D.C. Mayor Calls for Civil Disobedience in Voting Rights Fight

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams tonight called for "respectful" civil disobedience to call attention to the District's lack of full voting rights in Congress.

Mr. Williams made his remarks to a reporter for WTTG-TV at a gathering to mark the ruling Democratic party's faux presidential primary election held today.

The city's leaders fought the Democratic National Committee to hold the first-in-the-nation primary to highlight the lack of full congressional representation for D.C. residents.

The city backed off from holding an official primary, but went ahead with today's beauty contest.

The WTTG reporter mentioned that one form of civil disobedience under consideration is blocking the 14th Street Bridge, a major commuter route between northern Virginia and the District.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

NEVER FORGET

Say What..?

...Cries for Disobedience in Washington, D.C. abound...

...just as a World War II Memorial is erected there...

...in Honor of the Obedient..?


NEVER FORGET

[Marak]

Give DC back to Maryland and be done with it.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Well said, Ronnie.

Obedience is rewarded. We know that.

BTW, You know Clinton played many last minute 'pranks' on GW Bush, including conspiring with the UN to tick off the Taliban the day after the Electoral College voted for Pres. Bush, Dec. 18, 2000, by placing tougher sanctions on Afghanistan if the Taliban didn't hand over Bin Laden. Clinton/Kofi gave the Taliban a 30-day grace period, ending in time for Inaugeration Day, and for Clinton to escape out the White House back door.

One of Clinton's last dirty tricks was putting 'DC statehood' license plates on the Presidential limo, I hear. Electoral vote, to Dems, of course.

[optik_b]

"And many are. Many families (mostly black) are fleeing for their childrens lives, to the safer suburbs and their (marginally) better schools. I don't blame them."

LOL yeah like PG County? The most violent and dangerous suburb in America.

"And the city's population is not huge, nor is it growing."

There are as many people in DC as in states like Vermont, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Delaware.

[optik_b]

"Should little D.C. have two senators, just like California? Talk about proportional representation...NOT. "

It's known as the Great compromise and you'll have to take that one up with the founding fathers. There's many states that have disproportional representation and receive disproportionate amount of federal dollars as a result.

[optik_b]

"Washington D.C. has seen it's population decline in the last 20 years, The federal Government pays for their police department and the U.S. Park Police patrol all the Federal landmarks, Parks, and Memorials."

You're confusing the Park Police and Capitol Police with the DC police. The DC Police are paid by local tax revenue. I think you'll see the population and incomes rise as commutes become ever more hellish to the far out suburbs and more areas are gentrified.

[optik_b]

"The Second Amendment is alive and well in the District, There are more guns in D.C. than in Baghdad, But in Baghdad they're less visible :-)"

lol too true. You guys do realize that the whole city isn't one giant slum? I get the feeling some of these posters have never been in the city.

[optik_b]

"And that's not niggardly at all"

That's a word you don't see in common use a lot these days...

[optik_b]

"Yes. And some would say now that we should return to those ways. I'd have a difficult time arguing against that idea."

Who is saying we should remove democratic voting right from the nation's capital and why would you have a hard time understanding the right to vote?

[optik_b]

"The problem is that they most certainly would elect two very liberal Democrat Senators. The Democrats like the idea also for the reason they would most likely be two black Senators as the population is 60% or so black. The Democrats of course would like to then say "Hey, were not racist. Look, now we have two black U.S. Senators. See, we are the party of inclusion."

Well I think in the next 20 or so years you'll see more of the underclass move to places like PG County and DC will become more latino, asian and white.

[optik_b]

"I wonder what the ramifications are of DC becoming a state are? I mean, is Congress worried about the two new Senators? Or the representatives? There must be something political that they've fought this off for so long, but I don't know what it is."

Well poltiically for Republicans it is a lose-lose situation.

I think the best idea is MD taking back DC, but it would be impossible because it would mean a loss of power for the mayor and other elected officials and possibly a loss of all the do nothing jobs in the DC government.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams tonight called for "respectful" civil disobedience to call attention to the District's lack of full voting rights in Congress.

Among the typical criminal disobedience in Washington, D.C., how will anyone be able to tell?

[optik_b]

"DC gets something like 45 dollars for every one dollar they send in. "

Do explain how living in DC I get 45 dollars for every 1 federal tax dollar I send in. By that logic I should be getting back around $1,575,000 this year. Wow thats some deal we have here. LOL.

[MJY1288]

"You guys do realize that the whole city isn't one giant slum? I get the feeling some of these posters have never been in the city."

I've lived in the D.C. area all my life, and yes, a good portion of D.C. is beautiful and in those areas it's very expensive to live.

[metesky]

Years ago I had family that lived in the District and one of the advantages was that, although they didn't have a vote or representation, they didn't pay Federal taxes.

Now that they are taxed there should be a representative mechanism.

However, the idea of D.C. having a Rep and two Senators is ludicrous.

[metesky]

Did you guys know that Washington DC residents were not allowed to vote in presidential elections until the 1960s.

They didn't pay taxes either.

[metesky]

So did Boston, New York and a lot of other American cities.

[Gracey]

So what's your solution? Do you think that D.C. should have one US Congressman and TWO Senators????? geez, come on. DC was never meant to be a populated "district" It's NOT a state. Maybe the populated area should be split between MD and VA???

[Gracey]

One of Clinton's last dirty tricks was putting 'DC statehood' license plates on the Presidential limo, I hear. Electoral vote, to Dems, of course.

This and other pranks.... all signs of children running the White House. This Clintonista presidency has no indication of ADULTHOOD or Responsibility to it's citizens. Geez

[hellinahandcart]

Not you, silly. I said "DC" gets back much much more than it puts in.

But it comes back in the form of services and pork and stuff, not in REFUNDS. LOL!

Seriously, this all came up on a thread about DC statehood a couple years back. I will try to find it, because the numbers were there and they would shock you.