We thought that it would be close to impossible to dethrone Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) as the District’s King of Hearts, for having said the scummiest thing related to D.C.’s non-voting status in Congress that we had ever heard. But ladies and gentlemen, we were wrong. Meet the new King: Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
Young gave the following reaction to Anchorage Daily News reporter Lisa Demer upon hearing about his colleague Sen. Ted Stevens’ conviction on seven felony counts for lying about receiving $250,000 in gifts:
“You have to understand that this was not a jury of his peers. It was in Washington, D.C. , which most people in Washington, D.C., don’t look very favorably on the Congress because we run them. I don’t know why anybody didn’t bring that out. They’re not a self-governing city like they say they are. We actually make decisions for them. Makes us very, very suspicious.”
Allow DCist to thank you, Rep. Young, on behalf of all D.C. residents for taking the time to let us know that we’re petulant, ungrateful subjects. We’re so glad someone of your level of moral superiority is here to tell us just where we stand in the eyes of the U.S. Congress. It’s not like you’re also under federal investigation over your ties to Bill Allen and VECO Corp. or anything. You’re absolutely in a position to tell us who is capable of making an impartial verdict in the Stevens case, and we are not. Thanks for clearing that up.
Ahem.
Imagine the gall of this guy. Here he is, under federal investigation, part of what appears to be the most corrupt congressional delegation in history, and he’s throwing mud at the 600,000 disenfranchised residents of the District of Columbia. Oh, and surprise, surprise, guess who voted against the D.C. Voting Rights Act? Rep. Don Young.
And we’re sure Mayor Fenty and the D.C. Council would love to hear more about how they don’t actually make any decisions for their city. Not to say that we wouldn’t love to see the Home Rule charter finally fixed so that we have complete budget autonomy, but still.
If for some reason Young manages to defeat Democratic opponent Ethan Berkowitz in next week’s election, we’re sure you’ll all find his office’s contact information useful. Naturally, Young will want to help improve the reputation of Congress among District residents by performing a few thousand constituent services tasks for us before he’s brought to trial himself. And besides, Young said it: he rules us. Stuff like potholes and broken street lamps in the District obviously need the steady hand of the Alaska congressman.
Office of Rep. Don Young
2111 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5765
