Why the District of Columbia Should Not Be a State
Posted by freedomforall 2 years, 12 months ago to Politics
Excerpt:
"As demonstrated by the 1783 incident in Philadelphia, D.C. statehood would put the federal government at the mercy of local state officials. “Douglas Commonwealth” officials could refuse to restrain rioters threatening federal institutions. They could threaten or intimidate federal officials to obtain political ends. One obvious tactic might be for Douglas police to harass members of Congress with traffic tickets until Congress passed a particular law or granted the Commonwealth more federal aid.
The terms of Maryland’s 1788 offer of cession also present objections to D.C. statehood. The Constitution authorizes Congress to assume jurisdiction over a portion of a state only if the state cedes it. As another part of the Enclave Clause makes clear, cession represents the consent of the state to loss of some of its territory.
But Maryland’s consent to cession, as well as Congress’s acceptance, was clearly based on the land being used as a national capital. The 1788 Maryland law provides that cession is to be of a “district in this State not exceeding ten miles square, which Congress may fix upon and accept for the seat of Government of the United States.” Maryland did not consent to the creation of another state out of its territory. Doing so would have required action under an entirely different part of the Constitution (Article IV, Section 3).
In other words, Maryland’s consent was effective for creating a federal “enclave” to be used as a national capital, but not effective for creating a new state. Turning all or part of D.C. into a state would require either a new agreement with Maryland, or a constitutional amendment.
Another objection arises from the results of the 23rd Amendment. Those results have vindicated fully the Founders’ concerns about allowing District residents to vote in federal elections. As the record shows, in presidential contests D.C. voters do not seriously weigh the merits or demerits of presidential candidates. The District is a dependency of the federal government, and its electorate invariably votes for the party that offers more government—the Democrats. D.C. residents have cast ballots in 15 presidential elections. They have voted the same way each time, and by huge margins: In 2020, Joe Biden took 92 percent of their vote.
These results—disturbing to any but the most rabid Democrat partisan—suggest that rather than admitting the District as a state, we should be discussing repeal of the 23rd Amendment.
Nor has the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act been a success. In 2012, the Washington Post published a column by a long-time D.C. journalist. Its title tells you all you need to know about government there: “How D.C. became a District of Corruption.” America does not need more corruption in its national councils."
"As demonstrated by the 1783 incident in Philadelphia, D.C. statehood would put the federal government at the mercy of local state officials. “Douglas Commonwealth” officials could refuse to restrain rioters threatening federal institutions. They could threaten or intimidate federal officials to obtain political ends. One obvious tactic might be for Douglas police to harass members of Congress with traffic tickets until Congress passed a particular law or granted the Commonwealth more federal aid.
The terms of Maryland’s 1788 offer of cession also present objections to D.C. statehood. The Constitution authorizes Congress to assume jurisdiction over a portion of a state only if the state cedes it. As another part of the Enclave Clause makes clear, cession represents the consent of the state to loss of some of its territory.
But Maryland’s consent to cession, as well as Congress’s acceptance, was clearly based on the land being used as a national capital. The 1788 Maryland law provides that cession is to be of a “district in this State not exceeding ten miles square, which Congress may fix upon and accept for the seat of Government of the United States.” Maryland did not consent to the creation of another state out of its territory. Doing so would have required action under an entirely different part of the Constitution (Article IV, Section 3).
In other words, Maryland’s consent was effective for creating a federal “enclave” to be used as a national capital, but not effective for creating a new state. Turning all or part of D.C. into a state would require either a new agreement with Maryland, or a constitutional amendment.
Another objection arises from the results of the 23rd Amendment. Those results have vindicated fully the Founders’ concerns about allowing District residents to vote in federal elections. As the record shows, in presidential contests D.C. voters do not seriously weigh the merits or demerits of presidential candidates. The District is a dependency of the federal government, and its electorate invariably votes for the party that offers more government—the Democrats. D.C. residents have cast ballots in 15 presidential elections. They have voted the same way each time, and by huge margins: In 2020, Joe Biden took 92 percent of their vote.
These results—disturbing to any but the most rabid Democrat partisan—suggest that rather than admitting the District as a state, we should be discussing repeal of the 23rd Amendment.
Nor has the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act been a success. In 2012, the Washington Post published a column by a long-time D.C. journalist. Its title tells you all you need to know about government there: “How D.C. became a District of Corruption.” America does not need more corruption in its national councils."
Maybe we should email the SCOTUS?...they seem a bit lame lately.