Posted on 06/11/2017 3:58:08 PM PDT by SkyPilot
Puerto Rico's governor announced that the U.S. territory has overwhelmingly chosen statehood in a nonbinding referendum Sunday held amid a deep economic crisis that has sparked an exodus of islanders to the U.S. mainland.
Nearly half a million votes were cast for statehood, more than 7,600 for free association/independence and nearly 6,700 for the current territorial status, according to preliminary results. The participation rate was just 23 percent with roughly 2.26 million registered voters, leading opponents to question the validity of a vote that several parties had boycotted.
Gov. Ricardo Rossello shows his ballot at the San Jose Academy during the fifth referendum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sunday, June 11, 2017. Puerto Ricans are getting the chance to tell U.S. Congress on Sunday which political status they believe best benefits the U.S. territory as it remains mired in a deep economic crisis that has triggered an exodus of islanders to the U.S mainland. Congress ultimately has to approve the outcome of Sunday's referendum that offers voters three choices: statehood, free association/independence or current territorial status.
"From today going forward, the federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico," Gov. Ricardo Rossello said, announcing the victory. "It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world, and not respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico."
U.S. Congress, however, has final say in any changes to the island's political status.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
As much as I like my PR friends they don’t represent the mess the place has become. If we had an island of people as fine as the Puerto Ricans I call friends I’d be protesting to make them state. It just isn’t the case. No go for statehood....just forget it!
NO...
Last thing we need is another Greece looking for a bailout.
Donald Trump Won’t Bail Out Puerto Rico
May 7th, 2016
http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/07/investing/donald-trump-puerto-rico/index.html
I get the feeling that Trump wouldn’t approve of statehood as a cheap, backdoor tactic to get a bailout or as a permanent welfare ward.
Don’t need another California....
They’re just gonna scrape their bills off onto us. :(
Properly developed and managed, PR could be the vacation playground of the Americas. Beautiful beaches, great weather, a rain forest, the big radio observatory for astronomy buffs, etc.
When I was there in the 80’s, the people were working and prosperous due to tax breaks offered to US companies to locate there. When the tax breaks expired, so did the jobs. The people that wanted to work fled, and the rats busted the rest to serfhood. Another fine example of rat government in action.
We invaded Puerto Rico 119 years ago. Puerto Rico has a population larger than many US states - what's the rationale for excluding them?
What can they bring to these United Sates?
Are they able to contribute more than they take?
“The scant participation ... sends a clear message... the people rejected it by boycotting an inconsequential event.”
It’s like getting a bride who has leans, debt collectors calling and an empty bank account. You marry it, you assume her debts. Even worse, she has no intentions of changing her spending habits...and she has brothers and sisters that want to join in.
They “voted” for statehood in 2012 and nothing much happened as it’s non-binding. You just don’t do, essentially, a glorified, low-turnout poll and enter through the door inviting yourself to the table.
If it would make you feel better, we could give PR back to a bankrupt Spain.
My broke-ass, soon to be homeless 3rd cousin held a referendum. The turnout was 100% with a unanimous decision to move into my house.
Just what we need: more welfare parasites. Like we don’t have enough of those already. NO PUERTO RICAN STATE!
Dumb idea.
Florida would instantly tilt to Democrat majority, never to go again Republican.
Florida will soon turn Democrat anyway, thanks to immigration, but it would happen sooner.
Sorry, its a minor point but Hillary did NOT win the majority of the votes; she won more than anyone else but a majority is 50 percent plus one and she got 48 percent, which is a plurality of the vote, not a majority.
Hell no! Cut P.R. loose to be an independent nation!
Let me see..., the last time I heard Puerto Ricans actually expressing love for the American Ideals was.........?
#25. Change your comments slightly:
“Make Connecticut and Rhode Island SUBMERGE”. Only way to get rid of the Commiecrats who have taken over these once sane, economically viable states and turned them into a third-world craphole of crime/drugs, illegals, ignorance and a rich white Democrat elite (aka “The Politburo”) with their summer “dachas” (aka Massachusetts - Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, Hyannisport, etc).
Who’s bright idea was it way back in 1898 to “get” Cuba and Puerto Rico?? Why did they want them?? Sugar I think. It’s interesting to note that America’s business community opposed the war and lobbied against it out of fear of recession. It was the democrats that favored it. McKinley was against it also. Yet we destroyed Spain’s navy for these worthless islands? There were many pushing for Cuba’s annexation also. Could you imagine the mess we’d have today?? Whoever cooked up these ideas were DUMB and thanks to them we are now saddled with this useless appendage. Time to amputate.
Would you settle for a Northern California?
Mexico will hold a vote next week then maybe Cuba can vote themselves Statehood. The moronic MSM thinks they have the right to vote themselves statehood.
Just like Imperialist America to gobble up another foreign country.
Lol. Good analogy. Hope you can annex him toot sweet.
So true.
I was in the Bahamas about a year and a half agod. The Bahamians are incredible people, the islands are mostly properous, tourism there is exponentially better than Puerto Rico, as are other business ventures.
I found the people there to be very hard working, friendly, family oriented, and majority Christian.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.