DC statehood Megathread (pg 33 - Manchin questioning constitutionality)

[Alcibiades]

Tell me where in the U.S. Constitution does it give all American citizens the unconditional right to elect people to the U.S. Senate.

You’ll be looking for a long time.

- TheReckoning (D-AL), 1965

[MillennialModerate]

Constitutional amendment: 1 Senator and 2 House members. Equals 3 electoral votes

and this makes any sense as a solution how???

Because it carves out a unique solution that elevates it beyond a mere unrepresented district but below a state. Dems like it because it tilts things a little less in the GOP direction and gives DC residents a decent amount of representation- GOP likes it because it produces less of a Dem favorable result than what will ultimately happen. Because make no mistake the next time the Dems have a trifecta - this is happening. Just not now

[GeneralMacArthur]

TBH we should just merge all the red states into one mega state and then break Washington DC up into 24 separate states and introduce all of them separately, so we can keep 50 stars on the flag.  Like Foggy Bottom would be one state, Chinatown would be one state, Penn Quarter would be one state, the White House would be its own state and the president could personally select which aides he wanted to represent his interests in Congress, etc.

[7,052,770]

The difference was, getting rid of Jim Crow wasn’t a power grab, and also, Jim Crow wasn’t anywhere near as much established as the fact that the Capital should not be able to use its power to prioritize itself.

How would allowing the Americans living there to have 0.2% of House members and 1.96% of Senators suddenly be "prioritizing itself" ??

[TheReckoning]

Tell me where in the U.S. Constitution does it give all American citizens the unconditional right to elect people to the U.S. Senate.

You’ll be looking for a long time.

- TheReckoning (D-AL), 1965

Not at all the same thing, but okay.

[Alcibiades]

Tell me where in the U.S. Constitution does it give all American citizens the unconditional right to elect people to the U.S. Senate.

You’ll be looking for a long time.

- TheReckoning (D-AL), 1965

Not at all the same thing, but okay.

Obviously not exactly the same, but it still sounds ridiculous and relies on similar logic. Why should DC’s (disproportionately black) populace not have a voice in decisions made by the federal government which affect them simply because of where they happen to live?

[Del Tachi]

Why should DC’s (disproportionately black) populace not have a voice in decisions made by the federal government which affect them simply because of where they happen to live?

Because the whole reasoning behind having D.C. in the first place was so that Congress and the Federal government would not exist under the undue influence of any particular State's laws or police power; the fact that D.C. just so happened to become a majority-Black city in the 1950s was a later development and has nothing to do with this debate.

How would allowing the Americans living there to have 0.2% of House members and 1.96% of Senators suddenly be "prioritizing itself" ??

The issue is not representation.  It is police power.  Having Congress be the final arbiter of the District's laws is the only way to ensure a Federal government that can function independently; statehood for D.C. is simply incompatible with this concept. 

[Alcibiades]

Why should DC’s (disproportionately black) populace not have a voice in decisions made by the federal government which affect them simply because of where they happen to live?

Because the whole reasoning behind having D.C. in the first place was so that Congress and the Federal government would not exist under the undue influence of any particular State's laws or police power; the fact that D.C. just so happened to become a majority-Black city in the 1950s was a later development and has nothing to do with this debate.

I think that, at least in theory, this is an admirable concept and I would potentially be open to DC continuing to be partially under the jurisdiction of the federal government. What is unacceptable to me is that DC has no voice in the federal legislature which make laws which affect it.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

DC, PR Statehood and Crt Packing are done for now, the best chance for this to happen again is 2026 should Ds lose the H the next midterm is a golden chance to get the H back and we lose the wave states in 2020 and we can get them back then

But, Manchin as Cookie Damage or Solid whatever his name is may have cost D's the H in 2022, if that happens Manchin is Done in 2024


If I were the Ds I would vote for Murkowski Amendment and make Eleanor Norton voting rights only we don't need 2 D Senators right now, it's not unconstitutional the Constitution can be changed with Amendments

[It’s so Joever]

Can we please stop trying to justify DC statehood to traitors? We owe these Capitol Stormers nothing.
The blue avatars don’t care about the constitution or whatever, it’s all about hurting as many American citizens as possible, they enjoy the suffering. Arguing with them is a waste of time and energy.

[MT Treasurer]

Hey Indyrep, where are you? You can’t hold forever! How’s the Manchin being a partisan Dem going?

Late to the party, but nothing more amusing than when people turn a flagrant display of their own ignorance into some clumsy attempt at an "own." Manchin’s gonna vote exactly the way Schumer tells him to, so either (a) his supposed "concerns" are (as usual) meaningless performance art or (b) Schumer/D leadership aren’t fully behind this, at least not yet.

[7,052,770]

👀👀

https://twitter.com/SenatorCarper/status/1392835075352453121

[It’s so Joever]

👀👀

https://twitter.com/SenatorCarper/status/1392835075352453121

Not happening until Manchin agrees.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

The Ds should be patient, they will win in 2022 due to Bidens sky high Approvals, polls this early are meaningless in Red states, they are always the last to go D's, that's why it's called a blue wave.

R voter suppression laws aren't that bad, it mainly deals with provisional voting and eliminated drop boxes and you can drop your ballot at the Post office, why would you drop it in a drop box anyways, anyone can monkey with it. I never do that in Prez Election but I will do it for a local elections, Prez ELECTION is too important

[7,052,770]

👀👀

https://twitter.com/SenatorCarper/status/1392835075352453121

Not happening until Manchin agrees.

I think we're all aware of that. But the fact that this is still being discussed publicly, that Shaheen is adding her name to it just now, shows that it's not as dead as the doomers think.

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/charlie_savage/status/1392800796258017289

One of Manchin's chief concerns was the 23rd amendment makes DC statehood unconstitutional, and Biden is pushing for the statehood bill to be written in a way to address that. Biden is not going to let this go.

[S019]

Tbf everyone knew that the electoral votes of the district part was going to need to be handled eventually, the simplest thing to do is to just make the district the federal buildings and add 3 EVs to whoever won the Electoral College, if there's a 269-269 tie, then they could be left blank or go to the winner of the popular vote.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Tbf everyone knew that the electoral votes of the district part was going to need to be handled eventually, the simplest thing to do is to just make the district the federal buildings and add 3 EVs to whoever won the Electoral College, if there's a 269-269 tie, then they could be left blank or go to the winner of the popular vote.

that’s…. actually pretty brilliant

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Tbf everyone knew that the electoral votes of the district part was going to need to be handled eventually, the simplest thing to do is to just make the district the federal buildings and add 3 EVs to whoever won the Electoral College, if there's a 269-269 tie, then they could be left blank or go to the winner of the popular vote.

that’s…. actually pretty brilliant

Yeah, it is.

[Storr]

Tbf everyone knew that the electoral votes of the district part was going to need to be handled eventually, the simplest thing to do is to just make the district the federal buildings and add 3 EVs to whoever won the Electoral College, if there's a 269-269 tie, then they could be left blank or go to the winner of the popular vote.

I'd rather the three electoral votes of the now truncated federal buildings only District of Columbia to go to whoever wins the national popular vote, but I'd be fine if they went to the EC winner if it meant DC statehood would happen.

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1393006919334473730

[emailking]

the simplest thing to do is to just make the district the federal buildings and add 3 EVs to whoever won the Electoral College

What does that mean? The electoral college votes in December and all of the electors who are voting have to be selected before that.

[S019]

the simplest thing to do is to just make the district the federal buildings and add 3 EVs to whoever won the Electoral College

What does that mean? The electoral college votes in December and all of the electors who are voting have to be selected before that.

Yes, but usually we know the winner way before? If there are mass faithless electors then we have bigger issues than how DC's 3 district votes were allocated.

[emailking]

the simplest thing to do is to just make the district the federal buildings and add 3 EVs to whoever won the Electoral College

What does that mean? The electoral college votes in December and all of the electors who are voting have to be selected before that.

Yes, but usually we know the winner way before? If there are mass faithless electors then we have bigger issues than how DC's 3 district votes were allocated.

I'm pretty sure you need a constitutional amendment for what I think you're talking about (project how we expect the non-DC electors to vote and give them to whomever we expect to win a majority of the non-DC electors). There's no winner of the electoral college until Jan 6. Everything until that point is unofficial.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

the simplest thing to do is to just make the district the federal buildings and add 3 EVs to whoever won the Electoral College

What does that mean? The electoral college votes in December and all of the electors who are voting have to be selected before that.

Yes, but usually we know the winner way before? If there are mass faithless electors then we have bigger issues than how DC's 3 district votes were allocated.

I'm pretty sure you need a constitutional amendment for what I think you're talking about (project how we expect the non-DC electors to vote and give them to whomever we expect to win a majority of the non-DC electors). There's no winner of the electoral college until Jan 6. Everything until that point is unofficial.

DC’s electors are selected however congress may decide.

The obvious solution would be to have the rump electors be appointed by congress and directed to abstain.