6 ms·

More likely 52 however with DC and Puerto Rico. Nice article - I like the arrangement. I would assume no one would be interested in a less traditional arrangeme

More likely 52 however with DC and Puerto Rico. Nice article - I like the arrangement. I would assume no one would be interested in a less traditional arrangement much like no one is interested in more colorful currency.

smt88 6y ago
Neither state is likely. They require 60 votes, which is impossible now and will become even more difficult as the disproportionately conservative Senate becomes even less representative of the US over time (due to urbanization). The constitutionality of DC statehood is also very controversial, so SCOTUS could probably kill it without having to stretch their logic much.
- a_humean 6y ago
  Its only 60 votes if senators insist on pretending its 60 votes. Its 50+1 votes if senators actually want to do something.
  - smt88 6y ago
    That requires ending the filibuster, which multiple Dem senators have already announced opposition to.
    - JeremyNT 6y ago
      The reality here is that Senators like having the ability to hide behind the filibuster so they can pretend to be for certain legislation that appeals to their base without worrying that it might actually pass (i.e. when such legislation would anger their donors or otherwise interfere with their actual priorities). When such legislation is filibustered, they raise up their hands and say "well what can you do, I would have voted for it but the other party didn't let me." The real issue at play is not having 51 "real" votes in support of a particular measure. The filibuster is a stupid procedural distraction used to excuse inaction, and the people shouldn't be tricked by this nonsense.
- ivalm 6y ago
  Only simple majority is needed for admission, not 60 [0]. Admitting DC as state would also only require simple majority since constitution does not explicitly mention DC only “federal district.” DC was made a federal district by an act of Congress and a simple majority can reverse that [1] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_Union https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_Union [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_movement_in_the_District_of_Columbia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_movement_in_the_Di...
  - maximente 6y ago
    the person you're replying to is implying 60 votes needed for filibuster defeat, i believe
    - ivalm 6y ago
      But filibuster procedure can be removed by a simple majority.
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    The biggest Constitutional issue with D.C. Statehood (given that the plan includes reservation of a reduced federal district) is the prohibition on forming states from parts of other states without the consent of the original states’ legislatures’, since the territory originally came from MD. It's, IIRC, disputed how it would apply, but it would seem to be rendered non-problematic if consent was sought from MD.
    - ivalm 6y ago
      MD has democrats controlling state legislature, so should be OK.
  - arp242 6y ago
    Also, politically it's not that simple; in the recent November 2020 referendum 52.5% voted in favour of statehood, a fairly narrow majority. In 2012 only about 30% voted in favour of statehood (ignoring the boycotted and unrepresentative 2017 referendum). So an actual (slim) majority in favour of statehood is a very recent thing, and not even Puerto Rico itself lacks the 60% required for a senate vote. People seem to forget this. Imagine asking the people who actually live there what they want...

smt88 6y ago

Neither state is likely. They require 60 votes, which is impossible now and will become even more difficult as the disproportionately conservative Senate becomes even less representative of the US over time (due to urbanization). The constitutionality of DC statehood is also very controversial, so SCOTUS could probably kill it without having to stretch their logic much.

a_humean 6y ago
Its only 60 votes if senators insist on pretending its 60 votes. Its 50+1 votes if senators actually want to do something.
- smt88 6y ago
  That requires ending the filibuster, which multiple Dem senators have already announced opposition to.
  - JeremyNT 6y ago
    The reality here is that Senators like having the ability to hide behind the filibuster so they can pretend to be for certain legislation that appeals to their base without worrying that it might actually pass (i.e. when such legislation would anger their donors or otherwise interfere with their actual priorities). When such legislation is filibustered, they raise up their hands and say "well what can you do, I would have voted for it but the other party didn't let me." The real issue at play is not having 51 "real" votes in support of a particular measure. The filibuster is a stupid procedural distraction used to excuse inaction, and the people shouldn't be tricked by this nonsense.
ivalm 6y ago
Only simple majority is needed for admission, not 60 [0]. Admitting DC as state would also only require simple majority since constitution does not explicitly mention DC only “federal district.” DC was made a federal district by an act of Congress and a simple majority can reverse that [1] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_Union https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_Union [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_movement_in_the_District_of_Columbia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_movement_in_the_Di...
- maximente 6y ago
  the person you're replying to is implying 60 votes needed for filibuster defeat, i believe
  - ivalm 6y ago
    But filibuster procedure can be removed by a simple majority.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  The biggest Constitutional issue with D.C. Statehood (given that the plan includes reservation of a reduced federal district) is the prohibition on forming states from parts of other states without the consent of the original states’ legislatures’, since the territory originally came from MD. It's, IIRC, disputed how it would apply, but it would seem to be rendered non-problematic if consent was sought from MD.
  - ivalm 6y ago
    MD has democrats controlling state legislature, so should be OK.
- arp242 6y ago
  Also, politically it's not that simple; in the recent November 2020 referendum 52.5% voted in favour of statehood, a fairly narrow majority. In 2012 only about 30% voted in favour of statehood (ignoring the boycotted and unrepresentative 2017 referendum). So an actual (slim) majority in favour of statehood is a very recent thing, and not even Puerto Rico itself lacks the 60% required for a senate vote. People seem to forget this. Imagine asking the people who actually live there what they want...