(Headline USA) House Democrats’ latest lame-duck push is Puerto Rican statehood, flying under the guise of undoing centuries of what the party’s radical Left calls the United State’s role as a violent, colonizing oppressor.
The Democrat majority voted on Thursday to let Puerto Ricans vote on statehood over the objections of Republicans who argued there are more important priorities in the final days of this legislative session. However, 16 Republicans still voted for the bill, which would give Puerto Rico the chance to decide whether it wants full statehood, independence, or sovereignty in free association with the U.S.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., presided over the vote.
“Today, for the first time in our nation’s history, the United States will acknowledge its role as a colonizing force and Puerto’s Rico’s status as an extended colony,” she said on the House floor.
Several other leftists joined Ocasio-Cortez in accusing the U.S. of “colonizing” Puerto Rico, including Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., who compared the U.S. to Great Britain at the time of the American revolution.
“Congress’ unlimited plenary powers over Puerto Rico is reminiscent of the monarchical powers enjoyed by King George III, against which the founders of the American Republic so bravely fought,” Velazquez said. “If Hamilton and Madison were alive today, they would be shocked to see how the anti-colonial Constitution they drafted in 1787 is currently used to legitimize colonialism in Puerto Rico even 300 years later.”
Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., agreed that it is time to let Puerto Ricans “throw off their colonial bonds.”
The bill is expected to fail in the Senate, which is why many Republicans questioned the point of bringing this matter to the House floor on such short notice.
“I do have to say, with only a few legislative days left in this Congress, no path forward in the Senate, I’m not sure why this matter warrants an emergency meeting of the Rules Committee when so many outstanding issues remain,” Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas.
