The Issue of Statehood
Puerto Rico Statehood is the latest issue that the Trump Super PAC is trying to use against DeSantis.
And like most attack ads, the Puerto Rico attack by the Trump Super PAC is misleading at best.
A little background first. Puerto Rico has been owned by the United State since the end of the Spanish American War. It was one of several pieces of land that the United States received from Spain after the war such as Guam and the Philippines. Spain also lost Cuba, but the United States did not take control of it. Hawaii was also annexed during this time, although it was not owned by Spain.
The Republican Party has supported Puerto Rico becoming a state for the most part ever since 1940. Trump has even supported Puerto Rico becoming a state before he flipped on the issue.
Statehood in general shouldn't be an issue that anyone fights about. I am a proponent of many more states. There are requirements for new states and those requirements are more than appropriate. And although there are additional requirements for states to be created from current states, I honestly believe that we should start seriously thinking about cutting up our most populated states into smaller states. Once a state becomes so big, it cannot truly represent the people of that state. Perhaps a constitutional amendment that gives a state ten years to split into two separate states of nearly equal populations once it has reached a certain population should be adopted.
Why? Because I am a firm believer that representative accountability cannot happen when an elected official is representing hundreds of thousands of people (currently about 700,000 people for each Representative). We have made changes over the years that have diluted the accountability of our leaders. States no longer have a say in congress since the people now vote for Senators. And we quit increasing the size of the House of Representatives causing the people to have very little say in who they elect to the House. Both of these actions have made it far easier for people like George Soros to influence more elections with smaller amounts of money. If we had more states and many more Representatives (I think we should drastically increase the number of Representatives in Congress), people like Soros would go broke trying to influence elections.
I think a President should encourage more states to join the union. Obviously they still need to follow all the appropriate guidelines and laws, but more states should not be looked at as a bad thing.
The one exception is Washington DC. The Federal Government should never get its own additional say in its own dealings. And I am not sure in the legality of DC becoming a state without the original donor states having a say.
So with all that said, I think Trump is the one that should have to answer about Puerto Rico. He's flipped on this like many other issues recently.
Snail Mail Totals So Far in 2024
20 - Stand For America Fund, Inc. (Pro-Haley)
18 - Never Back Down, Inc. (Pro-DeSantis)
12 - Best of America PAC (Pro-Burgum)
12 - AFP Action (Anti-Trump)
12 - Make America Great Again, Inc. (Anti-DeSantis / Pro-Trump)
7 - Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. (Pro-Scott)
5 - Perry Johnson for President Inc.
4 - Make America Great Again Action, Inc. (Pro-Trump)
4 - Finish the Fight (Anti-Trump)
3 - And to the Republic (Anti-Trump)
2 - American Exceptionalism PAC (Pro-Ramaswamy)
2 - Vivek 2024
1 - Doug Burgum for America
1 - Donald J Trump for President 2024, Inc
And like most attack ads, the Puerto Rico attack by the Trump Super PAC is misleading at best.
A little background first. Puerto Rico has been owned by the United State since the end of the Spanish American War. It was one of several pieces of land that the United States received from Spain after the war such as Guam and the Philippines. Spain also lost Cuba, but the United States did not take control of it. Hawaii was also annexed during this time, although it was not owned by Spain.
The Republican Party has supported Puerto Rico becoming a state for the most part ever since 1940. Trump has even supported Puerto Rico becoming a state before he flipped on the issue.
Statehood in general shouldn't be an issue that anyone fights about. I am a proponent of many more states. There are requirements for new states and those requirements are more than appropriate. And although there are additional requirements for states to be created from current states, I honestly believe that we should start seriously thinking about cutting up our most populated states into smaller states. Once a state becomes so big, it cannot truly represent the people of that state. Perhaps a constitutional amendment that gives a state ten years to split into two separate states of nearly equal populations once it has reached a certain population should be adopted.
Why? Because I am a firm believer that representative accountability cannot happen when an elected official is representing hundreds of thousands of people (currently about 700,000 people for each Representative). We have made changes over the years that have diluted the accountability of our leaders. States no longer have a say in congress since the people now vote for Senators. And we quit increasing the size of the House of Representatives causing the people to have very little say in who they elect to the House. Both of these actions have made it far easier for people like George Soros to influence more elections with smaller amounts of money. If we had more states and many more Representatives (I think we should drastically increase the number of Representatives in Congress), people like Soros would go broke trying to influence elections.
I think a President should encourage more states to join the union. Obviously they still need to follow all the appropriate guidelines and laws, but more states should not be looked at as a bad thing.
The one exception is Washington DC. The Federal Government should never get its own additional say in its own dealings. And I am not sure in the legality of DC becoming a state without the original donor states having a say.
So with all that said, I think Trump is the one that should have to answer about Puerto Rico. He's flipped on this like many other issues recently.
Snail Mail Totals So Far in 2024
20 - Stand For America Fund, Inc. (Pro-Haley)
18 - Never Back Down, Inc. (Pro-DeSantis)
12 - Best of America PAC (Pro-Burgum)
12 - AFP Action (Anti-Trump)
12 - Make America Great Again, Inc. (Anti-DeSantis / Pro-Trump)
7 - Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. (Pro-Scott)
5 - Perry Johnson for President Inc.
4 - Make America Great Again Action, Inc. (Pro-Trump)
4 - Finish the Fight (Anti-Trump)
3 - And to the Republic (Anti-Trump)
2 - American Exceptionalism PAC (Pro-Ramaswamy)
2 - Vivek 2024
1 - Doug Burgum for America
1 - Donald J Trump for President 2024, Inc