Posted on March 22, 2006
If democracy is really our greatest export, someone needs to set up trade agreements with our nation’s capitol.
According to an article released this week by the Associated Press, the White House threatened a presidential veto of legislation that would give the District of Columbia a vote in the House on Tuesday.
The administration claimed the wording of the bill is against constitutional language. As the House of Representatives is intended to represent the states, the bill — according to the White House — should be vetoed since the District does not fit that criteria.
It does not take long to read between the lines and see the fear in the eyes of the current Republican administration. The occupants of the district, an area last surveyed at 68.3 square miles, are overwhelmingly liberal. The 2004 presidential election saw a whopping 89 percent of the vote go to John Kerry.
If the District were to obtain a vote in the House, it would also create a new at-large seat for Utah. The House membership would therefore be boosted to 437 and would be predominantly Democratic, despite the fact that an additional Utah vote would most likely be Republican.
For a city of such great political implications to take such a drastic sway toward the left would be reason for any Republican to take note — at least the sensible ones.
But does it mean that the power of democracy and the rights of the individual, regardless of their party affiliation, should not be heard? We would argue no.
Luckily, our own representative, Republican Tom Davis of Virginia, is expressing opposition to the possibility of a presidential veto. Davis is hoping for Bush to override his advisers and allow the legislation to pass.
In a country founded on the principles of “No taxation without representation,” the fact that the main artery of its legislative branch, the District of Columbia, marches to a different drum should be rectified.
America is marching through the Middle East under a veil of democracy, but its government has not yet provided that same liberty to a 68.3-square-mile area after centuries of existence.
The sad reality is that the automobile of a D.C. resident that often bears the words “taxation without representation” directly on its license plate makes a greater statement in public than the occupant is able to in the House.
Whether you are Republican or Democrat, enfranchisement is something we can all support.
