Puerto Rico has voted to join the union. It is to be the 51st state after congressional approval, ma

reply to post by marg6043


Called up one of my old Senator's from (State withheld) and they indicated to me that this is a real possibility in the next Congress. It will be brought up and Congress will vote upon it.. They are kinda wanting the extra electoral votes and Congressional delegations at this point.

I don't thin that it's any longer a pipe dream, and I'm part Puerto Rican..

Originally posted by DarthMuerte
Why not give them statehood? They are American citizens. I fully support their desire for statehood.

NOOO! Where will we put that extra star on our flag? It would just make a mess of it!

Just kidding. I'm actually very surprised at this. Wasn't it just ten years ago they were dead set against it? I wonder what changed in PR?

reply to post by jiggerj

It really doesn't look like anything has changed, Puerto Rico still doesn't want statehood. From the first listed source:

The two-part referendum first asked voters if they wanted to change Puerto Rico’s 114-year relationship with the United States. A second question gave voters three alternatives IF they wanted a change: become a U.S. state, gain independence, or have a “sovereign free association,” a designation that would give more autonomy for the territory of 4 million people.

With 243 of 1,643 precincts reporting late Tuesday, 75,188 voters, or 53%, said they did not want to continue under the current political status. Forty-seven percent, or 67,304 voters, supported the status quo.

On the second question, 65% favored statehood, followed by 31% for sovereign free association and 4% for independence. (emphasis added)

So, 47% wanted no change, 34.5% wanted statehood, 10.9% wanted free association, 2.1% wanted independence.

So 60% DON'T want statehood. If they're admitted, it will be against the will of the people.

reply to post by charles1952

Blank ballots don't count, the only valid options are Statehood, Independence, or the Free Association option (ELA Soberano). The only result that matters on the first question is the one that garnered a majority - the No option.

Remember everyone voted twice on the status referendum, either yes or no on the 1st question and between the 3 valid non-colonial options or a blank protest ballot that is invalid.

So what's that going to look like on the next election?
8 electoral votes for the state of Puerto Rico all going Democrat?

reply to post by ChrisF231

Dear ChrisF231,

You may not know it, by I am probably the most easily confused poster here. Would you help me out by clarifying your post a little?

If I understand it, 53% want something different than the current status. Among those 53%, people are divided between three different possibilities. None of those three win a majority of the total vote.

I mean, the highest possible vote for statehood would be 53%, even if no one liked any of the other options. What am I missing?

With respect,
Charles1952

reply to post by charles1952

No, the two questions are out of 100% each - it's easy to see where things get confusing so don't feel bad. That is the goal of the pro-commonwealth party, to confuse everyone.

Originally posted by Expat888
idiots.... they should have voted for independence....

Agreed, now they will be stuck helping to pay off the massive debt america has run up over the past 50 years.
Why would they want to take on the obligation to help repay such massive debt which they didn`t benefit from?

reply to post by ChrisF231

Dear ChrisF231

I admit defeat. My brain just can't keep up with yours. We have two votes taken on the same day, by the same people. In the first vote 53% of the people want change. In the second vote, taken a few seconds later, not only do 65% of the people want change, but they want a specific type of change. And, there are even more people wanting a different type of change.

In the first vote 53% of the people want change, a few seconds later 90% of the people want change.

Something doesn't seem right here.

With respect,
Charles1952

reply to post by charles1952


there weer 2 different questions - the 23nd one was more or less "REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU SAID IN THE 1ST QUESTION.....what do yo uthink would be the best arrangement for PR?"

So the 2nd question was not actually about "should we be independant/state/associated?", which I missed in an earlier post of mine.

IMO it is entirely possible & reasonable for someone to vote "I want to stay as we are, but IF it did change I would want statehood."

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

Dear Aloysius the Gaul,

Good to see you again. I'm sorry you have to fight your way through my confusion, I have more than ever.

there weer 2 different questions - the 23nd one was more or less "REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU SAID IN THE 1ST QUESTION.....what do yo uthink would be the best arrangement for PR?"

I'm curious about the ballot question, but let's assume that's what it said.

Why even bother to ask the first question? Secondly, if the second question didn't include the option to keep Puerto Rico as it was, which almost a majority wanted, they forced an ugly choice on people. After all 47% just said the best arrangement for PR is to keep it as it is. Why throw that out?

IMO it is entirely possible & reasonable for someone to vote "I want to stay as we are, but IF it did change I would want statehood."

Those people are then saying "Statehood is my second choice, kind of like Mitt Romney was your second choice."

If you can straighten out my confusion, I'll be quite grateful.

With respect,
Charles1952

Originally posted by boncho


Imagine federal programs, agencies, etc all being incorporated into the Caribbean.

Am I the only one who thinks this might turn out bad?

I agree with you. A sure sign the world is about to end.

But before that happens - I think these people get a ton of US propaganda and being so far removed really have no clue what it's like in the US. They don't want our Big Government, they don't want our corruption, they don't want our US makeover that will install more military bases, our Obamacare that they certainly can't afford, our US Business going there to find cheap labor, our basically going in and forcing them to change their whole way of life and lose their sovereignty and cultures as has happened in Hawaii. They will Not be taught that the USA is a Republic and Not a Democracy.

They are playing with fire because they are uneducated to these things and will get burned. I feel sad for these people who are about to allow the devil to control and corrupt them.

Are any on ATS, let them speak.

While it would be cool to redesign the flag, there is a need to remember what is in the best interest of the people.

Which people?

The citizens of Puerto Rico.

Until they have 100% majority, there shouldn't be an issue. As other's have said, this country is in no shape to expand further, gaining another state, while so saddled with debt.

Then again, it's JMHO.

I hope this is something that comes to fruition, but most likely it won't. PR is, by all accounts, grounded with the Democrats. Making it a state would bring about 7-8 college votes, as well as a number of members congress. The house of representatives is currently majority Republican. They would have to be phenomenally stupid to want this to pass through congress, given how much it favors re-election of the Democrats in future elections.

Also, it's worth noting that when Hawaii made statehood, it experienced economic boom. There's nothing to say that the same won't happen in PR. It's already a territory of the US, anyway.

Originally posted by hypervalentiodine

Also, it's worth noting that when Hawaii made statehood, it experienced economic boom. There's nothing to say that the same won't happen in PR. It's already a territory of the US, anyway.

The sovereign people of Hawaii didn't experience an economic boom, the descendants of Americans who took over Hawaii by force illegally in 1900 re-made Hawaii in their capitalist image and this is where any perceived economic boom comes from.

It doesn't surprise me because we have a lot of citizens living there that came from the states, my son being one, now he was upset he could not vote (Just turned 18 and was already in Puerto Rico) and now he will be able to next election!!!
It makes me happy because he was so excited that he was old enough to vote and then found out he wouldn't be able to!

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
So whats the new flag of America going to look like?

Probably what it's looked like for the past century -- but x100 in the past decade:





I can't believe the sheer volume of people in Puerto Rico that simply don't realize what they are trying to join. Must be a whole lot of bleating going on.

The US government speak volumes about what they stand for when they allow a man to board a military flight in the states and then strand him in Hawaii. The US Government speaks plainly what they stand for when they put over a million Americans on no-fly/terrorist watch lists. The US Government speaks plainly what they stand for every time they overthrow governments or murder "suspected" militants, ordinary civilians and children with missile drones. The US Government speaks plainly what they stand for with the completely unconstitutional war-on-drugs and the totally illegal war-of-terror.

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
So whats the new flag of America going to look like?

edit on 7-11-2012 by PhoenixOD because: (no reason given)

That was my 2nd thought. My 1st one was... there goes the song "50 Nifty United States" from my childhood.

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by Nyiah

 

I am Puertorrican, I will say that congress will no approve, why? because this is been going on since the 70s and the only way that congress will take the PR statehood is if the population vote more than 60% pro.

Sadly the congress do not want a state that could have a high rate of division and that is why it has failed in prior elections.

So, if congress doesn't change their mind is not going to happen and so far it has failed two times.

That's what I thought.

This has been going on a long time. Didn't it come close a few years back?

This would be cool if they were added. Hope they make it in.