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Puerto Rico's new gov promises immediate push for statehood
Associated Press ^ | Jan 2, 2017 1:04 PM EST | Danica Coto

Posted on 01/02/2017 10:51:02 AM PST by Olog-hai

Puerto Rico’s new governor was sworn in Monday, promising an immediate push for statehood in a territory facing a deep economic crisis.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello, 37, proposed several measures aimed at alleviating the crisis shortly after he was sworn in at midnight. Among them is a proposal to hold a referendum that would ask voters whether they prefer statehood or independence. Many have argued that Puerto Rico’s political status has contributed to its decade-long crisis that has prompted more than 200,000 people to flee to the U.S. mainland in recent years.

“The United States cannot pretend to be a model of democracy for the world while it discriminates against 3.5 million of its citizens in Puerto Rico, depriving them of their right to political, social and economic equality under the U.S. flag,” Rossello said in his inaugural speech, delivered in Spanish. “There is no way to overcome Puerto Rico’s crisis given its colonial condition.” …

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: boricua; democracy; puertorico; racecard; rossello; statehood
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To: Olog-hai

This new governor is a lying a-hole. Puerto Rico could have become a state at any time, they didn’t want to. Now that they are out of money they now try to shift the blame? A pox on their house.


21 posted on 01/02/2017 11:19:22 AM PST by WMarshal ( Schadenfreude, it feels so good!)
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To: Timpanagos1

Fine cut them lose and all future Puerto Ricans are NOT Americans. They are a protectorate and later a territory that came to us as a consequence of the Spanish American war, not really that much different from the Philippines and Guam during that time. They were never really part of the US culturally and have their own history. They are statutory citizens(granted by Congress), rather than Constitutional citizens as they were granted this status in 1917 under the Jones-Shafroth act. Therefore as they are not guaranteed Constitutional Citizenship they can be cut lose.


22 posted on 01/02/2017 11:20:09 AM PST by JMS
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To: drop 50 and fire for effect
> It constantly amazes me that normally intelligent FReepers don’t realize that Puerto Ricans are Americans.

That's because the vast majority of Puerto Ricans aren't Americans, they're Democrats!

23 posted on 01/02/2017 11:20:45 AM PST by SecondAmendment (Restoring our Republic at 9.8357x10^8 FPS)
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To: Olog-hai

Puerto Rico would be a state which would be very different from any other state. Among those are a per capita income of only about half of the poorest states in the union. Another is that a majority of Puerto Ricans speak only Spanish.

Are there any positive benefits for the rest of us to admit PR as a state, rather than letting them go and be independent???


24 posted on 01/02/2017 11:22:30 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Olog-hai

Cantor’s vote for statehood was the moment I decided to seek his removal from office.

The Congress has already set up the next referendum to be a two choice vote. Statehood or independence. No third option of staying like they are.
They will vote for statehood.
The Uniparty has already decided they will be the 51st state.


25 posted on 01/02/2017 11:24:10 AM PST by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents)
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To: blueunicorn6

...and all the rum you can drink!


26 posted on 01/02/2017 11:24:16 AM PST by Delta 21 (Patiently waiting for the jack booted kick at my door.)
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To: Olog-hai

Yeah, two new Senators from Puerto Rico is just what we need.

We’d do better with two new Senators from the state of Jefferson.


27 posted on 01/02/2017 11:24:42 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Olog-hai

I lived there for 18 months in the 60’s and the PR Republicans were pushing hard for statehood. The Independistas (less than 5% of the population then) were pushing hard for independence from the US.


28 posted on 01/02/2017 11:27:26 AM PST by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-hereQaeda" and its allies.)
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To: JMS

“Fine cut them lose and all future Puerto Ricans are NOT Americans.”

You cannot do that either as you count strip someone of their citizenship.

But if you could do that, when ever a Puerto Rican had a baby, that baby would be a US citizen by virtue or their parent being a United States citizen.

“They are statutory citizens(granted by Congress), rather than Constitutional citizens as they were granted this status in 1917 under the Jones-Shafroth act. Therefore as they are not guaranteed Constitutional Citizenship they can be cut lose.”

That is absolute nonsense.


29 posted on 01/02/2017 11:28:13 AM PST by Timpanagos1
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To: SecondAmendment

Before the Civil War, the Yucatan was only loosely affiliated with Mexico and twice asked the U.S. for admission as a state. The northern states turned them down out of concern that there would be one more slave state. PR may suffer the same fate as once more the balance between competing congressional parties is so precarious.


30 posted on 01/02/2017 11:30:13 AM PST by PUGACHEV
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To: Olog-hai

Pushing the US Navy out of Vieques should be a penalty of at least a century long continence of territorial status for PR.


31 posted on 01/02/2017 11:30:55 AM PST by Rebelbase (ABC/NBC/CBS/MSNBC/PBS/CNN/FOX are THE LEGACY MEDIA)
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To: WENDLE
“This is a historic moment for Puerto Rico,” said 50-year-old Jose Davila as he waved a large flag from Rossello’s pro-statehood New Progressive Party. “He's the hope of our island, he's the hope for statehood, he's the hope for a people that have suffered.”

New Progressive Party? Opps! What could possibly go wrong?

32 posted on 01/02/2017 11:31:05 AM PST by Texas Fossil ((Texas is not where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind & Attitude!))
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To: drop 50 and fire for effect

Excellent point. Yes, Puerto Ricans are Americans. They are natural born citizens.

What amazes me is the ignorance of FReepers on this topic. Statehood, anti-dependent colony has always been the conservative and Republican position.

Puerto Rico has alternated between a Republican and Democrat governor. Fuentes was a Club For Growth/Freedom Caucus governor. He had a Great program to clean up the financial mess of his Democrat predecessor. But he lost re-election to an Obama Democrat who plunged PR further into financial chaos.

Now Rosello, a Republican, is trying to fix Obama’s mess. FReepers should welcome Republicans in Puerto Rico.

(As in the US, Puerto Rican Republicans have elected both some good Republicans and some not-so-good Republicans. In short they are no different than AZ or SC or any other state.)


33 posted on 01/02/2017 11:31:59 AM PST by spintreebob
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To: Olog-hai
It would be like adding Detroit as a State... we don't need the corruption, the irresponsibility or the excuses.

No Way To Statehood - set them free to fail on their own dime.

34 posted on 01/02/2017 11:34:35 AM PST by GOPJ (ObamaCare Motto: "If You Like Your Doctor, Maybe You'll Like Your New Doctor" - Dave Barry)
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To: drop 50 and fire for effect

You gotta admit though, their status is a bit strange. It’s more commonsensical to assume they’re not citizens. Wilson’s action in 1917 ultimately did more harm that good, both to the US and to Puerto Rico.


35 posted on 01/02/2017 11:34:59 AM PST by reasonisfaith ("...because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians))
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To: Olog-hai

You have until Jan 20, then forget it!


36 posted on 01/02/2017 11:43:33 AM PST by I want the USA back (Lying Media: completely irresponsible. Complicit in the destruction of this country.)
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To: Timpanagos1

Fine, you don’t agree. However I don’t believe that they get to choose to be a state and we don’t have any say in the matter. As to citizenship, having been born and raised in New York City where there is a huge Puerto Rican population, I can say that the vast majority of them identify as Puerto Ricans first and so I am saying that they can be cut loose and future generations of Puerto Ricans can be treated as any other nationality.


37 posted on 01/02/2017 11:44:00 AM PST by JMS
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To: EinNYC

You have to give it to them. It was pretty clever to move hundreds of thousands of your people to the wealthiest city in America to take over a chunk of it.


38 posted on 01/02/2017 11:48:20 AM PST by Bogey78O (We had a good run. Coulda been great still.)
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To: Olog-hai

Not Statehood; independence. Then repatriate the PRicans presently in the U.S.


39 posted on 01/02/2017 11:50:04 AM PST by SharpRightTurn (White, black, and red all over--America's affirmative action, metrosexual president.)
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To: JMS

If they Puerto Rico wants to become a state, the United States Congress and the president could approve statehood.

However, Congress cannot remove citizenship status from people born in Puerto Ricans, just as they cannot remove the citizenship status of people born in New York City.

Nor could they pass an act that says the children of US citizens born in New York are not US citizens.


40 posted on 01/02/2017 11:50:19 AM PST by Timpanagos1
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