By Daniel Nardini
There is a growing movement in the District of Columbia for Washington, D.C. to become the 51st state. Actually there has been an effort to make the District of Columbia a state for a couple of decades. Why? The biggest reason is that even though residents in the district pay taxes, they are not represented in the U.S. Congress. Another reason is because every time any part of the District of Columbia government tries to do anything it must seek final approval from the federal government. This was one of the reasons why the January 6th Insurrection was able to go unchecked for hours because the mayor of the District of Columbia had to ask the President, or anyone in authority in the federal government for sending in the National Guard. If the mayor was a governor of a state, then that person would have had the authority to immediately send in the National Guard.
Another reason why so many residents want the District of Columbia to become a state is because a disproportionate number of residents are African Americans (46 percent). The fact that all these people are not represented in the U.S. Congress just a few miles away from their homes is in my view a serious injustice. So with all of these things taken into consideration, why didn’t the U.S. Congress make the District of Columbia a state a long time ago? I cannot answer about past reasons why this did not happen. However, in this case, it seems only the Republicans in the Congress are against this because the chances are the newly created Douglas Commonwealth (which the residents want to call the District of Columbia after the famous American abolitionist Frederick Douglas) would most likely be politically Democrat. For this reason more than any the Republicans are completely against making the District of Columbia a state.
But the District of Columbia, in my opinion, should become a state. Its people are not represented, and it does not matter whether they lean Democrat, whether they are Black or white or Asian, they are not represented at all. The Republicans are simply gas-lighting because they do not want another Democrat-leaning state by saying that the U.S. Constitution will not allow for this. It is all too clear the Republicans do not care about the residents of the District of Columbia; the Republicans only want to either retain power or win the next elections to seize more power. But then, the Republicans by and large seem to have put party over country.
Make Washington, D.C. a State
By Daniel Nardini
Another reason why so many residents want the District of Columbia to become a state is because a disproportionate number of residents are African Americans (46 percent). The fact that all these people are not represented in the U.S. Congress just a few miles away from their homes is in my view a serious injustice. So with all of these things taken into consideration, why didn’t the U.S. Congress make the District of Columbia a state a long time ago? I cannot answer about past reasons why this did not happen. However, in this case, it seems only the Republicans in the Congress are against this because the chances are the newly created Douglas Commonwealth (which the residents want to call the District of Columbia after the famous American abolitionist Frederick Douglas) would most likely be politically Democrat. For this reason more than any the Republicans are completely against making the District of Columbia a state.
But the District of Columbia, in my opinion, should become a state. Its people are not represented, and it does not matter whether they lean Democrat, whether they are Black or white or Asian, they are not represented at all. The Republicans are simply gas-lighting because they do not want another Democrat-leaning state by saying that the U.S. Constitution will not allow for this. It is all too clear the Republicans do not care about the residents of the District of Columbia; the Republicans only want to either retain power or win the next elections to seize more power. But then, the Republicans by and large seem to have put party over country.