What's taking so long for Puerto Rico to become a state?

[Sol]

Guam?

[The Free North]

Also weighing on the minds of those in Washington, all though no one will admit it, is the fact that we ended up with such a perfect number of states, that 50->51 is much harder than 49->50

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The politics comes into it too I imagine. Puerto Rico would probably be strongly Democratic at the presidential level and more than likely elect two Democratic Senators. *could be wrong though

This.  Just like in the old days, the likely only way a new state will be admitted is if another one of the opposite political inclination would be admitted with it.  And there's the problem; there's really nowhere out there that would be a safe bet for the GOP.

The closest would be the swing territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas, but individually, they are way too small in population to be states, tho if combined into one in the way the Indian and Oklahoma Territories were, they would merely be too small.

[Ebowed]

The politics comes into it too I imagine. Puerto Rico would probably be strongly Democratic at the presidential level and more than likely elect two Democratic Senators. *could be wrong though

This.  Just like in the old days, the likely only way a new state will be admitted is if another one of the opposite political inclination would be admitted with it.  And there's the problem; there's really nowhere out there that would be a safe bet for the GOP.

I could definitely be misremembering, but wasn't there a thought that Hawaii would lean GOP and Alaska lean Dem?

[Blue3]

Didn't statehood win in 2012?

[badgate]

Didn't statehood win in 2012?

Yes, with 800,000 votes (61%)

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Also weighing on the minds of those in Washington, all though no one will admit it, is the fact that we ended up with such a perfect number of states, that 50->51 is much harder than 49->50

If we admit DC as well, we can play with a full deck of cards.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Didn't statehood win in 2012?

Yes, with 800,000 votes (61%)

No.  Because the question was not "do you prefer statehood over the status quo", but "what would you prefer if we don't keep the status quo".  The referendum was rigged by the choice of questions.

[badgate]

Didn't statehood win in 2012?

Yes, with 800,000 votes (61%)

No.  Because the question was not "do you prefer statehood over the status quo", but "what would you prefer if we don't keep the status quo".  The referendum was rigged by the choice of questions.

Yes, but 54% (900,000+) "responded "no" to the first question, saying they were not content with the current status." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/puerto-rico-statehood-vote_n_2088254.html

So, while not a concrete mandate, it definitely suggests that a better-worded referendum should be in PR's future.

It seems like around 20% (just a guess) didn't vote on the second question, the "statehood" question.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

So, while not a concrete mandate, it definitely suggests that a better-worded referendum should be in PR's future.

Of that I agree.

[ag]

Didn't statehood win in 2012?

Yes, with 800,000 votes (61%)

In a three-way vote over independence and some new convoluted status - yes. But not over status quo - that was not an option. As it was mentioned above, they never bothered to ask, whether PR people would prefer statehood to the current status. Guess, thought it was a minor issue

[Associate Justice PiT]

Didn't statehood win in 2012?

Yes, with 800,000 votes (61%)

In a three-way vote over independence and some new convoluted status - yes. But not over status quo - that was not an option. As it was mentioned above, they never bothered to ask, whether PR people would prefer statehood to the current status. Guess, thought it was a minor issue

     Well they didn't want Puerto Ricans to choose the current status, so it helps their cause to just not offer it as an option.

[ag]

Didn't statehood win in 2012?

Yes, with 800,000 votes (61%)

No.  Because the question was not "do you prefer statehood over the status quo", but "what would you prefer if we don't keep the status quo".  The referendum was rigged by the choice of questions.

Yes, but 54% (900,000+) "responded "no" to the first question, saying they were not content with the current status." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/puerto-rico-statehood-vote_n_2088254.html

So, while not a concrete mandate, it definitely suggests that a better-worded referendum should be in PR's future.

It seems like around 20% (just a guess) didn't vote on the second question, the "statehood" question.

And that, of course, included people who would prefer either complete or partial independence. These people would never have voted for statehood. With these sort of questions I could, probably, make it appear that most of Texans would like to be annexed to France ("would you like Texas to be annexed to France or to China?")

[ag]

There is another reason nobody has moved on that since the referendum. The same day they, ostensibly, voted for statehood, Puerto-Ricans also voted to kick out the pro-statehood governor, and replaced him with the pro-status-quo one (which, of course, would have been a bit schizophrenic, had they really voted for statehood - which, of course, they did not). So, not only Congress has no incentives to move on statehood - neither does the PR government.

Remember, in PR it is the local Republicans that are united on wanting to be a state. Dems are split. The pro-statehood party is the coalition of Republicans and pro-statehood Dems. The pro-status-quo party is a purely Dem affiliate. And the pro-status-quo party won the last election.

[Orser67]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_politics_and_the_political_status_of_Puerto_Rico

Although Republicans can always change their minds, Puerto Rican statehood ("after they freely so determine") has been a part of their platform since at least 2000. Republican opposition to Puerto Rican statehood doesn't seem like an inevitability.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Wasn't there a turnout threshold that wasn't met, or something?

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

I think that if it ever came to a vote in Congress, this issue would be yet another one where the Republican/conservative instinct to support their yearning to be apart of our Union would be thwarted by the activist fringe.  I hope that some day we can welcome Puerto Rico with open arms and add another star to our glorious flag.

[eric82oslo]

Let's all pray for the future Puerto Rican status of statehood.

It will be interesting to see how the Puerto Rican "exile" community's clout on the issue will be in the next few years and also whether the exodus from the island will continue, as its population decline of the past 5-10-15 years has been rather dramatic. After all, substantially more Puerto Ricans (close to 5 million I think) live in the US 50 states today than the number residing on the island(s) itself (which is just barely 3.5 million right now). A major part of the Puerto Rican economy nowadays is of course driven by remittances from Puerto Rican "expatriates".

I think the number one issue as to why a majority of island dwellers are still sceptical towards statehood is the fact that a majority of their residents are still fairly flawed when it comes to English fluidity. I think some of the island's older citizens hardly speak any English at all.

We will have to allow time for a demographic shift, as I would be surprised if the younger population is not a lot more positive towards the idea of statehood than are older citizens.
However, I imagine that this issue, like many other social issues of our time, is one that is rapidly evolving, and that within just the scope of 5-6 years or so, much of the technicalities of this issue might have already been settled. I think we'll soon be witnessing that some kind of consensus will finally be forming, after decades of hard lines between the two fronts.
I think that with Hillary euphoria soon to be penetrating the island (even more so if she opts for a latino running mate), PR residents might be drawn closer to the US mainland than ever before.

Btw, how is the tourism industry going/developing in Puerto Rico these days? Anyone who knows if its a major tourist destination? Unlike what's the case with most other Carribean islands, I've never heard that Puerto Rico should be a major tourist or even cruise destination, which I find really odd and astonishing.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Which is kind of odd as Puerto Rico is more convenient to visit for Amrricans. No passport or expensive international cell phone plans needed m

[7,052,770]

If people want to ignore the results of the 2012 referendum on a technicality, fine, but at the very least Congress should push for a second "status quo vs. statehood" vote with the promise of an automatic acceptance of the results.

In the long term, we should either make them a state or give them independence. There's no need for a limbo status.

[TJ in Oregon]

If people want to ignore the results of the 2012 referendum on a technicality, fine, but at the very least Congress should push for a second "status quo vs. statehood" vote with the promise of an automatic acceptance of the results.

In the long term, we should either make them a state or give them independence. There's no need for a limbo status.

It's hardly a technicality; the majority of the Puerto Rican people don't want statehood right now. The majority of the Puerto Rican people don't want the status quo either and they certainly don't want independence. So the status quo wins. If sometime they do place on the ballot a direct question of statehood or the status quo and statehood wins, we should admit them to the union.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

If people want to ignore the results of the 2012 referendum on a technicality, fine, but at the very least Congress should push for a second "status quo vs. statehood" vote with the promise of an automatic acceptance of the results.

In the long term, we should either make them a state or give them independence. There's no need for a limbo status.

It's hardly a technicality; the majority of the Puerto Rican people don't want statehood right now. The majority of the Puerto Rican people don't want the status quo either and they certainly don't want independence. So the status quo wins. If sometime they do place on the ballot a direct question of statehood or the status quo and statehood wins, we should admit them to the union.

I wouldn't be quite that dogmatic, but the combination of a vote that inherently gave an ambiguous result and the voting in of a government in Puerto Rico opposed to the idea is why it's been shelved for now.  That doesn't even consider the problem the commonwealth has fiscally right now.

[eric82oslo]

Here's a really sad article from the New York Times in February on the economic downturn in Puerto Rico: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/economy-and-crime-spur-new-puerto-rican-exodus.html?src=me

The good news is that the level of tourists, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Puerto_Rico), has risen considerably since the year 2010. Up from 3.7 million a year to 4.2 million a year in 2013. Also, apparently a lot of new hotels are being built these days. One of the main attraction on the main island, besides the beaches, is the Colonial old town of San Jose, in all its Caribbean colors.

But I can't say I envy the job of the governor nevertheless.

[SPC]

The politics comes into it too I imagine. Puerto Rico would probably be strongly Democratic at the presidential level and more than likely elect two Democratic Senators. *could be wrong though

This.  Just like in the old days, the likely only way a new state will be admitted is if another one of the opposite political inclination would be admitted with it.  And there's the problem; there's really nowhere out there that would be a safe bet for the GOP.

Partitioning Illinois would solve this problem. Make the 52nd state of Egypt just large enough to have the same number of electoral votes as Puerto Rico.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I have the dumbest reason for opposing Puerto Rican statehood ever: I'm OCD about things being even. I don't want 102 Senators, I want 100. If we could merge the Dakotas or something, I'd be fine with it.

The politics comes into it too I imagine. Puerto Rico would probably be strongly Democratic at the presidential level and more than likely elect two Democratic Senators. *could be wrong though

This.  Just like in the old days, the likely only way a new state will be admitted is if another one of the opposite political inclination would be admitted with it.  And there's the problem; there's really nowhere out there that would be a safe bet for the GOP.

Partitioning Illinois would solve this problem. Make the 52nd state of Egypt just large enough to have the same number of electoral votes as Puerto Rico.

I also have to agree with his. Being the Republican hack I am, I do not want to see a few extra electoral votes in the opposition’s column, unless we get some type of deal out of it.