On the Particular and Peculiar and Unsatisfactory Constitutional Position of Washington DC

[danieldwilliam]

Washington DC has a particular and peculiar constitutional position in the US.

DC is a federal district, as provided for in the US Constitution, rather than a state. Consequently DC has no senators and can only send an observer status member to the House of Representatives. Were DC a state it would qualify for the two senators and, with a population of some 600,000 one Representative. They would all three be Democrats.

The citizens of DC are therefore under represented at a federal level. They do pay federal taxes though. Worse is to come. At a local (state) level DC has a legislative council but it’s status is only advisory. It can be, and often is over-ruled, by Congress.

Many citizens of DC are unhappy about this and have used what political powers they have to change their licence plates. Specifically, licence plates are issued by states and federal districts with one of one or more mottos on them.

The DC licence plates read “No taxation without representation.”

Comments

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

Ah, but do they have beer?

[momentsmusicaux.livejournal.com]

I remember bits of this being mentioned in The West Wing, including the slogan.

But why was it thought to be a good idea to do that in the first place? Was DC considered at first to be just an administrative settlement, inhabited only by politicians?