Puerto Rico politics and Glenn Beck.

When I turn on Glenn Beck each morning for the latest and greatest news on talk radio: I never expect to hear about Puerto Rico for 60 consecutive minutes, forcing me to turn off my radio. It could just be me, but I really have no problem with Puerto Rico becoming our 51st state - if the Congressional legislation is written right, which the current legislation is not.

What's the problem with Glenn Beck? Well, he doesn't like how the legislation is written, or how the legislation will be forcing Puerto Ricans to choose between two unpopular choices - Statehood or the unusual Independence. I agree with Glenn Beck on both of his grievances, but if Congress were to rewrite the legislation, I would without a doubt support a 51st Puerto Rican state.

Wouldn't the State of Puerto Rico lead to millions of new Democratic votes? The idiot would yell "yes!" from rooftops, but Puerto Rico isn't a simple commonwealth. Like our other territories, Puerto Rico has a mixture of the two national major political parties and three local parties, one of which is called theNew Progressive Party.

Sounds like a radical progressive bunch? You'd be mistaken, see the New Progressive Party was established when several local Republicans were agitated with the Republican Party of Puerto Rico over a lack of firm commitment for statehood. It might surprise some, but the party was and is the dominant Conservative party, and their purpose is simple: Achieve statehood through any means possible.

Still unconvinced? Please look up Puerto Rico's Republican Governor Luis Fortuno, a fiscal Conservative who has been fighting the good fight against labor unions, state employees and government spending. Fortuno is also the Chairman of the Progressive Party, though his allegiance lies with Republicans. In all honesty, Fortuno is such a Conservative - he's been mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for President in 2012.

Overall a Puerto Rican state would benefit both Republicans and Democrats, especially if their popular Republican Governor ran for US Senate or the House of Representatives, and though I support their current efforts for statehood, I do not approve of their methods, thus I will not support the legislation being debated this afternoon in Washington.


--Tim K.