Did You Know DC Has No Vote in Congress?
By Ed Davis
Posted on Wed Jun 04, 2008 at 02:56:37 PM EST
What do people who don't live in our nation's capital know about the city? Not much - a lot of myths and misinformation. Some don't even realize it is a city with nearly 600,000 residents; or that it wasn't until 1974 that it had a local elected government - 185 years after the Constitution. According to one survey, few Americans know that DC doesn't have voting representation in Congress - more than 80% - but when told about it, they support the vote overwhelmingly. Here's a quick anecdote from a DC resident visiting Georgia, illustrating the poll's analysis. Here's what one person said when told about the lack of a vote: "Well, that's just wrong. Shouldn't be like that." read more...
Not Yet "Getting It Straight in 2008"
By Ed Davis
Posted on Fri May 02, 2008 at 10:31:27 AM EST
Local Design = National Disaster
Nearly eight years ago, the country had an election meltdown, ending with misguided Supreme Court intervention in a presidential election. There's been some progress in fixing the "system", but Election Day still is a time for election officials to pray that there won't be a close election exposing the fatal flaws in their state's system. One reason we still cannot trust our voting system is the resistance to change by many state and local officials. For instance, their opposition recently helped derail an effort in Congress to fix the voting machine problem. There are heroes, of course, among them these Profiles in Courage (see 2008 awards). But, as the NY Times pointed out today, but not enough of them. The Times editorial notes some federal reform leglislation that is languishing in Congress: But they have faced strong partisan opposition, and lobbying from influential state and local election officials. Critics of reform make the specious argument that states have the right to set the rules for federal elections. The founders, when they wrote the Constitution, said otherwise. Read more...
National Watermelon Month
By Mike Surrusco
Posted on Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 09:35:01 AM EST
Hey, in case you thought our Congress was in the grips of partisan bickering while the country grapples with high fuel prices, Iraq, tanking economy, etc. - not to worry. The NYT tells us that the "House voted Tuesday to designate National Watermelon Month and National Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day."
Awesome.
Got Pork?
By Ian Storrar
Posted on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 11:14:55 AM EST
The New York Times has a story today on pork barrel spending which highlights the large sums appropriated for soft earmarks. Clearly we have a problem with pet projects getting the green light through committee reports, winks and nods. True, many projects may be worthy of funding. However, until we remove special interest campaign contributions from the equation and enact public financing it will be a way to reward donors not voters. Publicly funded elections, as set forth in the Durbin-Specter Fair Elections Now Act (S. 1285), are the best way to achieve sensible spending priorities in the Congress. Friday's Washington Post featured a letter to the editor from Sean Parnell, President of the Center for Competitive Politics. It misses the point, although I agree that "better scientific, enonomic, and policy arguments" should be the focus of debate.
MD & DC
By Ed Davis
Posted on Sun Mar 30, 2008 at 11:35:46 AM EST
Al Wynn walking away
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. Congressional Oversight?
By Ed Davis
Posted on Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 10:17:32 AM EST
Red Sox Druggie
At a panel discussion I attended last week, a congressional expert noted that a primary function of Congress, oversight of the executive branch, has been badly neglected for years. So, I'm disappointed that two of my heroes in Congress - Henry Waxman and Tom Davis - have chosen to pursue an investigation of Roger Clemens (not a hero). Here's what my favorite baseball blogger wrote from spring training: USA Today is dropped at the hotel door five days a week. The front page today detailed that two Congressional committees are investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports. The story next to it was about how many troops are being sent to Iraq without the proper equipment and that is leading to needless injuries and deaths. ... Sorry about your son's leg, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. But you'll be happy to know that your government is hot on the case of that menace to society Roger Clemens.
BREAKING: House to Vote Today on Contempt Charges for Bolton and Miers
By Mike Surrusco
Posted on Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 10:51:21 AM EST
Full House is voting today on whether to charge Bolton and Miers with contempt for refusing to testify in response to subpeona from Congress. I guess we will find out if Congress actually has the guts to stand up for itself. Odds anyone? I say 50-50. UPDATE: Common Cause letter to all LD's in the House: Common Cause strongly supports the passage of H. Res. 982 providing for the adoption of H. Res. 979 finding Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten in contempt of Congress and urges a yes vote. This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of the U.S. House exercising its constitutionally mandated duty to perform Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch. This is about preserving three co-equal branches of government upon which the Constitution is founded.
The public interest is not better served by the protection of executive confidentiality, in this case, as it is by the affirmation of the legislative branch’s constitutional powers of oversight and investigation.
Putting aside the wealth of credible evidence suggesting there were violations of federal law in the firings of several U.S. Attorneys, Congress should cite Bolton and Miers with contempt of Congress based solely on the need to protect the investigative powers it has been granted by the Constitution. Furthermore, allowing Bolton and Miers to ignore Congressional subpoenas based on a general claim of executive privilege would set a precedent that would significantly lower the bar for executive refusal to cooperate with Congressional investigations in the future.
Top Ten: DC Voting Rights Act
By Ed Davis
Posted on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 05:53:28 PM EST
Huffington Post recently named the top ten public policies of the year -- the DC Voting Rights Act was among them. Congress can pass the bill this year and add some much-needed lustre to the 110th's thin record of achievement. Here's the post: 6. D.C. in the House! Forget the tacky mottos on the typical state license plate, Washington D.C.'s slogan, "Taxation Without Representation", is a stinging indictment of the District's lack of even one federal representative empowered to vote in Congress. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C's indomitable delegate, can debate with the best of them, but without the D.C. Voting Rights Act, neither she nor anyone else D.C. residents elect to Congress can cast a binding vote. No matter that the District's population is greater than, say, Wyoming's (two senators and a representative, thank you very much) or that its residents pay taxes and serve on juries, or even that the U.S. is a signatory to international treaties guaranteeing full voting rights. The D.C. Voting Rights Act passed the House this year for the first time in decades. Supporters even had a plan to win over GOP Senators spooked by what would likely be a new Democratic seat: balancing it with another seat for the heavily Republican state of Utah. Alas, the deal still failed to overcome a partisan filibuster. We cast our ballot for the D.C. Voting Rights Act, an affirmation of America's deepest democratic values, as one of the best policies of 2007.
|
Common Blog
