In response to the following post...

http://q-thesophist.blogspot.com/2010/10/dc-voting-rights.html

"Friday, October 8, 2010 DC Voting Rights"

"I have a proposal to address the long-festering issue of DC voting rights.
First let me frame the issue:
As a libertarian, I believe that the citizens residing in Washington DC have the inalienable right to have a voice in choosing their elected representatives.
But, I also believe that Washington DC was created sui generis to be our national capitol, outside the jurisdiction of any state. Therefore DC statehood as a remedy completely misses the point. Two new Democrat Senators is also a non-starter to Republicans who would have to approve such a measure.

My proposal: let all members of the District of Columbia select a ‘state of residence’ in which they will vote for Senate and House candidates. Their votes will also count toward presidential electors in that state. This is akin to the way military service members can select a state of residence regardless of where they are actually assigned.

This does one main thing. It ensures that the citizens votes will actually count. The voting rights activists say they want only equal representation in Congress. Conservatives say, “move to a state." I say they can have what they want, without having to move.
It is ironically great for  conservatives. If you are a conservative resident of the District, your vote will never count (I think 98% of Washington DC voters voted for President Obama.) The democratic primary for mayor is (for all intents and purposes) the election for mayor. This is depressing for conservative residents. At least under my system, those conservative residents could cast their votes elsewhere, perhaps a battleground state where they will matter.

Ultimate control of the city should rest with Congress, as it is a federal enclave. Practically, they can delegate that responsibility on a day-to-day basis to the mayor and city council. But DC should never be seen as a state or near state. It is not. If the residents want their vote to matter, we can make that happen. If they want more, too bad.

It is terribly ironic that the overwhelmingly democratic residents of DC usually enthusiastically and unquestioningly support the Left’s agenda of centralized planning and strong federal control. Yet when it comes time to walk the walk, they complain about the federal government’s plenary power over them, and insist they want independence and self government...

... there is a teachable moment in there somewhere."

The Sanguine Pen says...

"This is akin to the way military service members can select a state of residence regardless of where they are actually assigned." It is also the way that all (other) expatriate Americans vote (absentee, in the state of their last residence). DC residents are not residents of the "united states", they are effectively expatriates. Additionally, I would add that Congress' plenary power over the District should be limited in the same manner as limits on permanently imposing the general consensus on the minority that may disagree, via constitutional amendment.... It takes a three quarters vote to ratify a Constitutional amendment. It should take a three quarters vote of both houses (representing a compelling national consensus) to impose Congressional oversight over the free people who reside in the District. If these two changes were made, I'd be happy, as a District resident. An equal voice in national affairs (having one congressional representative and two senators, as does every other American), and having an equal degree of local autonomy with residents of the states, would, in my view, suffice.

October 11, 2010 2:50 PM

"... Just Power derives from the Consent of the Governed."  Power not so derived is unjust, illegitimate, and tyrannical.  Those who are allowed to participate in developing a national consensus are bound, by their agreement to participate, to abide by the majority decision.  But DC residents are not even allowed to participate, which makes the rule of the fifty states over DC illegitimate, unjust, and tyrannical, a blot on the reputation of the nation, and a slow cancer on the national integrity.