Puerto Rico Statehood referendum discussion thread

[pppolitics]

Puerto Rico Statehood referendum results:

https://www.telemundopr.com/noticias/local/resultados-plebiscito-de-estatus/2144575/

[Former President tack50]

52-48 does not seem like a huge mandate for statehood even if it won

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

With McConnell at Leadership or a tie Senate PR statehood is DOA

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

With McConnell at Leadership or a tie Senate PR statehood is DOA

Not necessarily.  One thing this election showed is that Latins aren't a solid Democratic block.  There are sound political reasons for the Republicans to put forward a path toward Statehood, if they think they can claim credit for it, albeit probably one with enough poison pills such as no debt relief for Puerto Rico. Still, with divided government in Washington and marginal support for Statehood in Puerto Rico, I doubt we'll see movement in the next two years.

[lfromnj]

52-48 does not seem like a huge mandate for statehood even if it won

Also consider the fact that statehood once done is permanent.  I really don't know how I would vote.

[Angel of Death]

Could Congress do something like admit Puerto Rico as a State while granting it the right to unilaterally declare independence in the future?

[Angel of Death]

52-48 does not seem like a huge mandate for statehood even if it won

Laughs in Brexiteer.

[OBD]

I mean, with how Latinos voted just now, it's probably a little likelier that the GOP supports it?

[Angel of Death]

This thread should be merged with the one in Gubernatorial/State Elections.

[WarmPotato]

Puerto Rico is way too corrupt to gain statehood

[lfromnj]

I mean, with how Latinos voted just now, it's probably a little likelier that the GOP supports it?

Oscoela county which is south Orlando had the 2nd hardest right swing in Florida btw, its jock full of Puerto Ricans

[Wakie77]

Sara Gideon just conceded so Dem Senate is out of reach.  McConnell will kill this upon arrival.  He doesn't want Americans to get representation.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Sara Gideon just conceded so Dem Senate is out of reach. McConnell will kill this upon arrival.  He doesn't want Americans to get representation.

There are two very long shots in AK and NC, but much more importantly, GEORGIA. Republicans are heavily favoured now but the Senate won't be a sure thing for them until January, in all likelihood.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Schumer needs to eat crow, he lectured McConnell on ACB nomination and promised a Crt packing plan when Ds assume the majority, Schumer was only delivering the speech from AOC and what she gave him. AOC SAID THAT WHEN TRUMP WALKED AWAY FROM STIMULUS WE ARE GONNA GET A SUPERMAJORITY. 60/40

YEAH HEGAR, HARRISON, BOLLIER disappointed

It's not news that TX and FL Latinos and AA are not as liberal as AOC on Guns, and second amendment rights that's why South Beach voted 7 pts not 30 pts for Biden

[7,052,770]

The people have spoken. We cannot legitimately advocate any other country adopt democracy if we keep some Americans as second class citizens.

[lfromnj]

I don't think its thats hard or  extremely "undemocratic" to argue against granting a permanent status of statehood which can not be revoked when the statehood side barely wins. Im not saying statehood shouldn't be granted, I am just not sure.

[Green Line]

The statehood idea is dead.  No clear preference among the people of PR.  Admitting a state where there is a such a massive block of voters opposed to it would lead to lots of problems down the road.

[RINO Tom]

From the 1916 Democratic Platform:

"XXVI. Territories

We favor granting to the people of Alaska, Hawaii and Porto Rico the traditional territorial government accorded to the territories of the United States since the beginning of our government, and we believe that the officials appointed to administer the government of those several territories should be qualified by previous bona-fide residence."

Gotta give the Democrats credit, they have been fighting for the rights of "Porto Ricans" even since the days that they were the conservative and racist party !

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Even if D's net gain seats in 2022 Feinstein already said no to the idea of Crt packing and the Senate is still gonna be divided on this issue regardless in whom is in the majority.

That's why Ds needed the big wave they didn't get for possible defections of Manchin and Feinstein to put in place Crt packing

Bollier, Bullock, Harrison, Cunningham and Gideon the ALL STARS of D's are gonna go down in history as the ones to have cost Dems the mandate

[omar04]

Puerto Rico would be interesting to see as a state, the Democrats who support it at the moment for partisan reasons might regret it: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/09/09/puerto-rico-statehood-politics-democrats-republicans-senate-409191

Some of the assumption that Puerto Rico would go blue is based on the fact that Puerto Ricans, when they move to the mainland, are often a reliable Democratic vote. A POLITICO poll from last spring asked Puerto Rican voters in Florida about their political preferences. It found that 38 percent of respondents identified as Democrats, but 42 percent said they weren’t committed to either party.

Both major islandwide elected officials in Puerto Rico are registered Republicans, as is the sitting governor, who was installed by the island’s Supreme Court. Puerto Rico’s Legislature, which has made a mark in recent years by enacting conservative laws including restrictions on abortion and expressions of gender identity, is led by registered Republicans in both its House and Senate. Seven of the past eight elections for governor or resident commissioner were won by members of the New Progressive Party, the more conservative of the island’s main parties—including the territory’s current nonvoting member of Congress, Jenniffer González-Colón, who is a member of the NPP, the chairwoman of the Puerto Rican Republican Party and a former co-chair of Latinos for Trump.

[Crumpets]

52-48 does not seem like a huge mandate for statehood even if it won

It was good enough for Brexit.

Not saying that 50%+1 is definitely a good threshold, but that does seem reasonably comparable.

[lfromnj]

52-48 does not seem like a huge mandate for statehood even if it won

It was good enough for Brexit.

Not saying that 50%+1 is definitely a good threshold, but that does seem reasonably comparable.

Even Brexit isn't permanent. Statehood is absolutely permanent and can't be revoked really.

[Former President tack50]

By the way, despite electing a pro statehood governor, the PR legislature has an anti-statehood majority, so statehood is 100% not happening even if Republicans somehow allowed it.

PPD (pro status quo) has exactly 25/50 seats in the lower chamber and 14/27 in the upper chamber.

The pro statehood governor also won only on a super weak 33-32-14-14-7 plurality in a 5 way election. Not exactly a strong mandate.

In fact the take in PR seems to be "the old 2 party system is dead" more than anything else

[7,052,770]

What chances does it have in, say, a 51-49 or 52-48 GOP Senate?  Would Rubio and Scott go as far as to ally with Democrats on the procedural votes needed to shove McConnell out of the way and admit PR? (Or maybe the Democratic flop with Hispanic voters will convince Republicans they've got a shot?)

It doesn't seem like there's much of a boycott this time. 95% of gubernatorial voters are voting in the statehood referendum.

Maybe if the parties make an agreement that only Republicans will run for one senate seat, and only Democrats for the other? This would only apply to the 2021 elections of course - anything later could go either way.

It's not very Democratic to deny Puerto Ricans the right to have whatever senators they want for its first few years as a state, but it takes the Senate balance question off the table. Maybe a backdoor compromise could be reached between all the power brokers?

[Green Line]

Two Puerto Rican Nationalist parties did very well in the Governor election, collecting almost 30% of the vote.  Independence sentiment on the island is growing, not shrinking.  It would be incredibly stupid to admit them as a new state right now.  Many Puerto Ricans might like the idea of statehood and the benefits that come with it, but there is also clearly a huge group who will be unwilling to give up their national identity as seperate from that of the United States.  Are they going to be happy to disband their national Olympic team, for example?  The vast majority do not speak functional English either.  They're going to become another Quebec headache in 10 years if they ever get statehood, with a huge never ending political movement for indepence.