Saturday 27 March 2021

no taxation without representation

Directing us to some pro- and dishonestly counter-arguments for the District of Columbia to be elevated to statehood with full territorial autonomy with a governor and senatorial membership TYWKIWDBI highlights this different standard for enfranchisement as other state legislatures are working feverishly to codify voter suppression and further disenfranchise voices by making the ballot a luxury and privilege instead of a right. This juxtaposition makes us realise how expansion and conferring statehood—always keeping some colonies in reserve should they prove useful in the future—has always been about political advantage and currying a majority. From incorporating Kansas and Missouri as pro-slavery and pro-abolition states and encouraging settlement by those sympathetic to one side or another to the near simultaneous admission of Alaska and Hawaii in order to preserve a balance many conservatives and liberals, Democratic-leaning Washington, DC whose polity is bigger than Vermont’s or Wyoming’s, both of whom are arguably over-represented and potentially too powerful like Kentucky Palpatine, was traditional paired with Puerto Rico for statehood, as in the past the island was perceived as more reliably Republican but not so much any more. As with the indefensible and unrestrainedly racist roll-backs and disaccomodations taking place in the state of Georgia, pressed for answers, opposing lawmakers cannot come up with good reasons to continue suppressing DC residents.