District of Columbia Needs Full Democracy

To the Editor:

Your newspaper spread more misinformation about the District of Columbia in his article, "D.C. bid seen as little threat to state," (Eagle-Tribune, Tuesday, January 28, 2003).

Perhaps some fact-checking would have revealed that a remark made by Rep. Natalie Flanagan, R-Atkinson, was historically incorrect. Apparently, Rep. Flanagan thinks that the state of New Hampshire will retain its first-in-the-nation presidential primary status, and she is not worried about the District of Columbia jockeying to be first because "Washington, D.C., can’t vote in a federal election, so [she doesn’t] see how they can do it."

It is ever surprising that so many elected officials are ignorant about the political status of the District of Columbia. Should Rep. Flanagan have political aspirations of ever running for the U.S. Congress, she might want to brush up on her knowledge of the federal city: District residents have voted in presidential elections since 1964.

Presently, we elect one nonvoting delegate, one "shadow" representative, and two "shadow" senators to Congress. Yet none of our congressional leaders are full-fledged members of Congress. Therefore, D.C. residents are not represented in the federal legislative body of this country.

Almost 600,000 Americans live in Washington, D.C. – our nation’s capital -- and only have second-class citizenship status. Unlike inhabitants of the other U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), we are legally obligated to pay federal income taxes -- the second highest per capita than every state, except Connecticut.

Men and women from D.C. proudly serve in the armed forces and some are not lucky enough to return home. They fight to protect and defend the American ideal of democracy – and encourage it abroad -- and yet they themselves are not equal participants in our republican form of government. Democracy begins at home!

D.C.’s local government is constitutionally ruled by Congress -- including the four politicians the people of New Hampshire elect to send to Washington. Apparently, their state motto "Live Free or Die" only applies to Americans living within the borders of New Hampshire. Congress controls the District’s annual budget, as well as its judicial and legislative systems. This is freedom? Truly, there’s hypocrisy in our democracy!

Ignorance and misreporting about D.C., such as that appeared in the Eagle-Tribune, is case in point on why many D.C. residents are pushing to move up our presidential primary to be first-in-the-nation. Every American should learn this nation’s dirty little secret: the U.S. Congress is actively preventing residents of the District of Columbia from experiencing true democracy. FREE D.C. -- the last colony!

Karen A. Szulgit,
Secretary
Stand Up! for Democracy in D.C. Coalition
Washington, D.C.

      Print Friendly