That would give Dems the required supermajority not only in Senate and House, but also among States. So we can pass constitutional amendments to secure abortion, fix the Supreme Court, fix or abolish the Electoral College, and other things.
Afterwards, pass an amendment turning the 127 DC states into a single state, leaving aside the Capitol Area (the White House, Congress, etc would technically not be part of the new state but remain federal territory). In the same amendment, lock down the filibuster so if the GOP ever retakes power after this, they won’t be able to use the same trick to undo these changes.
The 2020 referendum in PR had a majority (52.5%) in favor of statehood. It’s now simply waiting on Congress to accept.
Now, it is a small majority, and you could plausibly argue that the result would be different if taken again. This decision is also effectively permanent; states don’t have the right to leave of their own accord. It seems like you should have a stronger majority than that for such a big decision.
As an outsider, I think their current status as a territory is completely untenable. Hell, we should never have kept them for more than a decade or so after the Spanish-American War. The case being what it is, it should be up to the people of PR to either become a state or become completely independent. The only referendum on the table says they become a state.
There is another referendum up for vote this November.
Interesting. When I was there in 2022, most of the people there I talked about it with basically like it the way it is, especially considering that many individuals are not liable for federal income taxes.
Eliminate the fillabuster and expand the Supreme Court plz. It should be one judge per circuit, and that’s 13 now.
Also, the expansion of the House wouldn’t be a bad thing. It was supposed to keep up with the population but was capped in the 20s.
Also add two more states plz.
Three more. Then we’ll have 53, a prime number, and truly be one nation indivisible.
Guam. There’s 53
Not sure about two but Washington D.C. should have statehood.
Puerto Rico?
We can recombine the Dakotas while we’re at it, what a waste of money and time to have two.
Puerto Rico swings back and forth on wanting statehood. Guam?
The danger is once the filibuster is dropped, the GOP might go ahead and drop it again to undo the changes the next time they take power.
I’d say drop the filibuster first and go with the 127 DC states plan - https://www.vox.com/2020/1/14/21063591/modest-proposal-to-save-american-democracy-pack-the-union-harvard-law-review
That would give Dems the required supermajority not only in Senate and House, but also among States. So we can pass constitutional amendments to secure abortion, fix the Supreme Court, fix or abolish the Electoral College, and other things.
Afterwards, pass an amendment turning the 127 DC states into a single state, leaving aside the Capitol Area (the White House, Congress, etc would technically not be part of the new state but remain federal territory). In the same amendment, lock down the filibuster so if the GOP ever retakes power after this, they won’t be able to use the same trick to undo these changes.
Both north DC and south DC ;)
I would split east and west Texas first. Use the Trinity river as a natural divider.
Which states? Iirc most Puerto Ricans don’t want statehood.
The 2020 referendum in PR had a majority (52.5%) in favor of statehood. It’s now simply waiting on Congress to accept.
Now, it is a small majority, and you could plausibly argue that the result would be different if taken again. This decision is also effectively permanent; states don’t have the right to leave of their own accord. It seems like you should have a stronger majority than that for such a big decision.
As an outsider, I think their current status as a territory is completely untenable. Hell, we should never have kept them for more than a decade or so after the Spanish-American War. The case being what it is, it should be up to the people of PR to either become a state or become completely independent. The only referendum on the table says they become a state.
There is another referendum up for vote this November.
Interesting. When I was there in 2022, most of the people there I talked about it with basically like it the way it is, especially considering that many individuals are not liable for federal income taxes.
Lol which is why many like the way it is.
If you can have two Dakotas and two Carolinas…
Let Central Jersey name the two new states: East Dakota and New Dakota