As I noted last week, there's a link between the District of Columbia and the Maryland congressional district being vacated early, and in an unseemly manner, by Rep. Al Wynn. They share not only a boundary and some Beltway exits, but soon MD4 may be without representation in Congress - just like DC.
Here's the WaPo editorial today:
The U.S. Senate should take note of the eloquent arguments Maryland officials are making about the right of Americans to be represented in their government. It's the Senate, after all, that is holding hostage a D.C. voting rights bill.
A clear majority in the Senate support the bill. We only need three Senators to overcome a filibuster: A couple of Dems, Baucus (MT) and Byrd (WV) and one Repub, maybe Hagel (NE) or Smith (OR). Live in those states? Give them a call.
US Rep. Al Wynn, defeated in a primary, announced this week that he is quitting his seat in June, six months before his term ends. He's taking a job as a partner in a Washington lobby firm. This comes as no surprise. I'll let the
WaPo comments stand by themselves:
Mr. Wynn has done his constituents a disservice and demonstrated contempt for the legislative body to which he was elected. ... If any of his constituents were wondering whether they made the right choice in voting to dump Mr. Wynn in the Democratic primary, his contempt for public service should set their minds at ease.
But there's something else in the Post editorial that's worth noting:
If [the Governor] does not call a special election, the district's residents will have no voice in the House of Representatives for more than half a year.
I agree that's an injustice. And, how about this injustice: DC residents have had no vote (and only recently a voice) for more than 200 years. Maryland can fix the 6-month injustice easily. The US Senate can undo the injustice to DC's residents - three more Senators can vote to end the filibuster blocking a bill giving DC a vote in the US House of Representatives.
The invitation to do some undue influencing.
Congressman Al Wynn (D-MD) is quickly becoming the poster boy for the need for campaign finance reform. As a member of the House Commerce Committee, Wynn has been one of the biggest opponents to Net Neutrality, and ensured that his committee would not protect the interests of the public over those of a few corporations.
Now thanks to Matt Stoller at Open Left, we can see how Wynn is being repaid for shilling for the telecommunication giants.
As long as money is the most important element of running for office, Members of Congress are going to get their cash from whoever has the deepest pockets. That leaves out the public interest in favor of very specific private interests (like making the telecom giants wealthier at our expense).
Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) will soon be reintroducing his Net Neutrality legislation in Congress. But until we enact full public financing for Congressional elections, we will always have an uphill battle to pass pro-democracy, pro-citizen legislation that the powerful and wealthy corporations oppose.
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