Manchin says he doesn't support D.C. statehood - Axios
The bill is unlikely to reach the 60 votes needed to send it to President Biden's desk.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said in a radio interview on Friday that he doesn't support the D.C. statehood bill.
Why it matters: Without Manchin's support in the closely divided Senate, the bill, which passed the House last week, is unlikely to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to send it to President Biden's desk.
- D.C. statehood is a priority for Democrats, who call it a civil rights issue that would enfranchise the city's Black plurality.
- Republicans say the measure is an unconstitutional power grab.
What he's saying: "If Congress wants to make D.C. a state, it should propose a constitutional amendment ... and let the people of America vote," Manchin told Hoppy Kercheval of West Virginia's Metro News.
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Congressional action would likely lead to a Supreme Court challenge, he noted.
- "Every legal scholar has told us that, so why not do it the right way and let the people vote to see if they want to change?"
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He supports the Constitution. He may be in the wrong party.
I actually consider it to be refreshing that a lawmaker indicates that his preference is due to legal and constitutional precedent rather than being chained to party policy. I hope he isn't treated by his party the dirty way the Republicans treat Liz Chaney. However, it doesn't make sense to me that the residents of D.C. are disenfranchised, so I would think that the problem should be solved, but the way required by The Constitution.
Yet Manchin doesn't seem to have a grasp of the legal and constitutional process of a Constitutional Amendment.
The 'American people' don't 'vote' on a Constitutional Amendment. Perhaps Manchin needs to get more advice from those 'legal scholars' he spoke of.
So why aren't the Democrats for letting DC rejoin Maryland, where the land came from? The same way land from DC was given back to Virginia.
Because the Democrats don't give a rats ass about what is right. They want two more seats in the Senate, extra representation in the House, and more say in the electoral college.
A Constitutional Amendment is meant to represent the people of the states; not a bunch of Democrat hacks in Congress.
Democrats are trying to bypass the states; because they know they don't have the votes. Flyover country will never dilute their power further than it already is. This isn't about equal representation. This is all about the Democrats making a power grab to stay in control.
The way that land from DC was retroceded to Virginia was by the people petitioning to government for redress, NOT a Constitutional Amendment.
The so-called “Clause 17” of Article I, Section 8 deals with the issue that the Constitution’s framers had agreed that the new nation’s capital should be located in a district that was independent any particular state government and subject only to federal control. Thus the plan was to create a federal district no more than ten miles square from land ceded by one or more states to house the U.S. national capital, which was accomplished when the Compromise of 1790 ended with agreement to form the District of Columbia from landed ceded by Maryland and Virginia. The national capital was temporarily relocated from New York to Philadelphia while construction began on homes for the president and Congress, and in 1800 the United States’ capital was moved again (for the final time) to Washington, D.C., in December 1800.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/article-1-section-8-clause-17/#:~:text=Article%201%2C%20Section%208%20of%20the%20U.S.%20Constitution,consent%20of%20the%20State%20where%20same%20is%20located.%22
And by 1847 Virginia succeeded in getting it's land and people back with full voting rights and representation in VA.
It's kind of ironic for the 78 square miles of Maryland D.C. to still be without the very rights we fought the British for.
At a minimum, Maryland D.C. deserves the same consideration already afforded Virginia D.C. in 1847.
Try it and it will be challenged and I'm sure the SCOTUS will take it up.
We get it. We know about the voters in DC:
NO POWER GRAB ON OUR WATCH!
Try it?
Dude, roll back the power trip.
It's not in my jurisdiction, lol.
but retrocession denies the Dems 2 Senators a voting House rep whil making the residents of D.C.
MD voters. Problem solved, GOP gets a draw and the issue is forever shelved.
But keep assuming, it's amusing.
It requires a Constitutional Amendment. Thank God it still takes more that 50 votes + 1 POS vp.
Thanks for the already understood and recognized history lesson Vic.
It was my Pleasure.
Since Virginia's retrocession didn't take a Constitutional Amendment, why would Maryland's?
I though you read everything for yourself? What's your interpretation of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution?
You're deflecting Vic. Answer my fucking question.
Oh and BTFW, how did Article I, Section 8 control the Virginia retrocession? Hint: It DIDN'T.
In short, once they whacked off one portion of DC, the precedent was set to whack off another.
It is the heart of the issue. No Constitutional Amendment = No State of DC.
Nope. You made a statement and I asked you a question about it. Here it is again:
Answer?
What does D.C. stand for in your comment Vic?
The District of Columbia, which is the area that was carved out, quite legally, as the nation's capitol.
Well the House bill designates the new state as Washington, Douglass Commonwealth.
So for ONCE you are right, there will be no 'state of the District of Columbia'.
The House Bill will have little importance if the Court rules it unconstitutional.
Who has standing Vic?
That would depend on how far the House Bill goes. The Senate has 3 more shots at reconciliation, thanks to the new Parliamentarian - who differes from her predecessor. Schumer has already got a lot sitting on his plate.
I like an article I read a while back. As the argument is being framed as taxation without representation, put the question to the voters of DC.
Would they rather be a state with Congressmen and Senators or would they rather not pay federal taxes. I know how I would vote.
I understand what you are saying, but the inhabitants of DC can't even be trusted to serve on a jury.
No, that would make him an R, not a D.
I like him a lot more than my Senators
It’s not only a dumb idea. It’s probably unconstitutional.
It wasn't unconstitutional for the existing 50 states.
There's no amendment or clause dealing specifically with any of the 50 states, either. There are for DC
See @3.1.1
Actually, there sure as fuck is a 'clause dealing specifically with the process for how 37 of those 50 states came into being.
Try reading what I wrote again. It's pretty straight forward. I'm sure you can grasp it on a second try.
My comment proves that I grasped your comment from the get go Sean.
However, you seem not to grasp the Admissions Clause of the Constitution.
What ever with Manchin. Still can't understand why he's against getting 22nd Century jobs and installations for the people of his state. Do the 'Coal Folk' have something on him?
As far as D.C. Statehood----------Montana is a state, right? There it is. There you have it.
The coal unions are sending a big message to Manchin.
Coal miners join climate activists to back Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan
I know that. Except the 'Coal Miners' and 'The Coal Folk (owners )' are two separate entities.
IMHO, to me, Manchin is a Democrat DINO, as he seems to side, vote and support more to the right wing side than the Democrat side. He runs as a Democrat only so that he can keep getting re-elected, but, from the way he talks, votes and sides with the GOP, he betrays himself as a Democrat, and the party he is supposed to support.
I can understand him doing this on a few occasions, but, he has been doing this for years, so it is not something new, or just recent.
So he might as well just join the GOP and stop the fame playing and betrayal. He is not fooling anyone anymore.
West Virginians Eager for Biden Money Despite Senator's Concerns
Seems that even some Republicans in WV are supportive of the infrastructure plan.
WV rates very low in most categories so the question should be, Joe what have you done for WV?
I guess that is why Manchin runs as a Democrat, but, votes and sides with the GOP, betraying his voters, some of whom may be too ignorant to realize that, his running as a Dem is only because he can't compete with the Republicans in his district and could not get nominated, much less win against them.
So his playbook is to run as a Dem and then act as a Repub.
He really should switch parties, so should Kyrsten Sinema,
Manchin is really gloating over the idea that he hold such sway over politics in the Capital right now. He thinks he can have his cake and eat it too from both sides of the aisle.
He can gloat now, but, like all 'Karens', male and female, it will all come back to haunt him in the not too distant future. And I will do the turkey farting dance when it happens.