update 1 February 2021
The proposed State of “Washington-Douglass Commonwealth” (nee District of Columbia) is another bad idea whose time may have come. The idea that a territory that cannot police itself, support itself, nor defend itself should be considered a “free and independent state” defies reason, history, and the Constitution. How good an idea this might be for the Democrat party, and how bad an idea for the rest of humanity, have been belabored elsewhere.
Instead, I’ll point out that this is another case of right problem/wrong solution. “Taxation (with or) without Representation” is indeed tyranny, and it is embarrassing that not all American taxpayers are permitted a voice in the House charged with spending their money. It’s embarrassing now, and it was embarrassing when I was an earnest congressional candidate.
Amending the Constitution, part 29
29 June 2002
Well, I’m not one to leave well enough alone. People don’t run for office if they don’t think they have better ideas than the people who are already there, and on that score I am certainly no different.
There has been a great deal of talk for the last several years on the subject of Statehood for the District of Columbia. I think that that is a thoroughly awful idea. In addition to its microscopic geography, and complete lack of any practical resources, it is a hotbed of liberal Democratic sentiment. It would be bad enough to send two more Democrats to the US Senate, but the typical DC politician makes Senators like Tom Daschle and Paul Wellstone seem positively moderate. On the other hand, it remains a national embarrassment that half a million American citizens are denied a voice in the People’s House. The Twenty-third Amendment, which granted DC residents three Electors for President was a small step in the right direction, but Statehood would be a huge step in the wrong direction.
In the interests of full disclosure, I think now would be a good time to point out that I am in favor of Statehood for Puerto Rico. It is long overdue. Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Green, two new delegates from America’s last colony deserve their place in the United States Senate. (But Senator Marion Berry? Senator Jesse Jackson? Please. We might as well elect Senator Fidel Castro or Senator Robert Mugabe.)
On the other hand, the people of DC, and also those of Guam, Saipan, Samoa, , and all across the Pacific deserve their voice in the government. Toward that end, then, I propose that DC cash in its three Presidential Electors (as granted by the Twenty-third Amendment), in favor of a more equitable arrangement for all Americans outside of the Several States.
To wit:
Territorial Suffrage Amendment
Section I: The twenty-third article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section II: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by the People of the Several States, and of the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States, and of all Possessions, Provinces, Commonwealths, and Territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Section III: Representatives shall be apportioned among the Several States, and among all Districts, Possessions, Provinces, Commonwealths, and Territories according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of Persons in each State, District, Possession, Province, Commonwealth, or Territory. For purposes of apportionment, the Congress shall have the power to consolidate the populations of any Provinces, Commonwealths, or Territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, but not of the Several States, nor of the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States.
Section IV: All Districts, Possessions, Provinces, Commonwealths, and Territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States shall appoint, in such manner as Congress may direct, a number of Electors for President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Representatives to which they are entitled, and they shall be considered, for the purpose of the election of the President and the Vice President, to be Electors appointed by a State.
Do I think this will quell the campaign for DC Statehood? Not likely. Nevertheless, it is still the right thing to do. From the Marianas to the Virgin Islands, all Americans deserve to be heard. Taxation without representation is tyranny. For that matter, taxation with representation isn’t so terrific either, but at least this way people will have a little more say in their own destiny.
update 180128: There may be a few more years of life left to the Grand Confederacy. To comfort its passing, and to spare ourselves the danger of its death throes, I like to offer notions to mitigate the offenses of democracy. For one, let’s blow up the Congress! (No Madonna, I don’t mean with dynamite, I mean with Reps.). Presently one congressmember “represents” about three quarters of a million of us. Expanding their ranks to (at least) a thousand would bring them each closer to their constituents. In fact, let’s make that the minimum formula.
Give me a few weeks to tweak the language, but the gist:
The Congress shall consist of one thousand Representatives, and upon the admission of each new State, that number shall be increased by twenty Representatives, the sum to be apportioned among the several States, Districts, Possessions, Provinces, Commonwealths, and Territories according to their numbers as provided by law.
update 210201: I continue to believe that Puerto Rico deserves their places in the Senate (or their independence), even as I recognize the obvious advantage that it gives the Democrat party. To that I say, “I’ll see your two Puerto Rican Senators, and raise you eight Texans!”
Don’t confuse that “29th Amendment” up there with the more dystopic model presented in my recent novel, The H.E.R.O. Act. Get it now!
The HERO Act – The Greigh Area