Americans Without A Vote

(CBS)  In the last month alone, Congress voted to increase the minimum wage, passed ethics and lobbying reform and approved a multibillion-dollar spending bill for the war in Iraq.

But, as CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric reports, one congressional district — the District of Columbia — could offer neither a yea or a nay on these, or any other House measures … because it has no voting rights in Congress.

"It is really almost on the verge of hypocritical for us to call ourselves the world's greatest democracy but not give the District residents an opportunity to have representation," D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said.

Instead, D.C. has a delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton. She may not have a vote, but she certainly has a voice.

"I will not yield, sir!" she said on the floor of the House of Representatives during a debate. "The District of Columbia has spent 206 years yielding!"

She's used that voice to get a bill passed in the House that would give the District its first full vote on the House floor.

"You would think that the one vote everybody was entitled to is a vote in the people's House," she said.

But in Washington, principle is peppered with politics. Norton's would be a Democratic seat. So a compromise in her bill offers an additional seat to the Republican-leaning state of Utah, the next state in line to enlarge its Congressional delegation based on its population. But that hasn't stopped some conservatives from calling the measure unconstitutional.

"Clearly, the constitution states that any individual who serves in the Unites States House of Representatives must represent a state," said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. "And the District of Columbia is not a state."

That's what has historians pondering. Did the Founding Fathers intend to deny a vote to the residents of their own capitol? Or did they assume they'd be counted among Maryland and Virginia? — that's how it was before the federal government assumed jurisdiction over the city in 1801.

"I just think they saw it as business as usual," said historian Chuck DiGiacomantonio of the First Federal Congress Project. "If you were on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, in the federal district, you were considered part of Maryland."

Arguably, the country's balance of power won't change. Norton's bill doesn't provide for a district seat in the Senate, and it's the Senate that must still approve the bill, which President Bush has threatened to veto. But that hasn't dampened D.C.'s hopes that it will one day have both taxation and representation.

[boogieman716]

KING GEORGE said he whould veto this bill that whould give americans liveing in DC the right to vote & reprsention . but KING GEORGE is pushing a bill that whould give those same rights to illegals . KING GEORGE would denie americans the rights and rather whould give them to people that knowing break our laws . SHAME ON YOU KING GEORGE .

[boogieman716]

anyone that thinks its unconstitional to not give these people the right to represtion & the right 2 vote had better read it again .the constitution give all anericans the right to vote & have represtion . we fought a war over it beacuse we were being denied it

[cdfoxtrot]

What about Resident Aliens (Greencard holders)? They get to pay the same taxes as "Americans", to the IRS, but have no rights and no means of making their views known at the polls. As a Resident Alien, you get treated like dirt by the immigration people and have no way of responding, since no elected official is going to bother with your case as you can't vote.

[cdfoxtrot]

What about Resident Aliens (Greencard holders)? They get to pay the same taxes as "Americans", to the IRS, but have no rights and no means of making their views known at the polls. As a Resident Alien, you get treated like dirt by the immigration people and have no way of responding, since no elected official is going to bother with your case as you can't vote.

[omega39-2009]

Who cares, I have representation and it's so busy kowtowing to business and the Mexican government that it would be better without it.

[tbweb]

Everyone living there should just move away (sucks as a place to live anyway). If mass exit occured, you would likely see change take place in how the district is legally structured.
godseyesore wrote:

If original intention was a governmental neutral area, no one should be allowed to live there except prez and congress members. It should be strictly a governmental area with workers (who live outside the limits) and visitors. That would solve the problem, and would have likely been set up that way originally if founders had been able to see into the future.

Posted by godseyesore at 12:06 PM : Jun 02, 2007

godseyesore,,,

Excellent observation and good point!

[godseyesore-2009]

Everyone living there should just move away (sucks as a place to live anyway). If mass exit occured, you would likely see change take place in how the district is legally structured.
If original intention was a governmental neutral area, no one should be allowed to live there except prez and congress members. It should be strictly a governmental area with workers (who live outside the limits) and visitors. That would solve the problem, and would have likely been set up that way originally if founders had been able to see into the future.

[tbweb]

Prelgovisk wrote:

Puerto Ricans have died in Iraq, but they can't vote for the person who makes the decisions.

It isn't right

Posted by Prelgovisk at 11:54 AM : Jun 02, 2007

Prelgovisk,,,

I don't know what the current deal is with Puerto Rico. I do know that everytime the U.S. talks about making Puerto Rico a U.S. State Puerto Ricans freak out because Puerto Ricans want to keep their identity and remain a nation. Puerto Rico seems to want to have it both ways, stay a nation and still receive U.S. benefits. I have Puerto Rican friends and I have nothing against Puerto Rico, but lets get real, either you become a U.S. State or stay a nation in which case the benefits stop and Puerto Rico goes it alone! Puerto Rico has one foot in and one foot out and that's not fair to the U.S. taxpayers!

[prelgovisk]

I moved to Puerto Rico and tried to vote by absentee ballot, but was not allowed too. If I was in China or Iraq, I could do it, they said, but because I am in a place where all are American citizens, they would not send me an absentee ballot.

Puerto Ricans have died in Iraq, but they can't vote for the person who makes the decisions.

It isn't right

[tbweb]

jdweymouth,,, Sevenveils,,,

Sometimes the U.S. finds itself in the uncomfortable situation where rules or laws conflict with each other. In this case the rule of interest to DC residents is taxation without representation. It seems to me that if DC residents didn't have to pay taxes they could live without representation, some could anyway. The U.S. can't have it both ways and letting them vote in Maryland or Virginia may be easy but addressing DC "only" issues get lost in the crowd. The U.S. may just have to bite the bullet and not tax DC residents if it wants to play fair! Delaware doesn't have a sales tax, maybe DC can at least do that!