Slog Comments
Puerto Rico Voted for Change Last Night, Too
1
The final option is sooooo tempting...
We could just snap Florida off like a big biscotti, and let it float out into the Atlantic..... sigh
We could just snap Florida off like a big biscotti, and let it float out into the Atlantic..... sigh
4
I don't know about the effect on Puerto Ricans, but I think adding Puerto Rico as a full state would be a good thing for the united states. It would force a lot of people in the US to recon with spanish speaking culture as a full and proper part of america, and make it more difficult to simply relegate it to the status of 'outsider'.
5
1. it shouldn't matter if 90% of puerto ricans want it or just one puerto ricans want it. your rights are not subject to vote, remember?
2. of course they need representation in congress and electoral college. it's legal de jure discrimination that they don't! same for DC.
3. it's silly for liberals to moan we often don't win but we don't seem to get a clue; DC and puerto rico representation would add what, four liberal senators? holy fuck, we should all be for it! it's righteous and helps us win more battles!
4. the latinos just helped us win the damn election. payback is earned.
5. someone on this site just wondered what could gay people do to thank straight people. here's what: support full civil rights and equality for everyone!
6. right now you in seattle rule over puerto rico. yes, your senators make laws for puerto rico. they don't get to elect senators. why do you want to be a colonialist supporting unequal rights, it's not very seattlish is it.
7. america and usa has always had lots of spanish components from florida to tejas to lousiana....it's hardly unamerican to have spanish cultured folks around. it's pretty durn american.
8. no mamen gueyes~!
2. of course they need representation in congress and electoral college. it's legal de jure discrimination that they don't! same for DC.
3. it's silly for liberals to moan we often don't win but we don't seem to get a clue; DC and puerto rico representation would add what, four liberal senators? holy fuck, we should all be for it! it's righteous and helps us win more battles!
4. the latinos just helped us win the damn election. payback is earned.
5. someone on this site just wondered what could gay people do to thank straight people. here's what: support full civil rights and equality for everyone!
6. right now you in seattle rule over puerto rico. yes, your senators make laws for puerto rico. they don't get to elect senators. why do you want to be a colonialist supporting unequal rights, it's not very seattlish is it.
7. america and usa has always had lots of spanish components from florida to tejas to lousiana....it's hardly unamerican to have spanish cultured folks around. it's pretty durn american.
8. no mamen gueyes~!
7
I expect that Congressional Republicans will continue to block Puerto Rico statehood, since it would possibly add 2 Democrats to the Senate.
8
one way or the other, it's about time we stopped being treated like second-class citizens (or rather, "treated xenophobically like foreigners"). if this referendum is what it takes for people on the mainland to finally learn about 4 million people that are also part of the country, then great.
i lost count of how many times i got asked for my passport or an "american" id when i first moved here. 10+ year driving record didn't count when it came time to buy car insurance, either. we're bound by federal law & we've died in your wars, too.
also of note-- the GOP-apologist governor failed to get reëlected, despite being in the pro-statehood party!
i lost count of how many times i got asked for my passport or an "american" id when i first moved here. 10+ year driving record didn't count when it came time to buy car insurance, either. we're bound by federal law & we've died in your wars, too.
also of note-- the GOP-apologist governor failed to get reëlected, despite being in the pro-statehood party!
9
Careful! A majority of those who responded to the second part of a two-part question favored statehood ... but this was a minority of those who cast ballots.
Also, P.R. threw out the governor who was their leading statehood advocate.
Also, P.R. threw out the governor who was their leading statehood advocate.
10
@6 oh just be glad you got 1 percent of the vote in our state so you're still a party.
Another idea is to split WA into 3 states: Seattle (Sealth), Eastern Washington (Lincoln), Western Washington (Washington)
and OR into 2 states (or 3): East/West with Eugene in the liberal part.
and CA into 5 states.
And then add Puerto Rico and DC too.
Which gives you 62 states. Or maybe make it 60 (E/W WA, E/W OR, 4 CA, PR, DC).
States have changed shapes and been split before. Happens all the time, but you probably slept thru civics.
Another idea is to split WA into 3 states: Seattle (Sealth), Eastern Washington (Lincoln), Western Washington (Washington)
and OR into 2 states (or 3): East/West with Eugene in the liberal part.
and CA into 5 states.
And then add Puerto Rico and DC too.
Which gives you 62 states. Or maybe make it 60 (E/W WA, E/W OR, 4 CA, PR, DC).
States have changed shapes and been split before. Happens all the time, but you probably slept thru civics.
11
I think there's honestly something to that last choice -- that idiots in the legislature love the perfect symmetry of the flag and having the nice, round number of states that we do. As if there's something especially inspirational or even divine about it. And it is neat, but it comes at the expense of peoples voting rights and representation (those in DC, obviously.) There's just really no other plausible explanation that I've ever been able to fathom and I lived in DC for several years.
12
Yeah, I definitely support this. If this ends up getting approved, this could end up being the biggest news out of the election.
And who knows, maybe the Republicans won't block this...my tour of right wing blogs today seems to indicate that they've now realized how badly they need the Latino vote.
And who knows, maybe the Republicans won't block this...my tour of right wing blogs today seems to indicate that they've now realized how badly they need the Latino vote.
14
@7/@9 - While I believe both Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia deserve to be offered statehood, Puerto Rico is a bit more complicated than you might think. After all, they might not even accept statehood if given the choice, given that their Commonwealth status provides an opening for a lot of jobs presently there.
16
I just don't see this happening until our deficit is down and our economy is booming. The unemployment rate and overall poverty level of Puerto Rico is so bad that it would cost WAY more than congress is willing to pay.
17
@14 you seem to not understand the concept of rights. if 60% of gays don't want gay marriage rights, is that a reason for this gay and that gay to not enjoy full equal marriage rights? if 40% of women don't think women should have the vote, is that a reason to deny women the right to vote? so if half of puerto rico or 60% don't want statehood, how does that justify you in washington state getting to elect senators and a president to make laws for puerto rico? you have no justification for this colonial status, and the usa doesn't, no matter how many puerto ricans want or okay with second class status, because it's unequal rights dude, also colonialism, also, oppression. and also it means we the lefties here are deprived of nine democratic leaning electoral college votes and two more senators.
the GOP constantly figures out the power game, denying voting rights for stupid drug busts, jiggering the voting days, supressing votes. here we have six million people in puerto rico without rights, they'd be on our side and we barely think of making an effort to fix it and help ourselves to more justly deserved power. same with DC. the liberal penchant for self disempowerment is incredible.
the GOP constantly figures out the power game, denying voting rights for stupid drug busts, jiggering the voting days, supressing votes. here we have six million people in puerto rico without rights, they'd be on our side and we barely think of making an effort to fix it and help ourselves to more justly deserved power. same with DC. the liberal penchant for self disempowerment is incredible.
18
All right, here is a fun link that shows what the US flag might look like with 51 stars, or 52, or a bunch more (except 69 stars!)
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/20…
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/20…
19
@7 there's speculation that if the GOP decides to do something to mend fences with hispanics, supporting PR statehood could be a first step.
20
Shoot! I picked the last one too fast! We should make DC a state too. Both of them would be complicated, but it's so time to do that.
21
Does DC even want to be a state? I thought the whole purpose of that city was so that so that the United States capital wouldn't be dedicated to one state. It sort of stands on its own. Also, how would that work when it came to state and federal laws? Seems a little contradictory. But hey, if that's what they want!
22
@21, whether state or not, what DC should get is full home rule and representation (w/a vote). No taxation without representation.
23
@21 yes everyone in dc wants to be a state top get full voting rights in congress the senate and the house, like you have. dc residents don't like it that they are second class to you, as you elect patty murray and maria cantwell and reichert whatnot who make ;laws for DC -- the problem is lack of representation, and second class legal status. the purpose of dc was so that one state government couldn't tell its cops to fail to stop riots intimindating the congress. they have local laws, but did you know? your congress gets to dictate to DC residents their local laws on things like gun control and abortion and all kinds of things. so there's two wrongs here. one, they don't have equal rights. two, you and all others in the states are ruling over them. please stop!
25
If Puerto Rico becomes a state, I think we should add a star outside the canton with a sombrero on it, to celebrate both Puerto Rico's unique culture and other Americans' complete ignorance of it.
28
Look, I actually am boricua. I love you guys, but you are wrong to expect that PR would be a guaranteed blue state. It's a pretty socially-conservative place; if the status question (by far the dominant fault-line in island politics) is ever settled I think you'll be surprised how swingy, even right-leaning it is. Remember: we are native citizens - not immigrants. If the Republicans can manage not to put their feet in their mouths with English-only bullshit as they've done from time to time, they'll be competitive.
The current governor, Luis Fortuño, might be a member of the PNP (the statehood party) but really, he's a Republican - as in caucused with them in the 109th and 110th Congresses while he was serving as Resident Commissioner (i.e. the non-voting except in committee representative of PR in the US House of Representatives) before he was elected governor.
Just saying, be careful what you wish for here. OTOH, statehood for PR in exchange for meaningful franchise for DC would be a great compromise.
The current governor, Luis Fortuño, might be a member of the PNP (the statehood party) but really, he's a Republican - as in caucused with them in the 109th and 110th Congresses while he was serving as Resident Commissioner (i.e. the non-voting except in committee representative of PR in the US House of Representatives) before he was elected governor.
Just saying, be careful what you wish for here. OTOH, statehood for PR in exchange for meaningful franchise for DC would be a great compromise.
29
I talked to a puertoriquena in my dorm, and she's of the opinion that nothing will really happen unless there is overwhelming support for one option.
30
Nothing against Puerto Rico - but I feel like we have enough states. (And a nice round number to boot).
They can keep being our special little buddy down there though! *hugs Puerto Rico*
They can keep being our special little buddy down there though! *hugs Puerto Rico*
31
My old boss, who was from Papua New Guinea, always used to bring up that no American president was born and died in the same America. Apparently all in the past were born during the attainment of land and died after states were added. The more recent were born before HI became a state or if born after haven't yet died. If PR became a state that could still hold true for the living ones. Cool.
32
In all seriousness, the biggest bar to Puerto Rican statehood is the flag.
We locked in the stripes a long time ago. Let's pass a federal law that locks in the stars permanently as a nice round number, and then let anyone else play who wants to. While it's highly unlikely to happen, Cuba would be a very interesting state.
Let's annex the Cayman Islands while we're at it, and apply US tax laws there.
We locked in the stripes a long time ago. Let's pass a federal law that locks in the stars permanently as a nice round number, and then let anyone else play who wants to. While it's highly unlikely to happen, Cuba would be a very interesting state.
Let's annex the Cayman Islands while we're at it, and apply US tax laws there.
33
@28 -- hard core D here. doesn't matter if puerto rico votes D or R, they should get a vote, and it's weird and illegal and immoral in my view that I as a Washington resident have colonial power over PR or DC.
because I elect the lawmakers who make laws for puerto rico and DC and puerto rico and Dc residents DON'T.
so yes, make puerto rico a state and elect a blue dude or a red woman or a new party of hispanic conservatives or liberals WHATever.
because I elect the lawmakers who make laws for puerto rico and DC and puerto rico and Dc residents DON'T.
so yes, make puerto rico a state and elect a blue dude or a red woman or a new party of hispanic conservatives or liberals WHATever.
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