Should DC become a state and get 2 Senators and voting rights for residents?

[Wild Bill Kelsoe]

The people of DC pay more Federal Taxes than 30 states but are not allowed to vote on how their tax dollars are spent.

During the Revolution, this was called ”Taxation without Representation”

If you are not going to treat them as US Citizens with voting rights, exempt them from federal taxes like Puerto Rico

Then move out of DC. Problem solved. They new they wouldn't have representation when they moved there. Most work for the government and the rest are living on government handouts. So, tough shit.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

You are going to post the receipts for this claim, yes?

Don’t Fall for the D.C. Retrocession ‘Okey-Doke’

Retrocession is being used to derail what Washingtonians actually want: statehood.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[M14 Shooter]

Then move out of DC. Problem solved. They new they wouldn't have representation when they moved there. Most work for the government and the rest are living on government handouts. So, tough shit.

Indeed.
The people of DC are not represented in Congress because they choose to be not represented in Congress.

 

[rightwinger]

I say, replace Wyoming's Senators' with DC Senators. Wyoming shouldn't even be a State.

Just combine Wyoming with Nebraska

 

[rightwinger]

Indeed.
The people of DC are not represented in Congress because they choose to be not represented in Congress.

When was that?

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Indeed.
The people of DC are not represented in Congress because they choose to be not represented in Congress.

Liar.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Just combine Wyoming with Nebraska

Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota: 6 Senators for about 2 million people.

 

[Pellinore]

no MD 295 comes out of DC headed toward Baltimore or at least it did then, that is what I am saying, camera said DC but it came from State of Virginia, god you people are slow

it was a camera ticket, it came in the mail, get it yet? it was not trooper ticket. TN tickets come out of TX sometimes, who ever owns the equipment mails the ticket. Read this twice before responding as me thinks you may be slow

All right, this is my last chime in with this. I grew up and have spent most of my life in the Maryland suburbs of DC and I can definitely say that 295 has never stretched into Virginia. But now you're saying the ticket was from a routing center in Virginia or something, which is fine, but that doesn't mean that Virginia has any kind of control over DC, which was why we all dredged this up in the first place. I mean, you don't think Texas has control over Tennessee just because the tickets came from the camera shop there, right?

I honestly don't care where you were ten years ago when you got a ticket, but if you were on any Route 295 anywhere near the DC area, you were not in Virginia at the time, and it was not a ticket issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia has no control over DC.

That's all, peace out, watch your speed, and I wish you the best.

 

[Pellinore]

And futhermore ...

It's perfectly okay for anyone to have the opinion that residential DC should be retroceded to Maryland, but the federal government simply does not have the authority to do that without the approval of DC, Maryland, and the US Congress. HappyJoy posted a link showing the Marylanders don't want it two pages ago, and still there are calls for a link. Fair enough, I say. Here you are.

Here is the PPP poll from 1998 that shows, under Q22, that only 28% of Marylanders polled supported retrocession, while 44% opposed.

https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/PPP_Release_MD_42216.pdf

This local news article has some more about it:
"House bills H.R. 810 & H.R. 381 proposed the idea of D.C. retroceding back into Maryland for voting rights purposes back in 2001 and 2003 and failed. And in 2004, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Restoration Act proposed considering D.C. residents as Maryland residents strictly for congressional representation purposes. It never came out of committee."
During historic statehood vote, many brought up DC 'retroceding' into Maryland. Here's what that means (Sorry about the autoplay.)

This article from Washington History magazine in 2004 cites a report showing on page 78 that "[r]ecent opinion polls show that 21% of District adults support the idea; 68% oppose."
There is also a lengthy quote from then-Maryland Governor Parris Glendening about why exactly he opposes retrocession. I'll spare you the text block for that; you can click on the link to read it if you like. Same page.

http://www.dchistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/10-Debates-Over-Retrocession-by-Mark-David-Richards-16-1.pdf

And here is a research paper that compiles a lot of stats about other polls. The author appears to champion retrocession but acknowledges that there is simply no support for it. All of these assertions are footnoted.
p. 65. "[In 1991], Philip Schrag surveyed half the Maryland legislature and found that only 7 of 91 legislators polled supported absorbing the District."
p. 111. "When retrocession is raised as a potential strategy, it is often quickly dismissed by leaders in both D.C. and Maryland."
p. 111 again. "... the Maryland legislature would have to accept any transfer of land. This poses a formidable obstacle because the District is an urban area replete with urban problems unappealing to many legislators."

Wayback Machine

web.archive.org

As I said, any of you can want retrocession to happen, but it doesn't look as if it's going to any time in the foreseeable future.

 

[Pellinore]

Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota: 6 Senators for about 2 million people.

Or, 6 Senators for 3 independent States, each duly and lawfully admitted by Congress, and with exactly as many State Constitutions as California, Texas, and New York combined. That's how our bicameral representation works.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Or, 6 Senators for 3 independent States, each duly and lawfully admitted by Congress, and with exactly as many State Constitutions as California, Texas, and New York combined. That's how our bicameral representation works.

Yes I understand, thanks though.

But it has become a bit outdated.

 

[braalian]

I understand the argument that the 700k people in DC deserve representation in Congress. But there are other ways to do then making the district a state. Granting statehood to individual cities set a dangerous precedent. Where does it end? NYC would nearly be in the top 10 as a state.

If they want representation, they could be added to Maryland.

I get they want statehood. And people in Hell want ice water. Doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.

 

[ThisIsMe]

Apparently the right no longer believes in democracy.

That's not fair. If dc were guaranteed to produce 2 republican Senators, this discussion wouldn't even exist.

 

[Ordinary Guy]

All right, this is my last chime in with this. I grew up and have spent most of my life in the Maryland suburbs of DC and I can definitely say that 295 has never stretched into Virginia. But now you're saying the ticket was from a routing center in Virginia or something, which is fine, but that doesn't mean that Virginia has any kind of control over DC, which was why we all dredged this up in the first place. I mean, you don't think Texas has control over Tennessee just because the tickets came from the camera shop there, right?

I honestly don't care where you were ten years ago when you got a ticket, but if you were on any Route 295 anywhere near the DC area, you were not in Virginia at the time, and it was not a ticket issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia has no control over DC.

That's all, peace out, watch your speed, and I wish you the best.

Never once said I was in VA. Learn to read fucktard

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

It was the MD Hwy 295, no one said anything about an interstate, learn to read fucktard

You did! Read your posts next time!

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

no MD 295 comes out of DC headed toward Baltimore or at least it did then, that is what I am saying, camera said DC but it came from State of Virginia, god you people are slow

You NEVER said MD 295 and I even asked what a traffic camera was doing on an interstate. We may be slow, but at least we are not rocks and cannot move at all.

 

[HappyJoy]

That's not fair. If dc were guaranteed to produce 2 republican Senators, this discussion wouldn't even exist.

There are no guarantees in life.

The political make up of the senators shouldn't be what's important.

 

[M14 Shooter]

That's not fair. If dc were guaranteed to produce 2 republican Senators, this discussion wouldn't even exist.

And when they tell you otherwise, they're lying.

 

[HappyJoy]

And when they tell you otherwise, they're lying.

Can't win on the merits of a debate so what better to do than whine about the motive.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Washington should not be a state, full stop. If the residents of Washington desire voting rights, they should become residents of the surrounding states and be treated like Americans living abroad who can vote absentee. They would then pay taxes and have the rights of the state they are a resident of. Problem solved.

It would be interesting to see DC try to survive as a state. It has no industry or tax base. Since it’s inception, DC’s expenses have been directly funded by congress. If DC becomes a state, that funding will have to stop and DC will have to support itself, pay for its own schools, police, fire, medical care and government. In months the citizens of the new state will either be moving out, or begging to have statehood rescinded.