Ballou HS Rocks the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Suspect in 9-Year-Old's Murder Found Dead in D.C. Jail
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Go Home Already: Make Room
Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Five Years On: On Wednesday we gathered to celebrate DCist's fifth anniversary, which caused me to reflect on how in those five years I've written countless posts and gotten into innumerable arguments with some in the commentariat -- all over D.C. voting rights. In the last five years -- which, in the grand scheme of 200 years of injustice is nothing -- the voting rights movement has had hope and seen defeat, but never really achieved any of its goals. This isn't to criticize the selfless and noble work of those who advocate on behalf of the District's enfranchisement more than it is to say that, well, we're still unrepresented in Congress. Yet the fight continues, and with each passing day comes a new reminder of the ways big and small that our particular injustice is rubbed in. Maybe it will take another five years before the plight of the District's residents is remedied. Maybe it'll take 50. Who knows. But as the city comes alive again after the August break, another cycle of hoping, organizing and advocating begins anew. Let's just hope that by the time DCist turns 10 or 15, I'm not still writing about how it sucks not to have voting rights.
Legislation Remains a Priority: When legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House failed to move forward over the summer, we assumed that the three-year-old measure was all but dead. After all, a key component of the legislation -- an extra seat for Utah -- becomes a non-issue in 2010, when the census and congressional re-apportionment will give Utah that seat anyhow. But DC Vote, which has long advocated for the legislation, isn't giving up hope yet. Instead, they're planning an October push, including a rally to re-energize voting rights supporters. Of course, skeptics will point out that with health care on the docket and the continuing likelihood that someone will add another amendment gutting the city's gun laws, the legislation doesn't face better chances than it did at the start of the year. I hate to say it, but I agree with them.
L'Enfant and Douglass Nowhere to be Found: It takes an act of Congress for pretty much anything to happen in the District. Literally. A statue of Pierre L'Enfant and one of Fredrick Douglass destined for the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall have instead been holed up in a D.C. government building in Judiciary Square because, well, D.C. isn't a state and has no right to place any statues in the Capitol. The story of the District's long struggle to even get two statues made isn't anything new, but today the Post's John Kelly revisits the issue by asking D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton why she hasn't been pushing for L'Enfant and Douglass to take their rightful place in Statuary Hall. Priorities, it seems. First voting rights, then statues. Could our second-class status get any more obvious?
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We've recently adopted commentati or commentgentsia to segregate the intellectuals from the mouth breathers. Or at least those who strive to be intellectuals.
There you go with the royal "We've" again, DPR.
Commentazzi
Commentanobile
Commentourgeoise
Was something adopted at that cake party I wasn't invited to? Commentati I can live with. Neocommentator I can live with. Commentgentsia I cannot live with. But, then again, but I was not there for cake and so my vote does not count for much.
There. I just Austermuhled myself.
I rule by executive fiat, what can I say?
I would apply for a trademark on "commentati", but my spelling yesterday was a little different...I like this better! Viva la commentati!!!!
what was wrong with commentariat? that's still my preferred notation, unless you can convince me otherwise with a strong argument...
Well, if you're going to break it down by political affiliation, DCist's unabashed lockstep adherence to Communist utopianism would merit the sobriquet "Commintern."
I really don't get DC Vote. First they run the ad campaign (which I liked) beginning during the summer recess. (?). Then they do their little trip to Mississippi to "go after" Childers, a conservative Democrat who is being targeted by the GOP. A waste of time. DCVote seems like they are scrambling for something to do. Instead of lobbying Congress, they should be focusing on lobbying DC stakeholders.
I've all but given up. We had our chance and blew it. And about the gun laws, if DC changed only the silliest, indefensible portions of the gun code, it could have sent a signal to Congress and maybe we could have peeled off a few more votes.
But no, DC will only change their laws, no matter how non-sense, under threat of court action. No one in DC looks at the bigger picture of voting rights.
We have no one to blame but ourselves.
That was the sound of me punching the button on the side of the chess clock. Martin, your move.
Honestly, I don't think I can do it. The bike thread wore me out.
Wow. A mutual truce? Works for me.
I'm just beat down by a cold my nephew gave me. I think the little bastard is against voting rights and wanted to take me out.
Actually, I've been meaning to make you an offer. How about if I email you 2 or 3 of the sillier provisions of DC's gun laws. You can take your time and defend them, or if you can't you agree to write a post calling for the Council to change them as a "good faith effort" to move things along on the vote. Deal?
No dice.
Like I've said before, I don't want to trade home rule for voting rights. It's simply not a trade anyone in this country should ever have to make.
Are the city's gun laws stupid? Sure. Do I wish they weren't? Of course. But that doesn't mean we can't have them on the books. And the proper way to change them isn't by having Congress threaten us or hold something over our heads.
And that ideologue attitude is case in point why DC will not get vote. Case in point. The Council passed a law of "approved" guns that did not include the type of revolver Heller had. The KNEW it would get knocked down in court. And, when faced with a lawsuit, the change the law. This was a month AFTER the VRA died.
As and "advocate" why didn't you do a post saying, "Look, this is just dumb and doesn't help our cause." That is not changing laws under pressure from Congress, it is just not doing anything stupid.
But no-you will never do a post like that. I just find it bizarre that you will call the Council on the carpet for other things, but give them a free pass on the gun issue.
I don't think being an ideologue on this point is a bad thing. We can't give up our right to make our own laws -- no matter how damn stupid they are -- just to get voting rights. No American would put up with this anywhere else, so why should District residents?
BTW, I have written on how stupidly the council approached the gun laws. In fact, I'm pretty sure I called the whole process obtuse and lacking in clarity or transparency. That being said, if our elected leaders want to be morons, we have to deal with that until the next election. We shouldn't have Congress telling us what to do simply because they disagree with us.
It is not Congress telling us what to do. It is just saying "Council, don't pass stupid, meaningless laws that will hurt our goal of getting the vote." The larger problem is that the Council refuses to look at the greater political implications. If they wanted stricter gun laws, then fine. However, they could have held off on the December laws for 6 mo. to see how the vote movement was going.
Political bodies do this all time. It is the same reason Dems held off on certain proposals until after the election. You choose the time and place for your actions. "this screw everything else, we'll do what we want when we want it" is just politically naive and bad legislative practice.
What is missing from your, or others "advocacy" is any hint of a political strategy to accomplish our goal of representation. It is easy to just complain. Where was your post suggesting that the council should have held off for 6 mo. on the gun laws? That is not capitulation.
That mural bugs the crap out of me. Did the artist(s) just use a poor choice of words, or does he/she believe that DC residents can't vote?
A confusing misstatement of the issue.
Wow, you are right. That is bad.
Someone's being very frisky with his avatars today. Love the new one.
This post is missing something. Anyone?, anyone?, Bueller?
Ah... Guns