Foolish Republican Politicians Are Terrified At The Prospect Of Puerto Rican Statehood

Racist Republican senators warn their racist base that if Democrats win the White House and Congress in November, they will make Puerto Rico a state and the Republicans will never have a Senate majority because, of course, those brown Puerto Ricans will always automatically vote for Democrats. I wish... but it's just a mark of GOP paranoia and racism. Puerto Rico would probably be a swing state and certainly not a Democratic slam dunk. Now, Democrats making Washington DC a state, is probably what Republicans should really be worried about.

Yesterday, Olivia Reingold, writing for Politico Magazine, took a closer look at the idiotic GOP fears about Puerto Rican statehood, pointing out that, as usual, Republicans have it totally backwards. "People in the continental U.S. think that Puerto Ricans are going to vote Democratic, but on the other hand, the conservative values and Latin traditions are more akin to the values of a Republican Party," said José Garriga Picó, a political scientist and former member of the Puerto Rican Legislature. "You can’t really predict what voters are going to do here."

Some of the assumption that Puerto Rico would go blue is based on the fact that Puerto Ricans, when they move to the mainland, are often a reliable Democratic vote. A Politico poll from last spring asked Puerto Rican voters in Florida about their political preferences. It found that 38 percent of respondents identified as Democrats, but 42 percent said they weren’t committed to either party.

Both major islandwide elected officials in Puerto Rico are registered Republicans, as is the sitting governor, who was installed by the island’s Supreme Court. Puerto Rico’s Legislature, which has made a mark in recent years by enacting conservative laws including restrictions on abortion and expressions of gender identity, is led by registered Republicans in both its House and Senate. Seven of the past eight elections for governor or resident commissioner were won by members of the New Progressive Party, the more conservative of the island’s main parties—including the territory’s current nonvoting member of Congress, Jenniffer González-Colón, who is a member of the NPP, the chairwoman of the Puerto Rican Republican Party and a former co-chair of Latinos for Trump.

Meanwhile, as national Democrats flirt with the prospect of a Senate majority in 2021 and agitate for statehood for Puerto Rico, there’s a real political risk: They would add two seats to the Senate, but contrary to Republicans’ vocal fears, it’s no safe bet that those new senators would be Democrats.

Which may well mean that while this year, the path to a Senate majority runs through Denver, Birmingham and Billings, come 2022, San Juan might be the next battleground. Puerto Rico could be a purple state.

In Puerto Rico, statehood is the axis around which all politics revolve.

There are two main political parties-- the New Progressive Party and the Popular Democratic Party. Neither fits neatly into the Democratic-Republican binary, but the NPP is typically seen as the more conservative coalition, and has advocated tax cuts and conservative social policies-- positions which align it more closely to the Republican Party, even as national Republicans generally oppose statehood. But perhaps the most important contrast between the two parties comes on the issue of statehood: The NPP supports it, while the PDP is pro-commonwealth. The NPP advocates closer ties with Washington, whereas the PDP advocates local control.

In recent years, the NPP’s platform has proved successful at the ballot box. The party has two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate, and controls both the governor’s mansion and the island’s nonvoting seat in the U.S. House.

Carmen Yulín Cruz, the high-profile mayor of San Juan who is a member of the opposition PDP, says it would be a mistake to conflate the NPP’s dominance with widespread support for conservatism-- many of its members identify as Democrats, she notes. Even so, she’s not sure whether Puerto Ricans would identify more with the Republican or Democratic Party if statehood were achieved.

“It depends,” she told Politico. “What Puerto Ricans see, and this is wrong for us to see it this way, but what they see is that the pro-statehood party is equivalent to the Republican Party, and that the commonwealth party is equivalent to the Democratic Party.”

Yulín Cruz, who frequently appeared on cable news after Hurricane Maria as a Trump critic, has been embraced by the progressive wing of the national Democratic Party and served as a co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. During her recent gubernatorial primary, she was endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, then lost her race for the party’s nomination by almost 50 points.

...“It’s really tough to argue that we would be a blue state,” said Mayra Vélez Serrano, a political science professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras. “The [2020] primary tells you that. Someone like Carmen Yulín Cruz, who’s very progressive and has a lot of support from the mainland, did horribly locally.”

...In 2011, during an official visit to the island-- the first of any sitting president since John F. Kennedy-- Barack Obama promised to support whatever decision Puerto Ricans made about their status. “When the people of Puerto Rico make a clear decision,” he said to an audience at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, “my administration will stand by you.”

A little more than a year later, Puerto Ricans voted in favor of statehood in a nonbinding referendum. Over 60 percent of voters said they wanted to see the island become a state. But many observers said the results were muddied by confusion about whether the results actually resulted in any sort of mandate. Rather than offer voters a simple up-down vote on statehood, the ballot presented three options for Puerto Rico’s preferred form of government: statehood, sovereign commonwealth or independence. Leading up to the vote, the PDP urged voters to leave the ballot question about statehood blank altogether, in protest of the fact that their preferred option-- "enhanced commonwealth," which would keep the island’s current status but add some of the benefits of independence, like exempting it from some federal laws—wasn’t on the ballot. Ultimately, more than 498,000 ballots-- 26.5 percent of all ballots cast-- were left blank.

When asked about the election results at a news conference in 2012, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the Obama administration declined to endorse the outcome “because of the process itself.” The next day, the Obama administration reversed its position and endorsed the pro-statehood results of the referendum. The Congress, with its Republican-controlled House and Democratic Senate, never ratified the results of Puerto Rico’s statehood vote, and the island was not granted statehood.

...[T]he Democratic Party’s official platform commits to giving Puerto Ricans the opportunity to determine their status. Last week, Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia M. Velázquez, both New Yorkers of Puerto Rican ancestry, introduced a bill that would accomplish that-- the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act.

Velázquez, who was born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, says if her bill passes and Puerto Rico decides to become a state, she’s not sure whether the island will send two Democratic senators to Washington.

“That’s certainly the fear of the Republicans in Congress. They truly believe that for the most part, Puerto Ricans will be in the Democratic Party. I just, I do not know,” Velázquez told Politico. “It will be a different ballgame. People are learning that they need to hear from both parties what are their platforms on the issues that matter most for Puerto Ricans.”

Picó, the former Puerto Rican legislator-turned-political scientist, notes that when Hawaii and Alaska were admitted to the U.S. as states in 1959, the assumption was that Hawaii would be a Republican state and Alaska would be solidly blue. That’s not how either state votes now. Hawaii is solidly blue, and Democratic presidential candidates have carried it in all but two elections since 1960. Alaska is beet red and has voted for a Democratic presidential nominee only once.

“I know that’s the assumption in the states that Puerto Rico would become a Democratic state,” Picó said. “Then again, you never know.”

No? With DC you know though. No? Dependable-- just like secessionist South Carolina. Although...

Maybe It Really Is Time For the South To Rise Again-- But Without The Built-In Racism This Time

On Friday the House voted, 232-180 to admit Washington, DC-- which has more people than Wyoming and Vermont-- as a state. Every Republican-- ironically, the party of unadulterated and unashamed racism-- voted no, as did the most Republican of the House Dems, Minnesota Blue Dog Collin Peterson. There were 8 other Democrats who wanted top vote NO-- and in fact did vote with the GOP on their motion to recommit, but who felt their best strategy was to have it both ways, voting with the GOP on the motion and with the Democrats on the bill:

• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)
• Angie Craig (New Dem-MN)
• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)
• Jared Golden (careerist-ME)
• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
• Conor Lamb (careerist-PA)
• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)
• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
• Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM)

McConnell already declared it DOA as far as the Senate is concerned, somehow deciding statehood for Washington is-- wait for it-- "socialist." So his virulent and disgusting racism had nothing to do with it at all. And if McConnell were to be hit by a car tonight and whisked off to his place in Satan's bed, Trump has already said he would veto it, although didn't mention he's the most racist president to ever occupy the White House. The District, by the way, is 49% African-American so, the thinking goes among racists like McConnell and Trump and, generally all the Republicans in Congress... why give them a House seat and two Senate seats?

So I asked myself why is there still so much racism in our country. Why is it still a thing? Inequality politically and economically are bad enough but what about in our hearts? Why?

Stuart Stevens, a Mississippi Republican had something to say about that yesterday at The Bulwark-- at least for part of the problem: My Confederate Past. Before we get to Stevens' reflections, a little news (beyond Faith Hill's call for Mississippi to get a new Confederate-free state flag): there's plan to do just that and that started today, a flag that was adopted in 1894 at the height of the white backlash to Reconstruction.

As of Friday at noon, the plan-- which several sources reiterated was “extremely fluid”-- is for the House of Representatives to begin the legislative process to remove or replace the flag on Saturday morning.

A resolution will be filed that would suspend the rules so that legislators could take up a bill to address the flag. This resolution is expected to be the most difficult part of the process because it requires approval of a two-thirds majority in each chamber (82 of 122 House members, 35 of 52 Senate members). And the resolution must be passed by both chambers before either chamber could actually begin the process of debating the actual bill. [It did pass the House today-- 85 to 35-- and Gov. Reeves announced he will sign the final bill into law if it passes the state Senate too.] UPDATE: Last in the day, the Senate passed it too!

If the two-thirds threshold to suspend the rules is met, a simple majority would be required to pass the actual bill (62 of 122 House members, 27 of 52 Senate members).

Sources close to House leadership say they have-- for now-- the two-thirds majority votes to suspend rules, but they stress the margin is very thin.

On the Senate side, reports are that the leadership is “close”-- within one or two votes-- to having a two-thirds vote to suspend rules. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said the plan is for the House to move first.

...Many Republican lawmakers have for years opposed changing the flag, particularly without a popular vote on the issue. Some who want the Legislature to change it fear a backlash from constituents.

And  Republican Gov. Tate Reeves-- the de facto head of the state GOP-- opposes the Legislature changing the flag.

But that sentiment appears to be changing among some lawmakers.

Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, in a 2017 social media post said that those who support the removal of Confederate monuments should be “lynched.” In recent weeks, he declined to comment on the flag issue.

But on Thursday, Oliver issued a statement that said: “I am choosing to attempt to unite our state and ask each of you to join me in supporting a flag that creates unity-- now is the time.” Oliver’s statement said the flag issue is growing “more divisive by the day” and “History will record the position I chose.”

A growing list of businesses, cities, counties and other groups have either stopped flying the flag or asked leaders to change it. Religious leaders have spoken out, saying changing the flag is a “moral issue.”  The NCAA, SEC, and Conference USA this month took action to ban post-season play in the state until the flag is changed.

"It’s difficult to explain to a non-Southerner," wrote Stevens, "the role the Confederate flag has played in our lives. I suspect that’s more so for a Mississippian than for someone from any other state as Mississippi is the most Southern of the states. Put it this way: If you have connections to the University of Mississippi-- the most Southern school in the most Southern state-- then your connection to the Confederate flag is what the shamrock is to Notre Dame. I was born in the 1950s to parents who met at Ole Miss. The role Ole Miss football played in my life was basically what the Catholic Church is to the Jesuits. It was both a belief system and the organizing principle of life. Saturdays in the fall were the Holy Days when the Faithful would gather and reinforce our devotion through the shared communion of ritual."

These were not football games but celebrations of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. Only this time our 11 soldiers on the field of battle more often than not emerged victorious. At halftime the band marched in Confederate battle gray uniforms while Colonel Reb led the cheerleaders in unfolding what was billed as the world’s largest Confederate flag. (Even as a 10-year-old I remember wondering, “How big was the second-largest flag?”) Cheerleaders threw bundles of Confederate flags into the stands. We stood and swayed together singing Dixie, always ending in the stadium-shaking cry, “The South Shall Rise Again.”

It was at halftime in the 1962 Ole Miss-Kentucky game at Jackson’s Memorial Stadium-- walking distance from my home-- that Governor Ross Barnett gave his famous speech calling for states’ rights. We beat Kentucky that afternoon and the next day in Oxford there began the last pitched battle of the Civil War. It took 30,000 troops to force the University of Mississippi to accept a single black student.

Today you’re more likely to get a student riot if a top-ranked black athlete committed to Ole Miss and then switched at the last minute to Alabama.

...Mississippi has the highest percentage of African Americans of any state in the country. I ask myself now why did it take so long for me to realize what it might be like for nearly 40 percent of my state to go to school and work under a flag that represented a cause dedicated to the right to own their ancestors? Why is it that I had written books about traveling through China, Africa, and Europe, fascinated by every cultural quirk I came across, before I looked up at my own state flag and thought about the dehumanizing brutality it represented?

I don’t have any good answers, most likely because there are none. I was given every opportunity in this life, an open door to the world, a chance at the best education in the United States and England, a family that supported my odd passions that I was lucky enough to turn into professions. I had passport stamps from 61 countries with different flags before I began to think about my own state’s flag. It wasn’t that I was actively for the flag . . . but that indifference was just as toxic as active support.

Today many white Mississippians of my generation-- and even more of the younger generation-- are eager to change. Faulkner wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” We can’t undo what we didn’t do.

But my regret is mixed with a hope. Hope that perhaps we can take steps-- small and inadequate as they might be-- to face the truth of our Confederate past. And in doing so change the future.

It will never be enough. But I hope today we can take one more step out of the shadows of a bloody past into the brighter sun of a better day.

This morning, the NY Times released a poll by Siena that showed how out of touch Trump-- who reflexively and unceasingly stokes The Lost Cause and American divisiveness over race-- is on sentiments about race seem to be heading. 59% of voters, including 52% of white voters, believe the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis was "part of a broader pattern of excessive police violence toward African Americans. Black Lives Matter is seen as favorably as the police as an institution is (44% for BLM, 43% for the police). "The numbers add to the mounting evidence that recent protests have significantly shifted public opinion on race, creating potential political allies for a movement that was, within the past decade, dismissed as fringe and divisive. It also highlights how President Trump is increasingly out of touch with a country he is seeking to lead for a second term: While he has shown little sympathy for the protesters and their fight for racial justice, and has continued to use racist language that many have denounced, voters feel favorably toward the protests and their cause."

Trump Says DC Will Never Be A State-- A Majority Of Congress Disagrees With Him

Moscow Mitch and Putin's Bitch say "Nyet" to DC statehood

As of last July, the population of Washington DC was 705,749, about the same as Alaska, North Dakota and Vermont. The population of Wyoming was 578,759. Each of those states has 2 senators-- just like California (pop- 39,512,223), Texas (pop- 28,995,881), Florida (pop- 21,477,737) and New York (pop- 19,453,561). Each of those states also has a member of the House (as do Montana, Delaware and South Dakota). The citizens of Washington, DC have no senators and no member of the House representing their interests in Congress. Next Friday, June 26, the House will vote to grant DC statehood. I do I know? A majority of the House is co-sponsoring it.

It will be the first time that either House has voted to grant Washington, which is still a majority black city, statehood. But no one expects Mitch McConnell-- a notorious racist with a well-known and rarely disguised animus towards black people-- to even allow a vote on the Senate floor. McConnell would never allow any such thing and, according to the Washington Post "the legislation would not get a vote in the Senate as long as he’s in charge." McConnell, always the deceitful cynic who nicknamed himself "the Grim Reaper," called statehood for DC "full-bore socialism."

Not a single Republican has co-sponsored the bill. In fact, ultra-conservative New Jersey Blue Dog Jeff Van Drew signed on as a cosponsor on June 24, the last member to do so, when he was still pretending to be a Democrat. He formally withdrew his sponsorship on February 10 once he was officially a Trumpist Republican. Señor Trumpanzee backs up McConnell and the congressional Republicans in this latest demonstration of their institutionalized racism, saying Republicans would be "very, very stupid" to grant D.C. statehood because the voters there are overwhelmingly Democrats. "District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic-- Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That’ll never happen." He's right about how there will never be 5 more congressmen. DC is entitled to one congressman, just like Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Delaware, Vermont and Wyoming.

Riverside County's Ken Calvert is one of the lockstep Trump enablers refusing to back statehood for DC. I asked his Democratic opponent, history professor Liam O'Mara, why Calvert is opposing a solution that embraces such a fundamental idea like "no taxation without representation." He told me that "The reason is simple: GOP 'conservatives' do not care about democracy or such founding principles as the one you cite. What they care about is power and serving our neofeudal overlords.Calvert has no problem with systematic disenfranchisement of Americans-- I reckon he would strip the vote from a lot of us if he could. Stopping more people from exercising basic constitutional rights has been a part of GOP orthodoxy for decades. I can think of no better way to respond to BS like this than to challenge Calvert's patriotism, and remind people that he serves the wealthy, not us. 98% of his campaign funds come from corporations and PACs tied to the oligarchy, and they are his only constituents. As far as the taxpayers of DC are concerned-- and those of Puerto Rico, the Marianas, and American Samoa-- Calvert just doesn't give a fuck. He only cares if you can pay him to care. And for myself? I signed the DC statehood pledge last month, and have supported extending it to all territories for decades. Why? Principle matters... at least, it does for those of us who can't be bought."

Like Calvert, Fred Upton now always puts his party before any kind of moral compass he may have once had. So, of course, he is refusing to back fair representation for the hundreds of thousands of Americans living in Washington, DC. The progressive Democrat running for his southwest Michigan seat this cycle, state Rep Jon Hoadley, has a different way of looking at it. This morning, Hoadley told me that "The residents of the District of Columbia are American taxpayers, and deserve to have equal representation on our national stage like the rest of our states. The only reason to vote against statehood for D.C. is if you're more interested in pushing a partisan agenda than fair representation. The population of D.C. is 700,000-- larger than states that already have Congressional representation. It’s past time to end this disenfranchisement and make D.C. our 51st state."

Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK), a super-conservative Democrat from Oklahoma City with no guts at all, is one of the only Dems refusing to co-sponsor the bill. Her progressive opponent, Tom Guild, backs statehood for DC. I asked him what's up with Kendra.

"Washingtonians are people, too," he said. "They pay taxes. They are U.S. citizens. They are disenfranchised by not having voting members to represent them in the U.S. House and Senate. It is past time to stop treating the long suffering Americans who live in the District of Columbia like second class citizens. I favor statehood for Washington, DC which automatically would qualify them for at least one voting member in the house and two senators. As Thomas Jefferson said, 'All men are created equal.' Were Jefferson still alive he would certainly add women to his powerful and moving statement. I would vote for statehood and it would be a simple stroke of the pen to add my name as a co-sponsor for a statehood bill. We do not always do the right thing, but this is a chance to correct centuries of discrimination against our brothers and sisters who live in the district. Since they live so close to so many politicians, you might even be able to make a plausible case for Washingtonians being deserving of extra members in Congress representing DC. Jefferson eloquently stated that Americans are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is past time to deliver happiness to more than 700,000 Washingtonians. Come on Kendra! Your brothers and sisters in the nation’s capital are people and American citizens, too. My fellow Okie, do not forget that it is far better to give to others than to receive!"

I like the way Eva Putzova, the reform candidate in Arizona, summed this up today-- since her opponent Blue Dog Tom O'Halleran is one of the few Democrats who has refused to co-sponsor the bill. "You know what kind of Democrat would vote for voter suppression and against having more representation in Congress? Someone who is a Democrat in name only. Tom O'Halleran was a Republican all his life. When it comes down to important issues, he is still loyal to the Republican Party." BINGO! Please help Eva, Tom, Jon and Liam replace their reactionary opponents in Congress by clicking on the 2020 congressional thermometer above and contributing what you can.

Should Puerto Rico Become The 51st State? Election Is Mañana

The population of Puerto Rico is around 3.4 million-- just between Connecticut (3,576,452) and Iowa (3,134,693), so more than Utah, Mississippi, Arkansas, Nevada, Kansas and 1115 other states. There are Puerto Ricans in every single state, but especially large numbers in New York (1,070,558), Florida (847,550), New Jersey (434,092), Pennsylvania (366,082), Massachusetts (266,125) and Connecticut (252,972)-- part of the 5,372,759 Puerto Ricans living in the continental U.S., more than on the island.

Tomorrow, Puerto Rico has a plebiscite, asking whether the island should become the 51st state, request independence or stick with the status quo (commonwealth status). Ultimately the decision is made by the U.S. Congress but what people there want will weigh heavily-- or not-- in the argument. Last time Puerto Rico voted on status (2012), statehood won and... nothing happened.

CNBC made the case this weekend that the reason why the question of status is such a big deal in this election is economic. Puerto Rico's colonial economy is in recession, something that triggered "the largest municipal bond market bankruptcy in U.S. history in May, a process being overseen by a seven-member oversight board appointed by Washington... Some [like the governor] see statehood as the best way to pull Puerto Rico out of its economic crisis, others blame the U.S. for the malaise and would rather seek independence after five centuries of what they call colonial rule."

The sovereignty view is and has been a minority in Puerto Rico. Statehood was prominent during Puerto Rico's election in November when two pro-statehood candidates won: Ricardo Rossello, a Democrat, became governor and Jenniffer Gonzalez, a Republican, was elected resident commissioner-- Puerto Rico's sole representative in U.S. Congress who can write and submit legislation, but doesn't have the authority to vote.

...Now, given Puerto Rico's financial distress, many on the mainland are questioning whether the timing could be any better. The governor insists that statehood isn't about using federal tax dollars to save Puerto Rico. But rather, it would put the island on equal footing with other states, which would improve its economic situation, he said.

"We wouldn't want a bailout. I'm no fan of bailouts. I think we need to assume responsibility for what's going on here," Rossello said. "Statehood is much more than resources. Statehood is an equal playing field for U.S. citizens that reside on the island."

Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since a law made them so in 1917. However, their benefits relative to mainland citizens have been limited. One issue prevalent among many residents is that they pay in full for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security but can only collect on a restricted amount of these benefits relative to mainland citizens. Thousands of Puerto Ricans serve in the U.S. military but cannot vote for their commander in chief.

In April, President Donald Trump addressed the Puerto Rican financial situation on Twitter, arguing that the Democrats wanted to bail out the island (adding his signature "Sad!" at the end). Both Rossello and Gonzalez have met Trump but have not had the chance to sit down and get his [so-called] thoughts on Puerto Rico.

The unprecedented bankruptcy proceedings taking place is top of mind for many Puerto Ricans as they head to the polls. Puerto Ricans like Maria Colon, 51, a single mom with fibromyalgia, invested in various Puerto Rican bonds and has relied on the monthly interest payments as her main source of income due to her disability. She is now facing nearly $600,000 in losses to date on the bond investments.

Colon said she is voting for statehood in the hopes that if Puerto Rico officially becomes the 51st state, the government will work to find out who was ultimately responsible for this debt crisis, and bring the people of the island the relief and justice that they seek.

Regardless of what happens with the vote, the affairs in Washington have been more intertwined with those on the island than in recent memory. Nearly a year ago, a law was created, known as the Puerto Rican Oversight, Management, and Economic Stablity Act (Promesa), requiring a federally appointed seven-member committee to oversee the finances of the commonwealth, including its fiscal plans and the restructuring of its $73 billion in bond debt and nearly $50 million in unfunded pension obligations.

Gonzalez said this is the first time the island has held a plebiscite vote over statehood where the Justice Department has defined the options on the ballot, making them compatible with U.S. law. In exchange, the DoJ was supposed to contribute $2.5 million to Puerto Rico toward the cost of holding a statehood vote. After reviewing the ballot options in April, the department rejected administering the funds and suggested several changes. Despite making all of the recommended changes to the ballot, to date Puerto Rico has not received any of the promised funds.

Instead, the bankrupt island has spent $7 million.

"This is not about the money; this is more than that," Gonzalez said. "So keep the money. Let us express ourselves. And that is what we are going to have on Sunday."

I ran into Alan Grayson today. His district central Florida district was heavily Puerto Rican and he follows politics on the island closely. When I asked him and tomorrow's elections, he said "It’s necessary, from time to time, for the people of Puerto Rico to decide on their future. Without that, Puerto Rico would be no different from a colony."


UPDATE: No Surprises

Puerto Rico is still counting votes but so far 97% of the voters want the commonwealth to press for statehood. Turnout was low (just 23%) because opponents boycotted the plebiscite.