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What I said, was " It seems that in the last 10 years the pendulum has swung slightly in favor." I’m not saying that PR should not become a state, I’m saying that there is far from convincing evidence that statehood is what the people of PR want.
My thoughts on the matter are that PR should become a state if that is what the people of PR want. I don’t think it should matter one iota that the Democratic party wants it to shore up their razor thin majority in the Senate. But I am not convinced that statehood is what they want. Support for statehood has always been tepid and is only recently even begun to poll positively - barely.
Did I read the room wrong? Are we saying “screw what they want - do it anyway?” Are we saying that if the 50.9% of Texans who voted for Ted Cruz voted for secession it should be allowed? I’m pretty sure that’s not reading the room.
Seceding != joining. And accepting that something should be allowed under democratic norms is not the same thing as approving the outcome. Ask most of our British commenters (or those who live in Quebec) here about that.
And again, Cruz isn’t talking about some civilised referendum here. He’s relishing the idea of a civil war and a “Second Amendment solution” that has little to do with democracy as “the room” here reads that term.
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Reading something and being able to internalize it as concrete fact are two different things, clearly.
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That said, it gives me the vague fantasy of tying the two together, and saying that if some state like Texas secedes then Puerto Rico should instantly replace them. I wonder if that might deflate some of the rhetoric around it, thinking it would work to give brown people more of a say.
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You seem to be the only one doing that. The three votes in favor of PR statehood have spanned over a decade.
Only in your mind.
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Tell that to West Virginia.
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Just for the record, Cruz got 4.3 million votes in a state with 29 million people, which translates to 15% of all Texans. Of course some of that difference is because not everyone is eligible to vote. Apparently 43% of voting age population was involved, which means Cruz voters amounted to 21% of them.
Because I think it’s important to remember the Republicans are not half of everyone, and the largest category of Americans one could try to appeal to remains non-voters.
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Yeah, but it’s mostly white people, so that’s a super-majority that we should do exactly what they say… /s
And not ALL republicans are Trumpists, either, even if the ones who aren’t are being pretty quiet right now and hiding like the fucking cowards they are. I am not Cheney fan, but she at the very least spoke out against the leader of her party unlike that spineless coward McConnell.
But anyway, in a just world, a statehood bill would have gone through congress when Puerto Ricans first voted in favor… at the very least, they would do so now. But we all know why it’s not. It has literally nothing to do with the constitution.
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If only there was some kind of formal procedure for determining how citizens feel about political issues, maybe some kind of secure poll or multiple-choice survey…
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Or that such a process might be repeated multiple times, perhaps with the same result.
Nah, the unfortunate situation of Puerto Ricans not having equitable representation is clearly due to their “not being in a hurry” to escape it.
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If they really wanted democratic representation, they should agitate for it enough that we can complain that while their struggle might be sympathetic they are turning people off with their uncompromising attitudes.
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The Residence Act is what set up DC as the capital- straightforward legislation that can be revised.
The Capital was NY, then Philadelphia, then DC.
Additionally- the Supreme Court never determined the Constitutionality of returning parts of the District back to Virginia. It’s an open question as to the legality of this. But a closed political question.
Edit:
This is exactly what the Constitution says about the federal district:
Everything else is in the Residence Act. Legislation. Which Congress is empowered specifically to be able to do. The only limitation is that the federal district can’t be over a certain size.
Congress says that the Federal District is only the unpopulated federal buildings and parks. Everything is is now the state of - well - Washington is already taken.
State of Kathy has a nice ring.
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the “douglass commonwealth” i think is the name they chose. it’d let them keep the whole dc thing.
( though perhaps it could still be pronounced “kathy” when spoken )
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And the 23rd amendment, but hey - there are facts and there are insults.
The “fact” if you will is that the 23rd Amendment has nothing to do with DC statehood except in your mind. Like several constitutional amendments have become over time, if DC becomes a state, the 23rd Amendment remains in effect but becomes irrelevant.
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The most that the 23rd Amendment could possibly effect is the manner of the vote of the electors should DC become a state. And that’s doubtful.
It makes no statement about whether DC can become a state. Zero limitations. Zero applicability.
Another swing - another miss.
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Another interesting possibility for DC representation is the DC Voting Rights Amendment.
“ But if the Equal Rights Amendment finds its way into the Constitution after its original deadlines expired, there are other “dormant” amendments that could be eligible for more ratification votes.
For example, the District of Columbia Voting Rights amendment missed its seven-year deadline in 1985, with only 16 states ratifying.”
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Support for statehood first hit a plurality in the 90’s. In 2012 61% voted in favor of statehood. There was around an 80% turnout in that vote.
Polling of the Puerto Rican population (as well as Puerto Rican nationals on the mainland) indicate support is pretty deep. And the vast, vast majority of elected Puerto Rican politicians are pro-Statehood, and/or from pro-Statehood parties.
That mostly pro-Statehood Puerto Rican Government has pretty consistently attempted to take the next steps, which require Congressional recognition. The US Federal Government has continually done nothing in response.
The weird in subsequent votes is down to a lot of things. Anti-Statehood groups, particularly pro-Independence groups have boycotted subsequent votes. And pro-Statehood groups and voters may not have turned out because they view the 2012 vote as enough, and any further votes as unnecessary.
You can see a similar take in the reaction to Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed act on the subject. Which pro-statehood politicians and groups were not pleased with. Seeing further votes as unnecessary, the question already determined, and that end of things as something only Puerto Rico has the power to decide.
To a certain extent the features of the proposal were designed to appeal to mainland voters, in particular members of Puerto Rican immigrant communities. Where independence traditionally has a bit more support.
I’ve followed the subject pretty closely over the years. And from what I’ve seen a lot of the pro-independence and status quo ends of the issue are driven by or funded by Anglo transplants and large business interests. Especially the shipping and hotel industries.
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