www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I just saw a TV ad for Laura Chinchilla.. she just goes by Laura.. The ads are professional and appear to hit nerves with the people...

I don't have a good feeling about this...

La Nacion today claimed today that Laura is ahead in the polls by 11%

What has happened to johnny.

Lauras ads are all over the TV, I wonder where she is getting all the money from.

if elected, she will be the biggest mistake Costa Rica ever made.

I don't say this because of her moralizing, I say this because she is woefully incompetent.

here are some of her links

http://www.linkedin.com/in/laurachinchilla

http://www.laurachinchilla.com/


I see things going to hell in a handbasket if she is elected.

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I am neither agreeing or disagreeing with you. I just am wondering what you base that statement on.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

So I'm channel surfing during the halftime break of the Lakers/Nuggets game and Channel 6 has the PLN debates and what are Doña Laura and Don Jhonny discussing?

Handicapped Access to Public Buildings

And no, there was no mention of ramps at MPs.

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It's faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, and more money--Tom T. Hall
No man is a failure who is enjoying life--William Faulkner

Is it a given that the winner of the PLN nomination will become president? I don't follow it that closely, obviously. Is there no hope for another party to 'throw the bums out?'

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

well, first of all, she has no day to day experience like the mayor of san jose.

she has almost led an ivory tower political existence.


second, she has what i would call a pie in the sky outlook where lofty ideals and political pandering trump common sense and the need to get the dirty work done.

for instance, having read some of her writtings, i don't think i have to go too far out on a limb to opinion that she has the wrong approach to crime, a big issue in CR.

but here is a link to some of her positions, read for yourself.

http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Pubsecurity/ch2.pdf

i might add she claims to have received a masters from georgetown, but what she really did was screw around for less than a year in dc and then had the jesuits (bigger whores that you will ever find in the DR) print off her degree.

i do not question her popularity in CR, she comes across to me as a cross between hillary and sarah, what an odd mixture, but perfect for the typical simple minded member of the public.

if the people of CR want some feely good, social worker, head in the sky pretty girl for president, then so be it.

i would prefer a more practical and hands on and experienced candidate that could get the job done, such as the mayor of san jose.

i suppose they'll soon be putting up again the large posters and billboards exclaiming "Yes, We Can!"

yes, we can what? Phuck up?

_________________
The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

Yes it is almost a given that the leader of the PLN party will be the next president. Arias is still very popular and the only other viable partys leader, Oton Solis may not get his partys nomination. Solis has been involved in some scandels and is not the force he once was. He lost to Arias in the last election by a razor thin margin. A black woman from Limon may win that partys nomination and then the election could be between 2 women.

Laura would be a bad choice for CR IMO. She is the one behind the new casino law. The people who lost their jobs will not vote for her.

I think Laura was the security commisioner for awhile and she made a fool of herself in that capacity.

Is Laura the math teacher?

No, the math teacher is Janina del Vecchio.

Del Vecchio is and Chinchilla was the Minister of Public Safety.

Laura Chinchilla is a fairly well educated woman. I do not doubt that she may have had help from the Jesuits getting a degree but I am not sure how that happened at GWU which is non sectarian. It was founded in large part by Free Masons who are not known to be pro Roman Catholic. However, Georgetown University, not far away from GWU is a Jesuit school. Maybe they have influence at GW.

Chinchilla does not come from wealth as so many politicos do. She touts herself as a public safety reformist and has written and spoken a great deal in the US and Europe. Some believe that she was the single most important person involved in changes to the laws under the José Maria Figueres administration (1994-1998) which effectively led to the coddling of juvenile criminals which some also believe has led to the increases in violence perpetrated by juveniles today. They know they are not going to be punished.

She will be on a live chat on the La Nacion web site at 9:00 AM. The election is on June 7th.

Below are the results from two Unimer Polls. These are popularity polls and it is not clear if these are likely voters.

September 2008

Arias 59% positive 37% negative
Chinchilla 61% positive 32% negative

May 25, 2009

Arias 72+ : 22 -
Chinchilla 64+ : 24 -
Araya 60+ : 30 -
Epsy 47+ : 34 -
Otton 41+ : 44 -
Calderon N/A : 73 -

Negatives are as important, and in a close race, more important than positives. But these are popularity polls and apparently not polls of likely voters.

In August 2008, when inflation was peaking and the economy was tumbling, 18 percent of the population of Costa Rica believed the government was doing well or very well; in February 2009, that has jumped to 41 percent who believe the government is doing well or very well. Part of that was due to the way the Government and the Red Cross (appeared) to respond to the January earthquake. If Chinchilla wins it will be due to the “coat tails” of Arias’ popularity in as much as he has promoted her over the years.

But things change quickly in elections. Four years ago, Arias was supposed to walk away with the election. If my memory serves me, he was ahead by 12 points. Two things played into that:

#1. The PUSC was in a shambles after two of its former presidents (Calderon and Rodriguez) were charged with corruption. Both of them faced charges, Calderon is at trial as we speak. Former president Jose Maria Figueres Olsen, a West Point graduate and dual citizen (Denmark), was also accused of corruption. He refused to leave Europe and return to Costa Rica to face charges. As time passed, no charges were filed and he appears to have avoided legal difficulties. Also, with no hope of winning four yers ago, many PUSC voters cast their ballots for OTTON.

# 2 OTTON made the election about CAFTA, gained support of the anti-CAFTA unions and received a lot of funding from Hugo Chavez who was not only Anti-Bush and Anti-USA, he was seriously Anti-CAFTA because CAFTA is competition for his ALBA. He had the dollars to spend and he allegedly did -- on Otton's campaign.

As I alluded to above, popularity polls are nice, but what is factually important is who votes at the PLN Convention which will be June 7, 2009. Back in February, Araya had 50 percent of the vote to Chinchilla’s 39 percent. Araya was strongest among 30 to 39 year olds and Chinchilla was strongest among 18 to 29 year olds. Older voters are much more reliable voters, more likely to actually show up and vote, than young voters.

Although Chinchilla's campaign has tried to craft her into the Latina Obama, e.g., getting the youth vote excited and active, it does not seem to have caught on.

I am not aware of any subsequent polls of likely voters. My guess is that Unimer is doing one right now.

excellent post.

the one published work of hers i could find did seem to portray the perps as victims themselves.

also, didn't it make mention of some kind of costa rican custom of a laize faire, let it be atttude when it came to crime?

do any of the resident or long time vets or possibly any true tico members think there is such a 'custom'?

i seem to remember, perhaps in error, of the former mayor of san jose wanting to crack down on crime but had his hands tied by politicians the like of the tica hillary/sarah candidate.

anyway, i don't see her as being a strong lady thatcher like leader.

probably more like the dumb ass broad in argentina that has people revolting in response to one policy fubar after another.


ps - do they have all those BS "Si Puedemos" posters all over the place?

"What" can 'We" do? Boost napkins from the News Cafe?

I saw the same shit plastered all over Cali a year ago during some local elections there.

must be contagious, either that or it really works.

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

I'd do her

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Livin' & Lovin' in Key Largo....oh....And the one in The Keys, too!

i'd do her too, and sarah.

hillary? no, not even that dog bill hits that stuff anymore.

_________________
The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)