A Reminder From Chicago: It’s Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

[elleng]

The diamond-shaped District of Columbia was conceived as a district — and not as a city or a state of its own — for a reason. It is supposed be an amalgam of the 50 states, a place where we send talented emissaries, elected or otherwise, who are willing to serve. In theory, all the people who populate the federal government, whether as senators or midlevel bureaucrats, are on loan from other places, often doing the nation’s business at the cost of more lucrative or convenient opportunities back home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/24/us/politics/24bai.html?hpw

[Cirque du So-What]

1. I am in agreement with the notion that Emanuel's gig was a temporary one

and I see the actions of his opponents - attempting to strip him of the right to claim residency in order to run for the mayor's office - as ultimately counterproductive. I believe people see their efforts as political skulduggery and chicanery - trickery on the part of politicos who will do everything to win office by hook or by crook.

I'm not a fan of Rahm Emanuel by any stretch of the imagination, but in the case of establishing residency, I believe his stint in the WH should be considered temporary; trying to undercut his rights stinks of legalistic nitpicking, and that could generate sympathy for his campaign. I'm not a resident of Chicago, so I don't have a dog in this fight, but I believe the people of Chicago deserve better than a mercenary DLC politico running a corrupt machine. If there's a better candidate, let him/her win on their own merits without resorting to quibbling over residency.

[marmar]

2. "the cost of more lucrative or convenient opportunities back home"

I think they find plenty of "more lucrative and convenient" opportunities to enrich themselves in Washington, often at the expense of their constituents back home.

[xchrom]

3. Indeed. Nt