I don't know of any US territory that would ever legally be barred from incorporating into a state that met the constitutional requirements to do so.
That's not at issue.
What is at issue, explained by Glenn Beck, is that the progressives there want to force people to unwittingly vote to incorporate in a two stage process and the progressives in Washington want to fight over their votes they could gain.
The two stage process is slick. Ordinary voter folk are not asked if they want to be a state but in effect if they want Puerto Rico not to become anything else other than what it is by keeping the polictical status quo and not addressing it's political problems or allowing any solutions to be explored for them. Who would vote to keep their problems the same? No one so anyone with an idea in the future for Puerto Rico would say no.
The second stage is even slicker. If they vote yes then a spokesperson is elected to vote in the second stage for an area, undoubtedly more progressives, who will have the final vote of statehood for Puerto Rico.
Mainland progressives don't believe they can lose this way but gain more voters and to oppose this means your a racist and against freedom.
Whether they realize it or not they will become a state and loyal progressives in the process and what they really want is not at issue or what anyone involved cares about.
|