“DC has had no vote for two centuries.” I think that when DC was originally excluded from voting representation there was a very small population of non government people. Now, DC has as much population as several small states. Is it really fair to say that tax paying citizens of the US should be denied any voting representation, now and forever? Perhaps the thing to do would be to charge DC residents 1/2 income tax, as they have a vote for President and Vice President, but no voting Congresspeople or Senators.
None of that makes this proposed legislation any less Unconstitutional. In 1978, the Congress submitted a proposed Constitutional amendment to the States. The proposal would have granted DC full representation in the House and the Senate. It only got 16 ratifications. Maybe a proposal which only dealt with DC representation in the House would have better luck.
Very fair. No representation is fine with me. If DC wasn't overwhelmingly Black this would be a non issue. Democrats are trying to inject a racial angle. I had relatives in DC. I never heard them complain about lack of representation
Number One - nobody has to live in DC right now. The award-winning Metro is widely regarded as the best mass-transit system in the country.
Number Two - if this was anything other than a naked power grab, Congress would solve the “fairness” and “taxation without representation” problems by ceding all residential and commercial land in the District back to Maryland and Virginia, perhaps with some take-back provision within the 10-mile square for future expansion,leaving the District effectively a Federal campus with no more permanent residents than are found in the Fidelity Investments campus here in Merrimack, NH.
You’d have North Washington, Maryland, and South Washington, Virginia. Ta-da, all done, no raping of the Constitution necessary.
But that approach wouldn’t increase the power of Democrats in Congress, so it’ll be a cold day in hell before they do anything like that.
Now, DC has as much population as several small states.
DC has more population than Wyoming and the others rank above DC or as of 2006 figures.
What would be fair from a Federal elective standpoint is to allocate the 600,000 or so residents among say VA and MD so that they could be included in a vote for Presidential Electors and Congressional Representatives/Senators. Keep them local for City Gov. under the Feds.