DCist: D.C. Voting Rights to be Brought in 2009

Nikolas Schiller

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:43:07 -0500

The real question is why is the $500,000 not being given to the elected shadow delegation? They deserve the money far more than DC Token Vote. That money could hire paid staff that were elected for a specific purpose that DC residents voted for.

notyou

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:55:00 -0500

Seems to me as if the 500k spent for lobbying for this could be better spent on something like...oh, CRIME reduction. Then we wouldn't have such hair-brained schemes like Operation Seal the Gates!

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:24:06 -0500

Question: is HCE Rees?

HCE

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:55:53 -0500

"There are positives and negatives when living in the British Empire...deal with it." LOL. Back then, those people had balls. DC residents don't...they can't even stand up to criminals.

Reid

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:05:29 -0500

My big problem with the statehood movement is the name we'd be stuck with: New Columbia. That's lame. Can't we be a state without giving up the "D"? On a more serious note, while I'm not familiar with it, I suspect that the state constitution that was adopted back in the early 80s would need some updating. Task A would be to get rid of that stupid name. But that's just my opinion.

fartynonsense

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:49:27 -0500

As for all the complainers, would you like some cheese with your whine? Unless you were born in the colonies, you moved here knowing about the lack of parliamentary representation. There are positives and negatives when living in the British Empire...deal with it.

monkeyrotica

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:43:11 -0500

shaved AMPUTEE panda. gotta add a frisson of helplessness to DC's unique condition. and the state motto should be "i feel like bustin loose" except in latin.

HCE

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:35:17 -0500

Keep dreaming. Anything short of a constitutional amendment will be overturned by the Supreme Court. And if the Democrats want extra representatives this time, what will stop Republicans next time? Will we see a constitutional amendment to split Utah into North Utah and South Utah? Obviously, DC can't find enough ways to waste money so it needs another one. The only thing that stands a chance is DC becoming a part of Maryland. Even that is slim. As for all the complainers, would you like some cheese with your whine? Unless you were born in DC, you moved here knowing about the lack of congressional representation. There are positives and negatives when living in the nation's capital...deal with it.

voteprime

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:27:19 -0500

our state animal? the panda of course.Monkey, you might as well start the campaign now to make sure our state animal is a shaved panda.

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:23:49 -0500

I'd prefer no federal taxation. But McGilly (we're all friends here, right?) - I don't think the delineations would be all that much of a clusterfudge (keepin' it clean for the children. They are the future, you know). The boundaries are already there. What would need to be delineated would be the federal police forces' jurisdictions (i.e., no more Secret Service ticketing people for running red lights). The mayor could become the gov, the Council becomes the state legislature, the court of appeals remains the highest appellate court in the jurisdiction (although we'd probably need an intermediate appellate court). The jurisdiction of the Attorney General and the US Attorney would need to be ironed out. However, the biggest issue that I see (now that I'm wearing my constitutional scholar underoos) is that this is probably not all that constitutional. The only way we become a state is with a constitutional amendment since the seat of gov't HAS to be located in a federal district not more than 100 square miles. And even with voting rights in the House, I see major constitutional issues. Plus, the more practical concern that what the Congress giveth to us, the Congress can taketh away. In 2020, President Jenna Bush, Senate Majority Leader Toby Keith, and House Speaker Ann Coulter-Ethridge can push legislation to take away the voting rights of DC Representative for Life Marion Barry. And since it was Congress that gave us the ability to vote in the House - and not the Constitution - we'd be stuck.

jrraddy

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:07:56 -0500

The US Supreme Court will never allow it.

Mike Licht

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:03:05 -0500

A powerful, unutilized force for the DC vote -- the Gun Lobby.

McGillicuddy

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:40:17 -0500

if DC were to become a state, and that's one of the biggest "were's" ever, it would be a giant cluster fuck. don't get me wrong, i believe we should have representation, but to be a true state wouldn't we need a governor? we'd have to change our license plates. we'd have a magical boundary, polka dotted by government property. would we set up our own senate, supreme court, etc? our state animal? the panda of course. or the monkey. or the crack whore. state flower? the poppy. (if i'm missing something here, forgive my ignorance and enlighten me.) phew! who's ready for that? and when the smoke clears and the dust settles, we'll still be left with a corrupt police force, a terrible school system, a sky high murder rate, and Marion Barry. wow, i think i need a pint of Guiness.

HCE

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:23:38 -0500

Is there any chance that they'll do it right this time, with a proper constitutional amendment that gives us voting representation in congress, rather than wasting everyone's time again with a bunch of unconstitutional bullshit that will never stand up in court?

IMGoph

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:20:46 -0500

um, go us? hopefully... of course, in the long run, there are going to be over 100 other things that are of greater importance to the average american than voting rights in congress for us, so i refuse to get my hopes up until the last 'i' is dotted and 't' is crossed.