A reader writes concerning Senator Klobuchar’s reply to me concerning Statehood for Puerto Rico:
Avoiding political fodder in an election year sounds plausible. Also, I’m guessing that statehood for PR was not even on her radar, and some staffer wrote / printed (already written) this generic letter and sent it to you.
Possibly. However, I’ve been running across hints that it’s on some politicians’ radar, in a negative way for Republicans and positive for Democrats.
But I’m more concerned for the territory’s residents than I am about the political situation. It’s been repeated ad nauseam in the media that residents of Puerto Rico are United States citizens, but the fact of the matter is that they’re impaired United States citizens, because they lack full representation in Congress and cannot vote for President (which surprises me, I thought they could). While it’s true that I think Congress should be working on national problems without regard to their location, it’s also true it’s a representative democracy (aka republic) and members of Congress should, in some sense, represent their constituents.
Location of the North Marianas. Source: Wikipedia.
And the Puerto Ricans need that full citizenship, along with all the other territories, such as the occupants of the North Marianas, who just a few days ago were hit by the worst hurricane (Typhoon Yutu) to hit the United States since 1935. Yep, worse than Florence, Maria, and all the ones that got the media attention, WaPo claims. Yet, how much attention and assistance will they get? Probably even less than the Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria, and I worry about that. Isolation in the Pacific Ocean doesn’t help their cause.
It’s not that Puerto Ricans don’t want Statehood[1]. But it takes two to tango, and despite the Republicans as recently as 2016 saying they want Puerto Rico to become a State[2], nothing seems to be happening on the Republican side of things.
It’s disappointing.
1 From this Telegraph article. This comes with the caveat that a majority of Puerto Ricans didn’t vote in the referendum.
2 From the 2016 RNC platform, which is quite long.
We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state. We further recognize the historic significance of the 2012 local referendum in which a 54 percent majority voted to end Puerto Rico’s current status as a U.S. territory, and 61 percent chose statehood over options for sovereign nationhood. We support the federally sponsored political status referendum authorized and funded by an Act of Congress in 2014 to ascertain the aspirations of the people of Puerto Rico. Once the 2012 local vote for statehood is ratified, Congress should approve an enabling act with terms for Puerto Rico’s future admission as the 51st state of the Union.
