This July 4th weekend, delegates to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting in Washington, DC
voted in support of
resolution calling on the US to give the residents of the nation's capital voting representation in Congress. Some
dedicated advocates demonstrated outside in support of the resolution.
Why does it take delegates from other nations to remind us of this outrage? The District of Columbia's half-million residents have lived under the thumb of Congress since it was established shortly after the founding of our nation. DC got home rule only 30 years ago and that "privilege" has been limited, with Congress frequently butting in with its own view of how the city should be run. And DC has never had a voting representative in the US Congress. With American now preaching about democracy around the world, it is outrageous that we continue to deny full democracy to the 1/2 million residents of the nation's capital. Here's what one delegate said:
"It surprises me in this nation's capital that talks so much about the right to vote and the need for democracy in other countries that they don't actually have that right to vote right here", said Carina Hagg, an assembly member from Sweden. "You have to realize that when you promote something, people will start to ask you to take a look at yourself."
It's not just Congress -- all Americans should be ashamed. At best, outside DC, people are sympathetic but do nothing. For most Americans, they either don't know about the lack of representation or they just don't care.
Over the years, efforts to make DC a state, to provide full representation in Congress or to "retrocede" DC to Maryland have been largely quixotic efforts, without a real political strategy.
Now there is a real opportunity, put together by Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), who has offered a
politically pragmatic approach: Give DC a seat in the House and at the same time give one to the next state in line for a seat after the last reapportionment (Utah); and temporarily boost the number of House seats to 437 to accomodate these new representatives. Davis' legislation and his strategy is based on practical politics - neither party gains or loses.
Davis tells the story of going to Hong Kong and lecturing the (post-China takeover) mayor on maintaining the city's democratic tradition. The mayor shot back, Why doesn't your own capital city enjoy full democracy?
We'll be talking about this legislation in the coming weeks as we work with
DC Vote and others to get sponsors for the legislation. We'll also be looking for people around the country who care that the citizens of DC - who pay taxes and die in wars - do not have a vote in Congress.
