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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
A few more solidly Democratic electoral votes, plus associated Senators and Representatives. The likelihood of the GOP establishing and maintaining a foothold there seems pretty much nil. It could make a big difference in the balance of power in the Senate.
edited 5th Feb '13 1:02:18 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
By Jove, Oh, My Gods!!
@Fighteer:PR has a Republican governor, Luis Fortuno. They aren't that deep blue.
edited 5th Feb '13 1:09:42 PM by Kami4
Blue-and-Orange Morality! It's my new favorite trope! Also, it's my signature trope! It's also going to be my Catchphrase!Hmm, you learn something new every day. Still, it would increase the Senate from 100 to 102 members, the House by some number of members that I'm not exactly sure of, and add the equivalent sum of electoral votes. No big deal.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
By Jove, Oh, My Gods!!
Scratch that, they had another election. Allejadro Pardilla, Democrat, Governor of PR.
edited 5th Feb '13 1:20:44 PM by Kami4
Blue-and-Orange Morality! It's my new favorite trope! Also, it's my signature trope! It's also going to be my Catchphrase!They certainly do have a lot of parties, but it looks like their version of the Democrats is fairly solidly in power this year.
edited 5th Feb '13 1:22:14 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"I can say that the Republicans' immigration policy is not going to be an easy sell to a state composed almost entirely of Hispanic voters.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Speaking of Puerto Rico, what obstacles are in its path to Statehood?
You can say that again. Probably one reason why the aforementioned Republican governor was voted out (or was it his last legal term already?).
edited 5th Feb '13 1:46:51 PM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.I'd see a situation not unlike Alaska, which had a very small population, and one of the big things that Republicans were against it was that they may not be able to raise the funds for taxes and it would become a welfare state.
Puerto Rico's population has been shrinking, as more and more Puerto Ricans move stateside (there's believed to be more Puerto Ricans in the US than there are in PR).
For most of its history as a Commonwealth, PR has been mostly against statehood, for the opposite reason - they received all the benefits of being US citizens, except for the right to vote, and they had fewer Federal taxes, etc.
However, as part of the recession and changing economic tides, PR hasn't been creating as many jobs, and their population is shrinking.
That alone would turn many Republicans against PR statehood, that whole "welfare state" fear, and that's before the political makeup of PR play into the US scene.
Glove and Boots is good for Blog!Which amount to the same thing if PR "self-determines" that it wants statehood.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Yes, very important. Of course, it's also subject to the Double Standard that is innate to realpolitik (you all should know what I'm talking about; no need to derail by mentioning it here). Then there's the issue of how it relates to territorial integrity.
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.If they self determine not to be a state it's highly like that they'd choose free association, much like the Marinas, where we provide the defense that they don't have the money for. Otherwise, they would be independently self governing. That's the simple version, of course, it's always more complicated in practice. But I think they'd choose the status quo right now over free association.
So let me get this straight, Alaska isn't a welfare state because...it votes Republican?
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.![]()
Yes, by definition, Red states are not parasites, they are noble hard working free market pioneers who resent the heavy handed intrusion of government upon their affairs.
![]()
France handles all of Monaco's military defense needs; Monaco's only standing military force is a small bodyguard unit for the Prince and the palace.
The Sarcasm is strong with this one.
edited 5th Feb '13 4:28:57 PM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.Given that they pay people to live there Alaska must be handing a shit ton back then.
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.

Constant campaigning smokescreens shady policy with a popularity contest. That's why they do it.
edited 5th Feb '13 12:49:09 PM by Pykrete