It's a given that the Dems are scared to death about the prospect of losing the House and Senate again in 2008--which they will undoubtedly do if they fail in their efforts to sabotage the war effort and convince the American public that the Republicans were really responsible. And nothing exemplifies their panic more than this article in today's Washington Post that touts their frantic efforts to ignore the laws laid down by our nation's founders in the Constitution and create a solid Democrat House seat for the District of Columbia. They are so desperate to pad their slim majority by creating a new seat that will assuredly be Democratically-controlled forever that they're openly defying the authors of the Constitution who decided that votes in Congress shall be cast be representatives of the states. Not the territories, not the federal possessions, and specifically not the federal enclave known as the District of Columbia that was created to be a neutral zone where the states would have equal representation.
When the District of Columbia was first parceled out from land given up by Maryland and Virginia, it was intended to be a place where the new federal government would reside free of local political pressure. The framers of the Constitution didn't want any one state to have an unfair advantage over the others and be able to win favors from the federal government by virtue of the fact that the Capitol and the lawmakers worked and resided in it. To that end, they decreed that the government would operate from an enclave set apart from the states and not part of any state. And for well over two centuries, it's worked just fine.
But enter the Democrats of the 109th Congress. They care more for power than they do for the Constitution or the rule of law and they want the District of Columbia to have a Congressman with voting rights, not so much because they care about Democracy or a voice for the residents (the residents of DC can already vote for the President, ballot questions, and local election issues) but because they want another solid Democrat seat. And with D.C. being almost 80% black and impoverished, and with many of the wealthy white residents proudly self-identifying as liberal Democrats, they know that it will result in a Congressional voice for their party and their party alone. They also know that this will probably never change no matter what the Democrats do or how poorly they govern. The Dems know that they can alienate the entire country but they'll never run a risk of losing the DC seat. And we all know that if D.C. was populated by hard-working loyal Americans who tended to vote overwhelmingly Republican, the Dems would be screaming and jumping trying to bar those people from ever getting a seat. Remember Dem efforts to suppress the votes of our troops overseas in the 2000 elections? These people will stop at nothing.
And you'd better believe that they won't stop here either. If they do get a House seat, they'll then start complaining that D.C. isn't represented in the Senate and calling for two senate seats. That would be the real prize for them; one House seat out of 435 isn't that big, but two solid Dem seats out of 52 in the Senate will go a long ways towards ensuring that even if the Dems do lose the Senate, they'll likely never lose to the point where they won't be able to obstruct and block every Republican attempt to pass anything.
This attempt to give D.C. a House vote is nothing short of the first step in a back-door plan to create a new state--a state that will always be a Democrat-controlled state. It's a power grab by an opportunistic political party that knows that it literally has to cheat to win elections because it doesn't appeal to a enough voters and it never will so long as it advocates robbing the productive citizens in order to subsidize the non-productive. To that end, the Dems push hard to create new voter bases by granting the vote to felons and illegal aliens and other people who are traditionally at odds with the law-abiding working American and this country's traditional American value system. Creating a whole new state that mirrors Democratic Party values and opposes those of decent Americans would be the ultimate political dirty trick and it needs to be stopped and stopped right here by preventing them from ignoring the Constitution and the National Plan created by our Founding Fathers and giving a House seat to a group of people who are not from one of the 50 states. I have to believe that luminaries such as Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, James Madison and George Washington who actually created the District of Columbia as a representative-free zone were a little smarter and a lot more loyal to America as a whole than are Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Eleanor Holmes Norton. It follows that America should not suddenly disregard the work of the former just because it benefits the latter politically.
And if that logic doesn't convince you, can you say: "Congressman Marion Barry"?
D.C. residents absolutely deserve a vote in Congress.
ReplyDeleteFEDERAL TAXES: Like the rest of Americans, and unlike other territories like Guam, D.C. residents pay FEDERAL taxes. They actually pay the highest amount in taxes per capita in the nation. Can you imagine paying federal taxes, but having no vote on how your tax dollars are spent???
SOLDIERS IN WAR: Like the rest of Americans, and unlike other territories, D.C. residents have also fought and died in every American war stretching back to the War of 1812. Currently, they have no vote on whether or not their residents get sent to war. Think of screwed up that is alone.
DEMOCRACY: D.C. is the only capital of a democracy IN THE WORLD that is not allowed a vote in their national legislature. Even the people living in Baghdad can vote for a federal representative. In this case, Iraqis have more democracy than America.
CONSTITUTIONAL: The Constitution gives the Congress the power to do whatever it wants with the District. It’s called the “District Clause,” Article 1, Section 8: “To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District.” In 1800, Congress took away voting rights from D.C. using that power. That same power gives them the right to give it back. Conservative thinkers like Kenneth Starr (Clinton impeachment) and Viet Dihn (author of the Patriot Act) have come to the same conclusion. It is fair and will stand. A Constitutional amendment is unnecessary.
NO NET GAIN: Since Utah will also get an extra vote in Congress, there is no net gain for either party. This follows the tradition of introducing states like traditionally Democratic Hawaii and traditionally Republican Alaska at the same time.
FOREIGN POLICY: D.C.’s denial of voting representation has actually impacted America’s ability to carry out foreign policy. Rogue nations with poor human rights records argue that America cannot claim total innocence as they deny voting rights to the residents of their nation’s capital city. This has been an effective tool for countries with horrible records to continue their abuses.
I realize that it is a lot to swallow. But truly, it is time to give the residents of America’s capital the right to vote in Congress.