The Voting Rights March
I just registered to participate in the Voting Rights March, which will take place on April 16, DC Emancipation Day.
Like many others living in DC (and hopefully around the country), I was shocked and dismayed at the Republican derailment last week of legislation to give DC residents full voting rights in the House. The bill has bipartisan support (one of the bill's co-sponsor is a Republican from Virginia, Thomas M. Davis III) but the White House and Republican leadership believe it to be unconstitutional. Truth is, I just don't think they care much and that they'd rather not hand the Democrats another victory.
I have no problem with people believing that the bill is unconstitutional- there's serious debate as to whether the bill, as it is currently written, can withstand a constitutional test. But, what about alternatives? If the White House truly believes that the only issue with the current bill is that it is unconstitutional, why not work with legislators- Democrat or Republican, I don't care- to write up something that can pass muster? Or, why not just leave it to the courts to decide?
Here, we have a President who travels all over the world talking about rights and democracy, invades a country and sacrifces the lives of thousands of American soldiers, promising to bring them those rights, and yet, he actively denies citizens of his own country the basic right to vote. And don't forget all the parts of the Constitution that he's stomped on and trashed the last six years. And now he pulls out that very same Constitution to deny 500,000 citizens of his own country the right to vote. It's inconceivable to me that such hypocrisy could exist so blatantly!
So, on April 16, I will participate in my first rally. (I've never been to a rally or a protest before, but that's for another day.) Because this isn't about politics or about left and right. It's about right and wrong. It's about a basic right that I lost once they shredded my NY license at the DMV making me a full-fledged DC resident. A right that was given to me and every other citizen of this country over 200 years ago (well, actually, the right was given to me personally in 1919 and to everyone else who's not white in 1870, but you know what I mean). A right that Iraqis now have, but I don't. And I live in supposedly the freest country in the world.
Join me. If you live in DC, you have no excuse not to march, unless you really don't care about not have a true representative in Congress (for that, you should be ashamed!). If you don't live in DC, use it as an excuse to come visit the nation's capital.
Like many others living in DC (and hopefully around the country), I was shocked and dismayed at the Republican derailment last week of legislation to give DC residents full voting rights in the House. The bill has bipartisan support (one of the bill's co-sponsor is a Republican from Virginia, Thomas M. Davis III) but the White House and Republican leadership believe it to be unconstitutional. Truth is, I just don't think they care much and that they'd rather not hand the Democrats another victory.
I have no problem with people believing that the bill is unconstitutional- there's serious debate as to whether the bill, as it is currently written, can withstand a constitutional test. But, what about alternatives? If the White House truly believes that the only issue with the current bill is that it is unconstitutional, why not work with legislators- Democrat or Republican, I don't care- to write up something that can pass muster? Or, why not just leave it to the courts to decide?
Here, we have a President who travels all over the world talking about rights and democracy, invades a country and sacrifces the lives of thousands of American soldiers, promising to bring them those rights, and yet, he actively denies citizens of his own country the basic right to vote. And don't forget all the parts of the Constitution that he's stomped on and trashed the last six years. And now he pulls out that very same Constitution to deny 500,000 citizens of his own country the right to vote. It's inconceivable to me that such hypocrisy could exist so blatantly!
So, on April 16, I will participate in my first rally. (I've never been to a rally or a protest before, but that's for another day.) Because this isn't about politics or about left and right. It's about right and wrong. It's about a basic right that I lost once they shredded my NY license at the DMV making me a full-fledged DC resident. A right that was given to me and every other citizen of this country over 200 years ago (well, actually, the right was given to me personally in 1919 and to everyone else who's not white in 1870, but you know what I mean). A right that Iraqis now have, but I don't. And I live in supposedly the freest country in the world.
Join me. If you live in DC, you have no excuse not to march, unless you really don't care about not have a true representative in Congress (for that, you should be ashamed!). If you don't live in DC, use it as an excuse to come visit the nation's capital.
Labels: DC, voting rights
posted by elanit | 6:56 PM
1 Comments:
I am conflicted.
I have serious questions about the constitutionality of this provision (such that I believe that it's likely not constitutional). However, I too would like to have my vote back. Perhaps a tea party is in order?
Seriously, though, I would like to see one of the two following steps:
1) Exempt residents of DC from Federal taxes. That would make us just like the other "non-States" (Puerto Rico, et al). I believe that Sen. Lieberman had proposed this a few years ago.
2) Carve out a small Federal enclave in which no one other than the President and Vice President reside, and retrocess the rest of the city back to Maryland. Washington, Md, would immediately be the second largest city in MD (Baltimore has 691K, DC has 590K), and would be a tremendous addition to the Maryland infrastructure. DC is relatively well run as a city - the functions we don't do well tend to be the state ones...
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