Posted on 10/18/2020 8:42:57 AM PDT by Kaslin
Puerto Rico statehood has made national headlines in recent weeks as Democrats threaten granting statehood to both Puerto Rico and D.C. in retaliation for President Trump nominating Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. In response, several Republicans have come out against statehood for the island, with the implication that the territory would only support Democrat federal elected officials. While Puerto Rico is more valuable to our nation than as a political football, these fears are unfounded. With Puerto Ricans voting on a statehood referendum on November 3rd, known as a plebiscite, statehood is becoming even more of a real possibility - and, unlike D.C. statehood, would be the correct and constitutionally congruent decision for the U.S. and Puerto Rico alike.
Politically, fears a Puerto Rican state would mean Republicans “never get the Senate back” are unfounded. For evidence, one can simply look at the Island’s current elected representatives. Not only is Puerto Rico’s current congressional representative a Republican, Jenniffer González, the current Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced is also a Republican. Puerto Rico’s House and Senate are both led by Republicans as well.
In addition, the values of many Puerto Ricans on the island also closely mirror those of traditional Republicans, with a strong emphasis on family values and the Puerto Rican legislature has been known to pass conservative legislation.
Historically, the national Republican Party has been in support of Puerto Rico statehood. Since 1940, Republicans have favored statehood for the island. Past Republican presidents, including Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush have all issued their support for statehood.
A letter from President Reagan from June 22, 1989, read:
“My beliefs toward Puerto Rico statehood remain as they were while I was in office. I feel that Puerto Rican statehood would benefit both the people of Puerto Rico and their fellow American citizens in the 50 states...Puerto Ricans have fought beside us for decades and worked beside us for generations. Should the people of Puerto Rico choose statehood in a free and democratic election, we would work together to devise a union of promise and opportunity in our Federal union of sovereign States.”
Even when I served as chairman of the Young Republican National Federation our national committee - representing tens of thousands of members - overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution supporting Puerto Rico statehood.
Puerto Rico is currently in the process of choosing statehood in a free and democratic election in less than a month. This will be the third time that Puerto Ricans have gone to the polls to vote on the status of their island, but this one is the most significant, because it asks simply: “Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union as a State?”
If those on the Island vote for statehood November 3rd, it is incumbent upon Congress to act. As it stands, Puerto Ricans, although they are American citizens, are not granted the full rights of every other citizen. They don't get full voting representation in Congress. And although Puerto Rico residents are required to pay federal and social security taxes, in addition to other taxes, they do not qualify for all the same benefits as other Americans. This should be unacceptable to all Americans.
Not only is honoring the statehood vote of the Puerto Rican people the morally right thing to do, it may prove to be a major political asset for Republicans at every level of government.
I thought they had a small number of actual working individuals, a lot of corruption, over $100 billion in debts, and paid no US income taxes.
What has changed?
Lol... Maybe Pres Trump could lease ‘em the roving one square foot of land under her butt. Art of the deal, right? If anyone could do it, he could.
I’ve said before - Ricans from the island are conservative. NewYoricans are the smelly assed liberal ones than infect everywhere they go.
1. Retirees who get their Social Security and Medicare, but have retired to that state and likely lived elsewhere when earlier employed.
2. Welfare recipients of everything under the sun (food stamps, Welfare, SSI, housing assistance, etc.) who have rarely worked throughout their lives. These government pay outs likely dwarf retirement-oriented payouts on a one-for-one basis.
Puerto Rico is hugely imbalanced to “2,” while most states like Florida are hugely imbalanced to “1.”
No to PR statehood.
When I lived there in the seventies, the results were the same. Only a tiny minority wanted independence, with the majority choosing to remain a commonwealth.
I’ll withhold judgment pending the election. We’ve been hearing this “Latinos have conservative family value” line forever. Maybe that’s going to pay off this year; up until now they vote for authoritarians and baby killers like their lives depended on it
Oh Lord, I said ‘gives them’. Doh!!
You are posing that question as though I, personally, have thought up the expression "on the fly."
Google "net takers" and "states" and you will see that this concept has been around for quite a while, and there is pretty much a consensus as to what it means.
Regards,
You are really trying to get me to leave Staten island aren’t you? :-)
Well, one question....... do you live in the flood plain?
You know I lived at one of the highest points on Staten island at one time. Then I moved but we have far away enough from the water to be good.
I remember the hurricane. I was driving a cab for extra money at nights and the water went above hylan boulevard. Which is very far from the beach.
I can’t stand the heat so I would have to move someplace that is relatively the same. I’m thinking so far parts of Pennsylvania are the closest to normal you can get up north.
I would be fine with Puerto Rico becoming a state if they would adopt English as an official language.
(Congress has imposed requirements for statehood before. For example, Utah had to give up polygamy to be admitted.)
But if not, I would give the PR House delegate, as well as those for Guam/Pacific and DC floor vote privileges at least for legislation affecting their areas, and give each area 1 vote in the electoral college. These things would be done because each place has U.S. citizens living there.
(DC already has 3 EV’s, but since that seems to be statehood by the drink — not to mention home rule is currently a dumpster — I would reduce it to 1. So the other shoe would drop strictly upon Mayor Year Zero Bowser and the gang.)
Basically, socialist in the USA began using PR as a territory for their experiments during the Great Depression. I’m guessing PR never completely recovered.
And their Canada-level 14% sales tax certainly doesn’t help.
Independent state. Country of puerto Rico.
6/4/1991
That’s AWESOME.
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