Money Instead of Votes

American colonialism strikes again. It turns out that Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho has received $ 39,000 in donations recently from the U.S. Virgin Islands, double what he received from his own constituents. Why do the U.S. "territories" give so much political cash? Because that's the only way they can influence our political system, lacking voting representation in Congress. It's an outrageous situation, but one that is continually perpetuated. I wrote about it for my very first article in The American Prospect, back in 2000--the story is even worse in Puerto Rico. And nobody ever talks about it.