November 17, 2004
STATEHOOD NOW:
Governor's Race Keeps Puerto Rico in Suspense (ABBY GOODNOUGH, 11/17/04, NY Times)
If Florida's five-week recount after the 2000 presidential election seemed endless, pity Puerto Rico.Posted by Orrin Judd at November 17, 2004 8:18 AMA recount is all but certain in the race for governor here, after the Election Night tally gave Anibal Acevedo Vilá, the candidate who favors keeping the island's commonwealth status, a margin of just 3,880 votes. But the process will not start until December, and come Christmas - even New Year's, some predict - Puerto Ricans may still be guessing who their next governor will be.
Blame Puerto Rican election law, which requires an "escrutinio," or review of vote summaries from each precinct, before an official recount of the roughly two million paper ballots cast on Nov. 2. Hundreds of officials from the island's election commission and its three major parties are submerged in that task, while Mr. Acevedo Vilá forges ahead as the presumed victor and Pedro Rosselló, the pro-statehood candidate, protests. The officials are also checking the validity of about 30,000 ballots that did not make the initial count, a slow process that sometimes involves determining voter intent.
Mr. Rosselló, a former two-term governor whom polls showed leading throughout the race, sued in federal court last week, protesting Mr. Acevedo Vilá's appointment of a transition team and demanding an immediate recount. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, but Mr. Acevedo Vilá's confidence appears unshaken. His family toured the governor's mansion on Monday, and his wife said her children were choosing bedrooms.
If Mr. Acevedo Vilá prevails, Puerto Rico's leadership will be strikingly divided. For the first time, the governor and the resident commissioner in Washington, the island's next-highest-ranking official, will be from opposing parties, as the new commissioner, Luis Fortuño, is pro-statehood. Mr. Acevedo Vilá also would face a largely pro-statehood Legislature.
If Puerto Rico becomes a US state then CT and RI should be merged together to keep the total at 50 (and avoid having the change the flag).
Posted by: AWW at November 17, 2004 8:34 AMAWW --
...and to keep the number of Democrats in the Senate constant. Good idea.
Posted by: Moe from NC at November 17, 2004 9:45 AMMoe - I almost mentioned that but I don't know enough about Puerto Rico politics to predict whether their senators would lean GOP or Dem
Posted by: AWW at November 17, 2004 10:25 AMPuerto Rico cannot become a state because of the fact that Spanish is its language, not English. If the people there spoke English as their first language and as the language of government and commerce, I would be first in line to support its admission regardless of which party its citizenry would vote for.
However, we should not import a Quebec.
Posted by: Bart at November 17, 2004 10:54 AMI learned something about PR from working in a gov't agency, and let's just say, they would give the District of Columbia a run for incompetence and corruption. Statehood, which would require the federal gov't to dump more taxpayers dollars into the sinkhole? No thanks.
Posted by: AC at November 17, 2004 11:39 AMIf Puerto Rico becomes a state, the Democrats would probably gain another guaranteed 3 or 4 electoral votes. With the nation so evenly divided, that could be really bad for the Republican Party.
Posted by: Vince at November 17, 2004 3:55 PMVince:
They can contend in Puerto Rico. Or we could add Israel at the same time.
Posted by: oj at November 17, 2004 4:19 PMAssuming that Israel would go for it, (not), it would be worth adding them to the Union just to see the faces in Europe and the Middle East...
I would expect that millions would drop dead of heart attack and strokes.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at November 17, 2004 7:33 PMPuerto tican and Hawaiian independence anyone?
Posted by: Phil at November 17, 2004 9:38 PMPuerto Rican and Hawaiian independence anyone?
Posted by: Phil at November 17, 2004 9:39 PMPuerto Rican and Hawaiian independence anyone?
Posted by: Phil at November 17, 2004 9:39 PMWhat is it Phil? Can't have anyone darker than Arnold Schwarzenegger in the good old USA?
Posted by: Bart at November 18, 2004 7:19 AMBart:
No, I was thinking geography not skin color. I would have included Alaska as well, but that land was legally purchased, not conquered (war--PR, political manipulation--Hawaii). Racial and ethnic diversity enhances american culture in my opinion.