When the Senate failed to end the filibuster on the DC Voting Rights Act, there was a lot of talk by opponents about the Constitution. But behind the rhetoric there is a lot of ignorance about the District - even with Senators who live and work in DC.
One myth is that DC is full of transients, who come here to work in politics for a few years and then leave. Marc Fisher, in the WaPo, has some stats disputing that myth. And one of his readers succintly put down this notion:
I think the problem is as follows:
1) There is a certain subpopulation in D.C. that is from another area and is here specifically to represent that area
2) They are very visible to the media
3) They all complain bitterly about the city
This creates a distorting effect.
And here's Fisher's list of cities and % of people who were born in the city and still live there: -- read more --
Cincinnati 75 percent
St. Louis 71
New York City 59
Chicago 58
Dallas 53
Charlotte 49
Boston 48
Los Angeles 42
WASHINGTON 41
San Diego 41
San Francisco 35
Seattle 36
Virginia Beach 36
Miami 29
Las Vegas 21
Bottom line: The District can't quite bill itself as a homegrown hometown Midwestern style, but it's no Sunbelt amalgam of outsiders either.
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