit out of the truth.

Had there been an internet fifty some odd years ago, fidel castro would have never taken power. Mull that over a bit.

Fifty-three years of desperation and repression avoided by keystrokes.

57 States and One Emperor

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Well, 56 states, if you don’t count Hawaii, which was handed over to Asia…

The democrat party in Florida has changed the American Flag:

An American flag with President Obama’s image in place of the stars flew over a Florida county’s Democrat headquarters long enough to enrage local veterans who called the altered banner “a disgrace.”

Lake County Democratic Party officials took down the flag, which flew just below a standard Old Glory on the flagpole outside headquarters in Tavares following complaints by local veterans. But merely taking it down wasn’t enough for several local veterans, who said they fought for the flag Betsy Ross made famous, not one with a politician on it.

“It’s absolutely disrespectful,” Jim Bradford, a 71-year-old veteran who participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion told FoxNews.com. “It’s totally ridiculous. To put somebody’s picture there, to me, it’s a disgrace to do that.”

Bradford, an organizer with the Veterans Memorial at Fountain Park in Leesburg, Fla., snapped photos of the flag and distributed them to fellow veterans and friends. By late afternoon, he and several other veterans delivered a copy of the federal flag code to Nancy Hurlbert, chairwoman of the Lake County Democratic Party.

“We read that to her, but she would not accept that,” Bradford said. “The discussion finally got a little bit heated.”

The flag, which had been flying for several months without complaint and is available online for $12.95, was later removed by Hurlbert.

Bradford said Hurlbert apologized for the incident, but did not offer any promises that it wouldn’t fly again.

“What really upsets me is that the flag had apparently been flying for months and no one had done anything about it,” Bradford said. “I’ve got no hard feelings toward [Hurlbert], but people will be driving by there to make sure it doesn’t go up again.”

Hurlbert said Tuesday’s incident was the first time anyone had complained about the flag, which she received as a gift two months ago.

“It leads me to believe that it’s not about the flag,” she told FoxNews.com. “Certain elements cannot accept Barack Obama as president.”

Hurlbert said she intends to contact an attorney regarding the matter and remained non-committal as to whether she’ll fly the flag again.

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