Make DC a state. Two more Senators.

[sharedvalues]

That is all.
If DC was a state already, no Kavanaugh.

Make DC a state. Practice saying this once a day to someone you know.

[JI7]

1. and Puerto rico

[MrScorpio]

2. And Guam.

[Initech]

38. And Puerto Rico.

[sharedvalues]

3. DC desperately wants to be a state by a HUGE majority.

DC already desperately wants to be a state.

So we should do it.

I support a referendum in which PR can choose statehood status, too.

[pangaia]

7. If I am not mistaken, PR has voted no at least once.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

[SCantiGOP]

12. You are correct

They would lose about half of their federal funds if they were a state.

[pangaia]

13. Oh. THAT is interesting.. Didn;t know.

[Scruffy1]

17. The Perto Rican legislature has asked for statehood since 2012.

I believe in 2012 54% voted against maintaining the status quo with about 2/3 od those wanting statehood and another 1/3 free association. DC or PRwill never happen with an R controlled Senate.

[Ponietz]

4. And US Virgin Islands

[elleng]

5. That is, of course, DC will NEVER be a state,

repugs will not allow it.

[sharedvalues]

6. Say it! "Make DC a state"

Join us. Be positive. Be a good Democrat.
Say it right now, please- “We will make DC a state”.

Positivity is the path to progress.

(And PS: it can happen in 2020. We only need a majority of House and Senate and the President to sign. Make DC a state, 2020.)

[SCantiGOP]

15. I will win the lottery

And DC will be a state.

That should do it.

[sharedvalues]

18. "The best resistance is positive persistence"! :)

Make DC a state
Make DC a state
Make DC a state
Make DC a state
Make DC a state
Make DC a state
Make DC a state

[WeekiWater]

52. You understand messaging and time.

This is something that would take time but the messaging must be regular and consistent. It also needs to be a message promoted from outside of DC. Worthless without consistent messaging leaving people forced to think “why not?”.

[sharedvalues]

69. +1

Love ya back

[jberryhill]

34. Your PS is simply wrong

It would require an amendment to the Constitution for it to happen.

———
The Congress shall have the power...

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States...
——

Where did you get the notion that Congress and the president could somehow make DC a state?

[sharedvalues]

40. Easy. Shrink DC to just the federal office building land.

Then make the rest of the current District he new state of New Columbia.

Come on, this was one of the top 3 Google results.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2014/11/12/7173895/dc-statehood-new-columbia

Based on the current ballot initiative, statehood for Washington, DC, means carving most of the current city out of what's considered the federal District of Columbia and turning the remaining area into a new state.

The measure would create a new state, called Washington, Douglass Commonwealth (which shortens to Washington, DC), would leave the US Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, National Mall, and nearby national parks and monuments as the federal District of Columbia. The rest of the current district would be fashioned as the new state.

All that’s required are majority votes of Congress and the president to sign.

[jberryhill]

44. That would revert back to Maryland

...like the chunk that was retroceded to VA.

[sharedvalues]

47. No, split into two; most of DC becomes New Columbia.

DC council and the DC mayor has a team of top lawyers on this. The plan is set. Read the Vox article I linked.

[ProudLib72]

24. I remember reading somewhere that DC was something like 96% Dem

You're right, they would never allow it.

[elleng]

30. Exactly

[sharedvalues]

41. That's why we do it. "Best resistance is positive persistence "

[manor321]

8. Absolutely. And Puerto Rico.

[guillaumeb]

9. Combine the 2 Dakotas.

Keep the number 50.

[sharedvalues]

10. Would love that. Merge Wyoming and Montana too.

I think that may require a constitutional amendment however.

We can, right in 2020, take a majority in the Senate and the presidency and Make DC A State. Soon. Easy. Let’s do it.

[guillaumeb]

11. Agreed.

[SCantiGOP]

16. Constitution forbids combining two existing states

[sharedvalues]

19. Clarification. Constitution allows combining two existing states.

Article IV says:

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

So a majority of the legislatures of the two states must vote yes, and a majority of Congress must vote yes.
Makes it somewhat unlikely. But possible!

In the meantime: Make DC a state. Give PR the chance for statehood.
And maybe think about making another Dem city a state. What about splitting PA into two states? The Pittsburghians and the Philadelphians don't like each other much anyway.

[SWBTATTReg]

27. Was wondering what it took to create a new state...thanks for posting info. on. I'd think w/ all...

of the partisan bickering that that the only way this would happen is that they both get something (the repugs) and the democratic party out of this.

[jberryhill]

36. And what do you do with the part of the Constitution about DC?

[sharedvalues]

42. See post above. DC mayor/council already has it figured out.

[Chipper Chat]

14. Split Indiana into quarters.

1/4 each to Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio.

[erronis]

20. I hope you're not suggesting "drawn and quartered". I sorta like Indiana

Altho I lived in Kentucky.

[Chipper Chat]

23. Hey. Kentucky would get some great towns.

Evansville. New Albany. Madison. Jasper . Maybe even indianapolis.

[standingtall]

54. New Albany is a moderate republican town in which repukes would

be able to gerrymander into the Louisville 3rd district putting the only congressional seat in the state held by a democrat in jeopardy. Would not be worth the trade unless Kentucky got Indianapolis for sure.

[Chipper Chat]

58. I can hear it now--

"Oh the sun shines bright ...on my former Hoosier home..."

[Tribalceltic]

21. Split Michigan also

NY and CA could be split up a little also

[wasupaloopa]

28. No keep your hands off my State. CA is doing quite

good as it is. The midterms proved that.

Breaking up CA is a right wing idea to get around our mostly Democratic government.

[marylandblue]

37. Split it into Northern and Southern

Two Democratic States for the price of one.

[wasupaloopa]

53. I think most of us would be against that.

[mcar]

22. This!

[elocs]

25. Obviously it will never happen.

Instead, why not be positive and hope Trump will be sucked into another dimension. Just keep saying it once a day to someone you know.

[sharedvalues]

45. No, DC statehood is reality.

This is what we must do.
It’s reality.
DC voters approved it.
DC Council has lined up the legal basis.
All that it takes is majorities of Congress.

In 2020 we do it.

[elocs]

55. No, it's not a reality, but many here do not live there. n/t

[sharedvalues]

67. So many negative nellies echoing rightwing despair talking points.

I don’t know about you, but the way to get things done is to work to make them happen.
The right’s propaganda machine does tell us that it will never happen, but that’s because the right is afraid of making DC a state. The right hates DC statehood because they know we can do it.

Get on board, stay positive, please don’t post more rightwing despair propaganda.

[onenote]

64. A very unlikely reality.

First, we'd have to repeal the filibuster, and I continue to think that is unlikely
Second, I can count at least four Democratic senators that likely would vote against it, or would lobby leadership hard not to make them vote on it: Tester, Manchin, Sinema, and Jones.

[sharedvalues]

68. Why are you making up despair talking points?

Do you have any evidence red state Senate Dems would vote against DC statehood?

I personally believe red state Dems will vote FOR it.

[onenote]

71. Because I live in the real world

Because I know that when Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a statehood bill in 2017 in the House no Democrat in the Senate stepped up to introduce a companion bill.

Because I know that when the senate passed a voting rights bill (that died in the House) that would have given dc a voting rep in the House but no senate seats and also gave Utah another house seat to balance out the dc seat max baucus (closest to the four Democrats I mentioned) was the only democrat to vote against it.

Because the way this will play out if a statehood bill is introduced is that another bill like the voting rights bill also will be introduced in order to give Democrats cover and allow the statehood bill to be deep-sixed.

Not despair. Experience.

[sharedvalues]

72. Win Congress. Pass law

Be positive. Dems don’t like spreading despair.

[wasupaloopa]

26. One city with two Senators?

[JCMach1]

32. Alaska gets two... states are states...

so, unless we change the Constitution and allocate Senators by population...

[Beartracks]

29. I thought DC couldn't be a state.

Wasn't that by design from the Founding Fathers, so that the national capital wouldn't be under a state's jurisdiction?

==========

[jberryhill]

33. Correct - it's in the Constitution that way

The Congress shall have the power...

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States...

——-

Typically, DC statehood suggestions here at DU are disconnected from any actual notion of what would be required to amend the Constitution to have that happen.

[JCMach1]

31. and VI and Northern Marianas

Democracy, peeps

[brooklynite]

35. Explain how Republicans will allow DC to become a State

[sarisataka]

39. I think we are relying

On the Tinkerbell effect

[sharedvalues]

46. We beat them. And then we lock in our gains with sweeping change.

We beat them in 2020. And then we beat them again by passing a law to make DC a state.

I’ve never seen so much pessimism in my life.
The best resistance is positive persistence! Make DC a state after beating the GOP in 2020. But we have to be ready to move after we win in 2020.

[Baltimike]

43. They have taxation without representation, and it's wrong. nt

[Aristus]

48. Am I the only liberal who opposes DC statehood?

The whole point of locating the capital city in an independent federal district is so that no one state could claim the nation's capital within its borders.

I believe whole-heartedly that DC should have voting representation in Congress. Just not statehood.

[Bucky]

60. What's the difference?

(oops, did my homework and you're right. #nevermind)


There's no real reason why a nation's capital can't be in one of its states. Do any countries besides the US and Mexico have a federal district like that? Actually, I think Mexico's DF gets Congressional representation, so it's just us.

But Paris is in the province of Ile de France.
London is in the county of Greater London and gets representation
Tokyo is in the province of Ise

[Aristus]

66. These are capital cities that evolved in more or less organic fashion.

Washington DC is a purpose-built city. Just like Canberra, Australia or Brasilia, Brazil. And its location results as a series of compromises intended to unite the fractious and barely cohesive brand new states. Located roughly in the middle of the North-South divide, it was meant to belong to every citizen, and to no state.

[sharedvalues]

63. Two senators.

But the only way two senators happens without a constitutional amendment is making DC a state.

The plan is to shrink DC to be the federal government buildings only, and to make all the rest of the city, housing, restaurants, etc a new state.

[jmowreader]

49. Another piece of reality

They wouldn't admit DC, or any of the territories, as a state unless they could also admit a red state to maintain the balance in the Senate. When they admitted Hawaii, they believed it would be a red state so, to balance things out, they also admitted Alaska as a blue state. It didn't quite work out that way: Alaska is very red and Hawaii is quite blue, but it's the thought that counts. All the territories, and the District, would be reliably blue. They'd have to do something like divide Texas or split the red part of California away from the coast.

And as has been pointed out, the seat of government of the United States is not allowed to be in any state, per the Constitution.

[standingtall]

51. If we get back both houses of congress and the Presidency

we will not need republicans to make territories states. Just the will on our part to carry it through as well as the desire for citizens of the territories to be states.

[jmowreader]

56. Back to the original idea in this thread

The District can't be a state under the current Constitution, nor should it be - it should be completely independent.

Now...if you wanted to give DC representation in Congress, that's a different story: The District has about the same population as Vermont. And there are about 500 federal laws that treat DC as if it was a state. Assuming we had an amenable Supreme Court, the citizens of the District could, arguably, file a suit that lists the 500 ways DC is the equivalent of a state in federal law, point out that Congress has the ultimate authority over the District, then ask for one House seat and two Senate seats. They would have to repeal the law that fixes the size of the House at 435 members to do it (and give another state an extra seat in the House so there'd be no way to ever wind up with a tie in the House) but it might be possible. More possible than amending the Constitution to get rid of the anti-DC-statehood language.

[sharedvalues]

62. Read the Vox post above.

Constitution is not an obstacle.

[TwistOneUp]

57. DC (51) and ...

Puerto Rico (52) and Guam (53) and the three Virgin Islands (54-56).

After all, 56 is such a nice number.

Did I miss anybody?

[Bucky]

59. Where'd you get a crazy idea like...

they deserve representation just because they pay taxes? What's next... natural rights endowed by their creator?

[Bucky]

61. Here's a suggestion: make DC a state and then move the federal capital to...

San Juan.

[LeftInTX]

70. No a little town in PR

Let them enjoy the island heat and humidity.

[kwassa]

65. "Taxation Without Representation" real motto on DC license plates