Washington DC Statehood

Time For Washington DC To Be The 51st State

Ronald Leave a comment

Washington DC has more population than two states, Wyoming and Vermont, and not much lower than Alaska and North Dakota.

Washington DC has a higher educational and income level than the above named states.

Washington DC had a proposed statehood amendment passed through Congress in 1978 that failed to be ratified within the seven year limit, only gaining 16 states approval.

The 23rd Amendment, giving DC residents the right to vote for President, and giving DC three electoral votes, was ratified in 1961, and in 1964, for the first time, DC participated in the Presidential Election of 1964.

In a 2016 DC Statehood referendum, 85 percent of the residents in DC supported statehood.

DC would be first in Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (nearly two and a half times the next state), and first in Educational Attainment, with 60 percent having an advanced degree, and 34 percent having a bachelor’s degree.

Time For Washington DC To Become 51st State!

Ronald Leave a comment

It is long overdue for Washington, DC to become the 51st state, as was attempted by amendment from 1978 to 1985, but falling short by only having 16 states, 22 short of the number needed for ratification.

Now it can be done by vote of Congress, as has happened for every other state, and the only reason it did not occur in the 1978-1985 period was pure racism, because a majority of the federal district are African American citizens, which is a disgraceful excuse, and time to overcome!

If Washington, DC were to become the 51st state, it would likely have two Democratic Senators and one Democratic Congressman, which is why the Republican Party, which was founded on opposition to slavery, but has now become a racist, white supremacist party, opposes it, but also did decades ago for the same reason!

The District of Columbia would be 49th in population; First by Gross Domestic Product per Capita; First by Median Household Income; 34th by Total Domestic Product, and the first new state since Alaska and Hawaii were added to the Union as the 49th and 50th states in January and August 1959.

Both Alaska and Hawaii had much of their population being “minorities”, and it is time to overcome racial issues, and accept that residents in Washington, DC deserve statehood.

The residents are first in educational attainment with nearly 60 percent having a bachelor’s degree; and 34 percent having an advanced degree.

It has the greatest population density, nine times more than New Jersey, which is second, and 11,000 times more dense than Alaska, which has a density of one person per square mile!

And 46 percent of DC residents are white, and more whites have moved into DC in recent decades. And finally, DC residents pay more taxes than 19 states, so they deserve representation!

Time For Democrats To Play Hard Ball: Plan To Change Senate And Supreme Court If They Win White House And Congress

Ronald 7 Comments

With the Republicans and Donald Trump moving ahead to fill the seat of Ruth Bader Ginsburg with so little time until the election, when it should be left to the winner of the Presidency on November 3, it is time for the Democrats to play hard ball IF they win the White House and both houses of Congress, which at this point seems likely.

What can the Democrats do?

Move to create two new states that are territories now, but should be made states—Washington, DC and Puerto Rico! That would add four new Democratic seats to the Senate and about one seat for DC and four seats for Puerto Rico to the House of Representatives, most likely all or mostly Democratic members.

Get rid of the Senate filibuster that requires 60 votes on major legislation, and make it 51 votes, as the House is based on majority rule.

A third idea is to increase the Supreme Court to 13 members if the present Court becomes 6-3 conservative.

While these are seen by many as “radical” ideas, it may be the only way to promote the saving of health care; women’s rights; labor rights; gay rights; climate change legislation; criminal justice reform; aid to Americans as the Covid-19 Pandemic continues; and many other progressive reforms!

Time For DC Statehood: Long Overdue

Ronald 18 Comments

The Democratic controlled House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a Washington DC statehood bill, the first time it has come up for a vote since 1993.

Only a handful of Republicans supported it, and it is clear why that is so. A slight percentage of residents in DC are African American, (47 percent) but whites are 45 percent of the population, and it is likely that a majority in DC in the future will be white, or that the population mix will be the most balanced of any part of the nation.

Right now, it is assured that if Washington DC became a state, it would have two Democratic Senators and one Democratic Congressman or woman.

But that should not be the issue regarding representation, and it only adds to the view that Republicans are unwilling to care about anything affecting African Americans, as they look more than ever as if they are Confederate sympathizers a century and a half after the Civil War.

Donald Trump spends more time defending Confederate statues and monuments than he does working on dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic, which has killed more American in four months than in World War I, or in the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined.

DC has more population than Wyoming and Vermont, and not much behind Alaska and North Dakota, and it deserves to have proper representation for its citizens.

Hopefully, with a Democratic President and Democratic controlled Congress next year, we might see DC become a state!