When legislation granting the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives came before the House Judiciary Committee last Thursday, all but two Republicans voted against it. One, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Ut.), would see his state gain an additional seat, so his support was a given. The second, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), was the surprise.

Pence has always been a conservative’s conservative, a former leader of the Republican Study Committee (a conservative caucus within the Republican Party) who once described himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.” Given the Republican Party’s tendency to oppose District voting rights — save legislation co-sponsor Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), few Republicans have signed on to grant District residents a vote in the House — it came as something of a surprise that a firebrand conservative who had said little on the issue would suddenly come out in favor. So why did he? In an op-ed published on Saturday by Human Events, a conservative journal, Pence explained his vote:

The fact that more than half a million Americans living in the District of Columbia are denied a single voting representative in Congress is clearly a historic wrong and justice demands that it be addressed…The demands of history in favor of representation for the Americans living in Washington, D.C. is compelling. In establishing the republic, the single over-arching principle of the American founding was that laws should be based upon the consent of the governed. The first generation of Americans threw tea in Boston harbor because they were denied a voting representative in the national legislature in England. Given their fealty to representative democracy, it is inconceivable to me that our Founders would have been willing to accept the denial of representation to so great a throng of Americans in perpetuity.

But what of the claim that the legislation is unconstitutional, an opinion echoed by the White House late last week? Nonsense, noted Pence:

In this regard, I believe that the legislation moving through the Congress is constitutional…Opponents of D.C. Voting understandably cite the plain language of Article I that the House of Representatives be comprised of representatives elected by “the people of the several states.” If this were the only reference to the powers associated with the federal city, it would be most persuasive. But it is not. Article I, Section 8, Cl. 17 provides, “The Congress shall have power…to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever” over the District of Columbia.

In closing, Pence stated that his decision was based on the principles of humility, equality and justice:

The old book tells us what is required, “do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” I believe that justice demands we right this historic wrong…The American people should have representation in the people’s house. I believe that kindness demands that, like Republicans from Abraham Lincoln to Jack Kemp, we do the right thing for all Americans regardless of race or political creed. And I believe humility demands that we do so in a manner consistent with our constitution, laws and traditions.

We may not agree with you on much else, Rep. Pence, but we appreciate the support on this one.