It may be time to whine again about Washington and the second-class citizenship for those who live here. There are a couple of stories in the paper lately about the D.C. government's failures, but they don't always explain how handicapped it is. Our last mayor was, I thought, competent, but he didn't get reelected. The current one--well, never mind.
The lasting problem is that Congress governs the country and the D. of C. and while the country has a role in Congress, in fact is Congress, Washington doesn't and isn't. No Congressmen, no Senators. The Constitution makes it clear: "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States...." Same for the Senate. The District isn't a state.
This is not the pattern elsewhere. Londoners vote in Britain and have Members in Parliament. Parisians vote in Paris and elect Deputies. Not here. A mayor yes, but no Congressmen because we are not a state.
Every now and again, there's a movement to change that--Statehood for DC, or some such thing. They all fail. Congress allows us to vote for president, but not Congress. We elect one non-voting member of the House--but if you can't vote, well, you can imagine how powerful you are.
So, back to my being a second-class citizen. I don't like it, but I certainly don't expect it to change.
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