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I would say the more relevant consideration is whether the existing American states want Puerto Rico to formally join the Union. Puerto Rico may want statehood

I would say the more relevant consideration is whether the existing American states want Puerto Rico to formally join the Union. Puerto Rico may want statehood, but Turkey also wants to join the EU. In both cases the decision lies in DC or Brussels, not San Juan or Ankara. Puerto Rico may be a protectorate, but I don't think that formally entitles them to Union membership. That being said, if the US refuses to grant them statehood, they should be free to seek sovereignty as an independent nation. All that aside, my rough estimate is that 90% of the Continental US interest in PR statehood is motivated by political calculus in the Senate and Electoral College. If PR was a red state instead of solid blue, I'd sincerely doubt you'd see statehood regularly discussed at the top of /r/politics.

harimau777 6y ago
I think that the difference is that Puerto Rico is subject to US laws but Turkey is not subject to EU laws.
dragonwriter 6y ago
> I would say the more relevant consideration is whether the existing American states want Puerto Rico to formally join the Union. That's obviously legally dispositive, insofar as those states representatives are who votes in Congress and we are discussing a potential action of the incoming Congressional majority. > Puerto Rico may want statehood, but Turkey also wants to join the EU. Turkey, wasn't incorporated into the EU by conquest and then denied voting participation in Union decisionmaking. > All that aside, my rough estimate is that 90% of the Continental US interest in PR statehood is motivated by political calculus in the Senate and Electoral College. Probably the majority, at any rate, is political calculus (not just partisan, but also on specific policy issues; and not just the Senate/EC, as the House isn't insignificant.) But that's always been the case with the causes for (and against) new states. (And why “continental US”, do you really think Hawai’i is an exception here?)
mywittyname 6y ago
> All that aside, my rough estimate is that 90% of the Continental US interest in PR statehood is motivated by political calculus in the Senate and Electoral College. If PR was a red state instead of solid blue, I'd sincerely doubt you'd see statehood regularly discussed at the top of /r/politics. Probably, but that's also been the case for basically every state ever admitted to the union. Remember when the US used to consider whether a state was slave for free before admission? Even the statehood of Hawaii was politically charged. People genuinely feared the kind of people Hawaiian would send as representatives. Including, but not limited to Communists and anti-segregationists. Alaska was opposed on the grounds that it would be a welfare state and that it would add a bunch of democrats to Congress.

harimau777 6y ago

I think that the difference is that Puerto Rico is subject to US laws but Turkey is not subject to EU laws.

dragonwriter 6y ago

> I would say the more relevant consideration is whether the existing American states want Puerto Rico to formally join the Union. That's obviously legally dispositive, insofar as those states representatives are who votes in Congress and we are discussing a potential action of the incoming Congressional majority. > Puerto Rico may want statehood, but Turkey also wants to join the EU. Turkey, wasn't incorporated into the EU by conquest and then denied voting participation in Union decisionmaking. > All that aside, my rough estimate is that 90% of the Continental US interest in PR statehood is motivated by political calculus in the Senate and Electoral College. Probably the majority, at any rate, is political calculus (not just partisan, but also on specific policy issues; and not just the Senate/EC, as the House isn't insignificant.) But that's always been the case with the causes for (and against) new states. (And why “continental US”, do you really think Hawai’i is an exception here?)

mywittyname 6y ago

> All that aside, my rough estimate is that 90% of the Continental US interest in PR statehood is motivated by political calculus in the Senate and Electoral College. If PR was a red state instead of solid blue, I'd sincerely doubt you'd see statehood regularly discussed at the top of /r/politics. Probably, but that's also been the case for basically every state ever admitted to the union. Remember when the US used to consider whether a state was slave for free before admission? Even the statehood of Hawaii was politically charged. People genuinely feared the kind of people Hawaiian would send as representatives. Including, but not limited to Communists and anti-segregationists. Alaska was opposed on the grounds that it would be a welfare state and that it would add a bunch of democrats to Congress.