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D.C. Voting Rights Killed in Senate |
If you live in the District of Columbia, you still have taxation without representation in Congress. Senate Republicans this afternoon blocked a bill that would have granted D.C. residents what the rest of the country takes for granted—a voting voice in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A 57–42 vote to end Senate debate in effect killed the D.C. voting rights bill that passed the House in April. Because of a Republican filibuster against the bill, 60 votes were needed to shut off debate and have a straight up-or-down vote.
The bill would have balanced what was a near-certain Democratic seat in the District of Columbia by adding a congressional seat for heavily Republican Utah.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) led the Senate fight against D.C. voting rights. If the bill had passed, the Bush White House promised it would keep district residents disenfranchised by vetoing the bill.
The Washington Post reports that the lame public argument McConnell and the Bush administration use against the bill is that it supposedly
violates the constitutional mandate that House representatives be chosen by the “People of the several States.” That, they contend, would exclude the district, which is not a state.
But all observers agree that the real reason is the fear that not only would the bill give Democrats another seat in the House, but that—heaven forbid—D.C. residents might eventually win U.S. Senate representation.
A poll done for the coalition D.C. Vote shows four of five Americans (82 percent) support congressional voting representation for district residents.
The national poll, which was conducted in 2005, also found a majority of respondents were unaware that D.C. residents were denied democracy. Seventy-eight percent of Americans thought D.C. residents have voting rights in Congress equal to those of their fellow Americans.
For more information on today’s vote, visit George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley’s blog. Turley has testified in favor of the D.C. voting rights bill.
2 Comments
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A couple of years ago the Repubs were complaining about the Demos filibustering. Now they feel it’s ok.
DC city council, find out where these bums live and tax them the hell out of Washington DC!
Raise the property tax on the White House.
PLEASE. Jonathan Turley is the number one OPPONENT of the DC House Voting Rights Act and has always opposed the No Taxation without Representation Act that would have given us a Rep and two Senators by statute. Turley insists a constitutional amendment is needed. Lots of liberal and conservative legal experts disagree, and believe we can get both by statute. PLEASE do not encourage people to read Turley - not if you are on our side.