House Votes to Allow Puerto Rico to Become 59th State

Michelle Malkin ^ | April 30, 2010 | Doug Powers

[TLI]

Check your FReepmail...

[Ebenezer]

ping

[cll]

Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.

[AuH2ORepublican]

The Constitution vests Congress with the sole authority to admit new states into the Union. Irrespective of the results of the plebiscite in Puerto Rico, Congress will have the final word. And, no, the bill approved by the House does not purport to be a “pre-approval” of statehood, and even if the bill said that it was a pre-approval it wouldn’t diminish Congress’s authority to approve or reject a new state one iota.

So you do get a vote—to elect members of Congress who will have the last word on whether Puerto Rico is admitted as the 51st state.

[Gator113]

Obama: “Fundamentally Transforming the United States of America”

[AuH2ORepublican]

“No change” got 0.1% in the 1998 plebiscite. Real popular option there.

In the 1993 plebiscite the pro-”Commonwealth” Popular Democratic Party wrote the definition of “Commonwealth” on the ballot, making it utterly devoid of any semblance to the current “Commonwealth status” or what would be permissible under the U.S. Constitution; in 1998 the definition of “Commonwealth” on the ballot was based on how the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Supreme Court had defined it, but the idiot lawmakers added a “None of the Above” column out of fear that the activist courts in PR would strike down the plebiscite for not giving people the option they wanted, and “None of the Above” received votes from all of the “Commonwealth” supporters as well as from statehood supporters who were upset at the pro-statehood Governor for one reason or another.

In both the 1993 and 1998 plebiscites, statehood got around 46% support despite a campaign from opponents of statehood promising a “Commonwealth status” that would irrevocably guarantee U.S. citizenship, federal subsidies and no federal income taxation. I’m sure that is voters in the 50 states were given a choice between (i) a status that (purportedly, but not in reality) guarantees them their current rights but would exempt them from federal income taxes and (ii) statehood, complete with federal income taxation, you would have quite a few states with less than 46% support for statehood.

[adorno]

Looks Zero wasn’t kidding about the 57 states, he wants the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Whats next...Haiti? Jamaica? Maybe the whole Caribbean?

I'm all for a U.S.E. (United States of Earth), if we could do it.

But in reality, aren't some of you people here taking things a bit too far with your exaggerations?

[RetSignman]

[I’m all for a U.S.E. (United States of Earth)]

So does Zero.

[adorno]

I’m all for a U.S.E. (United States of Earth)

So does Zero.

I was being sarcastic in the context of the post to which I was replying, whereas, "Zero", in reality thinks of himself as king of the world.

I'm surprised people like you aren't able to understand sarcasm without it having to be explained in detail.