Washington's Truly Offensive Name

[Bennet Kelley]

DID YOU KNOW THAT the state of Florida has outlawed dwarf tossing in bars; Missouri prohibits driving with uncage bears or North Dakota prohibits the sale of beer with pretzels? These may sound ridiculous but, unless you live there, there is nothing you can do about it.

Not so for the District of Columbia. If you don't like a law passed by the D.C. Council, just tell your Congressman and they can block it. This happened last month when Maryland Republican Andy Taylor attached an amendment to a budget bill that would prohibit D.C. from spending local money on a D.C. law to decriminalize possession of marijuana.

This is nothing new since Congress in the past has intervened to block measures approved by the D.C. City Council ranging from health insurance benefits for domestic partners, contraceptive equality and medical marijuana use. Washington residents can only watch from the sidelines as their fate is bounced around like a political beach ball, since their only voice in Congress is its non-voting Delegate.

Keep in mind that we are talking about Congress enacting laws restricting how the city spends both local and federal funds. In 2013, 83 percent of D.C. voters approved an initiative to give the mayor the authority to spend local funds (which accounts for 74 percent of its budget) without Congressional approval, but this was quickly overturned by the courts. Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan explained

as a native Washingtonian, the Court is deeply moved by Plaintiff’s argument that the people of the District are entitled to the right to spend their own, local funds. Nevertheless, the Court is powerless to provide a legal remedy and cannot implement budget autonomy for the District. .?.?. Congress has plenary authority over the District, and it is the only entity that can provide budget autonomy.

As we celebrate Independence Day, let us remember that for the District of Columbia's 632,323 residents -- who pay more federal taxes per capita than the citizens of any other state and who have lost more of its sons and daughters defending this nation than twenty other states -- taxation without representation is alive and well.

The Supreme Court has said that

no right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined.

In fact, the Organization of American States and the United Nations Human Rights Commission have both found the fact that D.C. residents are deprived "of the very essence of representative government" to be a human rights violation.

Yet when it comes to the District of Columbia's disenfranchisement, few outside of Washington notice and even fewer care. That is simply how it has been for over two centuries now. As former Washington resident, I refuse to let this go unnoticed, which is why in 2012, 2013 and today I have made posts highlighting the nation's forgotten colonists.

Forget the name of its football team, the fact that its citizens have no voice in the halls of Congress should be offensive to us all. Maybe if Dan Snyder changed the Redskins name to Colonist people would finally take notice of Washington's status as the last American colony.

[yeoman6987]

1. citizens have no voice in the halls of Congress

Eleonor Norton Holmes would be sadden to hear of this.

[Kingofalldems]

6. Are you saying she has a voice?

[yeoman6987]

7. Of course she has a voice

She is in Congress. She can get up and speak like the others do. Why are you insulting her?

[Kingofalldems]

8. Mocking eh?

I see where you are coming from. Very clearly.

[yeoman6987]

9. Thank Goodness

I was worried about you for a moment. Although I have no problem explaining politics to you, but I know you would not be on this site if you didn't understand it.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

2. I don't know why DC residents don't raise holy hell about this crap. I guess the RWers

in Congress can't have all those urban types voting.

[Igel]

3. Long ago it was decided that our capital would be in no state.

Then the Congress and chief administrators would not be subject to any state's provisions.

States, however, have representatives in the federal legislature.

Seemed like a nice idea when the government was small, the capital was small, and most people in the capital were directly dependent on the federal government for work.

Now it's caught up in all kinds of wrangling. To add it as a state seems wrong. To give it representation would add (D) members to Congress. And there's always the conflict of interest with a state having control over federal buildings and representatives.

Nobody much likes my solution. DC was originally square. If you look at a map, you see that it's very much not square. It has 3 straight lines and two right-angle corners, but that's entirely on the MD side of the Potomac. Virginia donated the other part of the square but it was given back.

Easy solution: Give most of DC back to MD. Keep a small area that's primarily the Mall and the nucleus of federal buildings right downtown, with a strip of residential territory. Even build accommodations there for the Congressfolk as part of their compensation. MD's already (D) so there's no problem with that. It's population would increase and it would gain more representation in the House. The residents would have a say in the Senate. Except that this would mean that there wouldn't be two more (D) Senators, and that is cause enough for people to not like the idea and to help keep DCers sans representation.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

4. I agree that only the governmental, non residential areas should be part of DC. And the

Rs will just gerrymander the hell out of VA or MD to negate any additional Ds in Congress.

[Bennet Kelley]

5. Thanks for the Comments

Thanks for the comments. Igel you repeat an oft stated myth that DC was just a fork in the road created into a city by Congress. In reality, at the time Congress took over the District of Columbia (which consisted of Washington, Georgetown and Alexandria), the combined population rendered it the 6th largest US city.

Instead of focusing on the how, start with the main question. Should the residents of DC have voting representation in both bodies of Congress? Its hard to say no. How best to achieve this is the tricky part and the outcome should not depend on how DC residents would exercise that right. Ironically, Alaska and Hawaii were paired together for statehood because one was expected to vote Democratic and the other Republican. This has proven to be true, but in the opposite way than expected.

Retrocession to Maryland is not an easy solution since Maryland does not want DC.

Yoeman - the column does mention that DC has a non-voting representative in Congress (whom I interviewed on the anniversary of DC's disenfranchisement)..