Should DC, PR and other Territories Get Statehood

[reddog1951]

Then perhaps you could better explain your reasoning.

[oeb11]

Tiny - agreed -with your response to teh poster who just called both You and i 'racist'.

It is 'minority identity politics" as usual - with the holier than thou DPST/ccp party doing its' usual hypocritical name-calling ,
it is their typical fallback response when they- as usual- have nothing to contribute to intellectual debate.


There is no 'reasoning" with those blinded by the marxist ideology of the DPST/ccp party.

[reddog1951]

Beg to disagree, just asked for rationale granted that ethnic makeup not a factor.

[Tiny]

Originally Posted by reddog1951

Then perhaps you could better explain your reasoning.

Maybe you could explain yours.

Would you put the United Kingdom, Spain and Fiji into the same country? Then have one government operate the highway system, military, health services and everything else from London? Or maybe they pool their votes to determine who they collectively elect as members of the European Parliament. That wouldn't work.

[Tiny]

Reddog, You're a smart guy by the way. So maybe you're seeing something I'm not.

[Tiny]

Reddog, If you're referring to this, it was a tongue-in-cheek comeback to Blackman:

Originally Posted by Tiny

Yes, we've treated the residents of our colonies better than the British.

Blackman notes residents of Guam and the Virgin Islands cannot elect Senators and members of Congress. That's true. I was pointing out though that we're not like Britain, which doesn't give residents of its protectorates citizenship.

[reddog1951]

Tiny, consolidation wasn't the question. I probably have seen a few providers that you haven't LOL. Likewise, I'm sure.

[oeb11]

Originally Posted by oeb11

1b1 - is 'Right' ( sorry about the use of that word )


Citizenship status in territories of the United States

This page provides a brief summary of citizenship status in the territories of the United States. The United States holds 14 undisputed territories, five of which are inhabited: Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Of these, only individuals born in American Samoa are not considered United States citizens.[1]
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, meaning that only select parts of the U.S. Constitution apply to its residents. Puerto Rico is also a commonwealth of the United States, meaning the territory has a political union with the United States. Individuals born in Puerto Rico are considered citizens of the United States. Residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote in federal elections and do not elect any representatives to Congress. The United States federal government also does not collect income tax from those residing on the island. Puerto Rico residents may, however, serve in the military and are subject to most federal laws.[2][3]
Guam

Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States, meaning that only select parts of the U.S. Constitution apply to its residents. Individuals born in Guam are considered citizens of the United States. Residents of Guam cannot vote in federal elections, but they do elect a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, who serves for a term of two years and has limited voting abilities. Residents of Guam also caucus for presidential primary candidates and delegates from Guam are sent to the Republican and Democratic national conventions.[3][4][5]
U.S. Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands are an unincorporated territory of the United States, meaning that only select parts of the U.S. Constitution apply to its residents. Individuals born in the U.S. Virgin Islands are considered citizens of the United States. Residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands cannot vote in federal elections, but they do elect a nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.[3][6]
American Samoa

American Samoa is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States, meaning that only select parts of the U.S. Constitution apply to its residents and the U.S. Congress has not established a system of government for the territory. Individuals born in American Samoa are United States nationals, rather than citizens. U.S. nationals have the right to reside within the United States and its territories indefinitely. U.S. nationals may also apply for citizenship if they choose. Residents of American Samoa cannot vote in federal elections, but they do elect a nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.[3][7][8]
Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands are a commonwealth of the United States, meaning the territory has a political union with the United States. The president of the United States is head of state of the Northern Mariana Islands and the territory receives funds from the United States government. Individuals born in the Northern Mariana Islands are considered citizens of the United States. Residents of the Northern Mariana Islands cannot vote in federal elections, but they do elect a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, who serves for a term of two years and has limited voting abilities.[3][9][10]

reddog1951
Valued Poster

Join Date: Mar 29, 2010
Location: mo
Posts: 451
Encounters: 3



I agree there may be constitutional issues with DC. Thanks OEB,Tiny and maybe another or two regarding the territories. Your posts just confirmed my conjecture that the major fear is ethnic makeup.



Lets have 'r' show me where I referred to 'racial/ethnic makeup' or minority identity politics " - anywhere in my post - The post was strictly to clarify the legal status of teh citizens of those American protectorates/territories.

'r' - is deliberately and knowingly conjuring up 'minority identity politics" out of Thin air and One's own bias.
'r' is playing the classic scam set up by the NYcrimes editorial office - to label Trump 'racist' and pound that message relentlessly - despite its complete falseness.




'perhaps you could better explain your reasoning.'

[reddog1951]

Apology extended OEB, I may have simply included you as one of the "usual suspects". Too lazy to scroll up.

[1blackman1]

Originally Posted by Tiny

It has absolutely nothing to do with ethnic make-up. If you're cynical, then perhaps you could describe it as being about power. There's a tendency by the Democratic Party to blame all their differences with Republicans on racism. I'm not sure whether this is propaganda that they believe will get them more votes. Or maybe it gives them a warm, fuzzy, sanctimonious feeling that they're better than "immoral, degenerate" Republicans.

My original post specically said “aside from”. I know Republicans fear this will mean more democrats. But once that issue is off the table, why are these areas not either consolidated for the purpose of assignment to an existing state or coming up with some other method of giving them national representation since they are citizens.

[Tiny]

Originally Posted by 1blackman1

My original post specically said “aside from”. I know Republicans fear this will mean more democrats. But once that issue is off the table, why are these areas not either consolidated for the purpose of assignment to an existing state or coming up with some other method of giving them national representation since they are citizens.

Yeah, I got that, aside from providing Democrats a political advantage. See below:

Originally Posted by Tiny

Yes if you give Puerto Ricans ONLY the choice of (a) statehood or (b) independence, a majority might pick "a." However historically the majority there has preferred the status quo, independence, or a free association over statehood. The Virgin Islands has a population of 106,000. Guam has a population of 167,000. Washington D.C. is a city, not a state, and historically has been treated as a distinct capitol district, like Mexico City, Canberra, and probably a lot of other places.

Respectfully, putting places with different cultures and different official languages, like the Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico, into a single state doesn't make sense. Rhetorical question: How far away is Guam from the Caribbean?

Originally Posted by Tiny

Would you put the United Kingdom, Spain and Fiji into the same country? Then have one government operate the highway system, military, health services and everything else from London? Or maybe they pool their votes to determine who they collectively elect as members of the European Parliament. That wouldn't work.

[txdot-guy]

Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

DC made into a state, that would be unconstitutional. the constitution is quite clear on that. its supposed to be neutral territory. the only solution really is to split Washington off from D.C to Maryland or Virginia.

Actually from what I've been reading the constitution doesn't eliminate DC statehood. The size of the District of Columbia the district holding the United States Seat of Government would simply be shrunk down to a smaller size. Something that's already been done in the past.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distri...a_retrocession


HR51 would end this state of affairs by turning the vast majority of D.C. into the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. The Constitution commands the creation of a “District” to serve as the “Seat of Government.” Today, that’s the entire city of D.C., but H.R. 51 would change that. The bill would shrink this federal district to a small enclave that encompasses the White House, Congress, the National Mall, and a number of federal buildings. All the remaining land within the district would become a state.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...publicans.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stateh...ct_of_Columbia

[Ripmany]

We should give PR to Mexico for a 50 1/4 mile strip to build a wall. There for no american lose there land. And DC a shit hole. The government should buy land and put a the military base there and the private land send back to yes Maryland.

[dilbert firestorm]

Originally Posted by Tiny

Reddog, If you're referring to this, it was a tongue-in-cheek comeback to Blackman:

Blackman notes residents of Guam and the Virgin Islands cannot elect Senators and members of Congress. That's true. I was pointing out though that we're not like Britain, which doesn't give residents of its protectorates citizenship.

protectorates? you mean like falklan island and Gibralter?

[LexusLover]

Should DC, PR and other Territories Get Statehood

No.