Tag: Statehood

Closing Thought–24Mar21

I recently wrote about the possibility of DC becoming the 51st state…..and of course the GOP is trying hard to stop this from happening…..because they will mostly be Dem voters and we know the GOP does not want those people voting……for those that missed my post…..https://lobotero.com/2021/01/28/our-51st-state/

Most Americans did not realize that the people of DC have not participated in our democracy…..they have had to watch from the sidelines for over 200 years.

There is a real desire to see that District to gain statehood….

A new national survey out Monday morning shows that a majority of U.S. voters support granting statehood to Washington, D.C. and full congressional representation to the district’s more than 700,000 residents, a finding released just ahead of a historic House hearing on Democratic Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s proposal to do just that.

The poll (pdf) from Data for Progress and Democracy for All 2021 Action finds that 54% of voters—including 74% of Democrats, 51% of Independents, and 34% of Republicans—back the push to make D.C. the nation’s 51st state, the highest level of support recorded to date.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/22/democracy-dc-horizon-poll-shows-support-statehood-all-time-high

Not all Americans want statehood for DC……most are conservs that are afraid of the voter in in the District.

I have heard some interesting reasons why they should not be given statehood……some are sound reasoning and then there are the stupid that falls from the mouths of GOPers….but then once in awhile their reasoning is more moronic than usual.

A member of a conservative think tank argued on Monday that residents of the District of Columbia don’t deserve statehood because they already have yard signs and bumper stickers.

Zack Smith of the Heritage Foundation made the remarks while testifying before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

“Framers also wanted to avoid one state having undue influence over the federal government,” Smith said. “There’s no question that D.C. residents already impact the national debate.”

“For the members here today, how many of you saw D.C. statehood yard signs or bumper stickers or banners on your way to this hearing today?” he asked. “I certainly did. Where else in the nation could such simple actions reach so many members of Congress?”

https://www.rawstory.com/dc-statehood-yard-signs/

Seriously?

Yard signs?

Is this not the absolutely moronic thing you have ever heard?

But then I expect stupid from the mouths of today’s GOP…..and some conservs…..

Even with the stupid spread by the GOP there is still overwhelmingly support for statehood…..(yes I know I have said this before….but it needs to be repeated)

A new national survey out Monday morning shows that a majority of U.S. voters support granting statehood to Washington, D.C. and full congressional representation to the district’s more than 700,000 residents, a finding released just ahead of a historic House hearing on Democratic Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s proposal to do just that.

The poll (pdf) from Data for Progress and Democracy for All 2021 Action finds that 54% of voters—including 74% of Democrats, 51% of Independents, and 34% of Republicans—back the push to make D.C. the nation’s 51st state, the highest level of support recorded to date.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/22/democracy-dc-horizon-poll-shows-support-statehood-all-time-high

This issue is popular with the people and yet it is a sticking point because it is about politics and not what fair and right for a people that have NO representation in our government.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Our 51st State?

Closing thought–28Jan21

For years I have been writing about the fact that there is a place here in the continental United States that has no representation in DC.

That is the region we have called the District of Columbia.

Well finally there is a move to make the District the 51st state……

“There’s never been a time when statehood for the District was more likely,” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said Wednesday after reintroducing a bill for statehood for Washington, DC in the House. Holmes, a Democrat, is DC’s only representative in Congress and since the district isn’t a state, she doesn’t have voting rights. The bill, which passed a House vote last year, was also introduced by Senate Democrats led by Delaware Sen. Tom Carper, the Hill reports. It would give DC—which has 700,000 residents, more than Vermont or Wyoming—full representation in Congress and authority on local issues.

Norton said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has committed to bringing statehood up for another vote. President Biden has voiced support for statehood, but unless Democrats end the filibuster, the legislation has no chance of passing the Senate, NBC reports. The district is heavily Democratic—Biden took 92% of the vote in November—so the Senate’s 50 Democrats would be unlikely to get 10 Republicans to vote in favor of statehood. Advocates including Carper, however, say the issue of fair representation for DC should not be partisan. They also note that if DC was a state with the power to activate its National Guard, there might have been a faster response to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot

I say it is about time that the people of DC get the representation they deserve.

But let us not forget that there are other regions that the US claims that also has little representation…..like Puerto Rico.

Could this lead to the long awaited recognition and representation?

What about other regions?  Like US Virgin Islands or Guam for instance.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”