A candidate for the DC delegate seat in Congress called for a creative protest to get full representation for the residents of the Nation's Capitol. Try some old fashioned civil disobedience.
Meet Doug Sloan, who is challenging 20 year incumbent Elanor Holmes Norton for the Democratic nomination for the at-large delegate seat from the District of Columbia. Sloan pointed out to me yesterday that Norton has been in Congress as a non-voting delegate for two decades with no movement toward statehood or any other solution to ensure that DC residents, who outnumber the population of Wyoming, get equal representation in Congress.
Sloan ruffled some feathers last week when he was interviewed on The Politics Program With Mark Plotkin. Plotkin asked Sloan what he would do differently to get full representation for District residents. Sloan pointed out that there is a bill in Congress to offer statehood to Puerto Rico (if the citizens there vote in favor in favor, of course). If Puerto Rico were to enter the union, but DC be denied, Sloan suggested radical action that echos the civil rights era.
From WTOP:
"If you really want to talk civil unrest, if you want to talk about shutting the city down and doing something that's really going to get Congress' attention, there's about six or seven bridges between D.C. and Virginia," Sloan said on The Politics Program With Mark Plotkin on WTOP Friday.
"You take about 40 or 50 concrete Jersey barriers and you shut those bridges down for a day. You get those people's attention on Capitol Hill."
Two words: Hell Yeah!
Sloan clarified to me yesterday that it might be better to use firetrucks for the blockade so that they could respond to any accidents more quickly.
A protest like this would get the attention of Congress pretty quickly. A large number of federal workers live in Northern Virginia. It is already a pain in the arse for commuters to cross the handful of bridges over the Potomac River from Virginia to DC. Just imagine if those federal employees could not get to work even for one day. Congress would notice really quickly and would likely be a national story, unlike 98 percent of the protests we have here. Sure, people could take the Metro if they knew the protest was coming. That would, of course, overtax the Metro system that is already near capacity during rush hour.
It didn't take long for the political blow back to emerge. From the same WTOP story:
Norton fired back Friday and said Sloan's comments will help her win in the September primary.
"It can only help my reelection to have an opponent whose legislative strategy for getting D.C. voting rights is closing down bridges."
Norton doesn't get it. The people of DC want representation in Congress. We got so close in April when a bill to grant voting rights to the DC delegate. To Norton's credit, she asked House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to pull the bill after Travis Childers (D-Miss) and Mark Souder (R-Ind.) -- yes, THAT Mark Souder -- inserted language that would forbid the city from passing laws restricting open and concealed carry of firearms. Now the proposal is dead yet again.
Enough is enough!
We don't need more compromises that trade local control for partial representation. We need action. The Puerto Rico statehood bill passed the House 223-169 last month. I urge progressives from across the country to call your Senators and make this bill a priority. This would strengthen our argument for statehood. In return, DC promises to consistently elect Democrats to the House and Senate. (We voted for Barack Obama by a margin of 93-7.)
If you are not totally convinced, Glenn Beck hates the idea of PR statehood -- but trust him, it has nothing to do with race. Here is a great argument in favor of PR statehood and tying it to DC statehood.
The American flag would look great with a couple more stars.
In anticipation of the Constitutional argument, Matthew Yglesias last month posted a map showing suggested boundaries of a federal district that would satisfy the constitutional requirements while making sure that very few people would actually live in that district.
On a personal note, I have argued for representation. After hearing all of this, I am now on board with the statehood movement.
Please support Doug Sloan in his primary challenge to Del. Norton. You can read Sloan's platform here. Some highlights:
Supports restricting U.S. companies from outsourcing jobs to foreign countries with the nation’s high unemployment rates
Supports tying the current minimum wage to the rate of inflation to ensure that the salary of the working class increases with the cost of living
Supports nationwide use of solar, wind and hydropower energy; opposes deep water offshore drilling
Supports the expansion of childcare programs to allow parents with childcare challenges to become more involved with their children’s education.
Supports allocating more federal and local government resources to fighting DC's HIV/AIDS epidemic (will make fighting HIV/AIDS a key policy objective while in congress)
Pro-Choice advocate (supports a woman’s right to choose)
Strong advocate of Healthcare Reform including the Public Option
On the Web: Doug Sloan for Congress
Doug Sloan's ActBlue Page
Follow Doug on Twitter: @dougsloan
Become a Fan on Facebook: Doug Sloan for Congress
Full disclosure: I have done some informal and unpaid consulting on Sloan's web presence.
Crossposted on Progressive Electorate
