Democratizing the Nation's Capital. Washington Post.2007

NY Times Editorial Democratizing the Nation’s Capital Published: June 21, 2007 Just in time for next month’s rockets’ red glare, a measure to give the residents of Washington D.C. their long-denied right to a full vote in the House of Representatives is making headway in the Senate. The legislation, already passed by the House, is gaining unexpected support from Senate Republicans finally struck by the injustice of the meeting place of democracy being denied its democratic right.

“It was very difficult to explain,” Senator George Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, admitted in recalling the utter bafflement of European friends that helped prompt his vote to give the district a full voice. Currently, the city’s 550,000 residents elect a shadow delegate who must sit mute when issues are put to an up-or-down vote by the people’s representatives. No wonder the city’s automobile plates properly proclaim, “Taxation Without Representation.”

Across history, the federal district has been unfairly stuck in political limbo as a nonstate, with critics arguing there’s no relief possible under the Constitution. Supporters insist otherwise. The proposed solution is a classic political compromise: the largely Democratic capital is given a vote and the House creates an additional, likely Republican, seat for the growing population of Utah.

Hoping to win over remaining dubious colleagues, Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, has offered two expedient amendments: one would speed judicial review for any constitutional challenge, and the other would rule out a future Senate seat for the district. As the measure gains bipartisan momentum, it will need a 60-vote majority to withstand the threatened veto of the White House. But President Bush, who has been preaching democracy overseas, would be wise to reconsider and embrace the same rights for his neighbors in the nation’s capital.