Politics

[Russ16]

"Federal Overlay"?

Article I, Section 8:

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, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards and other needful Buildings;-And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

The District IS literally federal. "Home Rule" has proven ineffective (twice), and any talk of statehood would literally require a Constitutional Amendment.

If the Executive is charged with seeing that federal laws be "faithfully executed", and the "home rule" people are not effectively enforcing the laws, whose job is it to fix it? There are a lot of places where "federalizing" law enforcement is problematic, but DC is not one of them. In fact, DC is the one place where it should not be problematic. I'd even be on board with eliminating "Home Rule" for the second time.

Is anyone here aware the Governor of NY mobilized the National Guard to work as prison guards when the current guards went on strike? What was really weird about that (actually, a lot of things are weird about that, including the fact that the strike is over, but they are still there, because they cannot hire actual guards quickly enough) is that according to NY law, you MUST be over 21 to be hired as a guard, but of course the requirement to join the NY Army is only 18. I'm not pointing this out as a theme in "whataboutism", rather, I'm pointing out that people can be very selective in what they find to be "national news" and open to national debate. However much you hate the main stream media, you do not hate them enough.

Oh, and about that dock yard thing. Came across this today: https://www.foxnews.com/us/radical-...lice-leader-says-7-attacks-led-trump-takeover

I don't normally rely on Fox News, but examples 4, 5, and 6 have a common theme. We can argue all day long whether the crime rate is rising or falling, or whether one city is better or worse than another. But when you get to the point that the violence is starting to impact the ability to govern, AND you have the "authority over all places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature... for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers...", well I'm not really sure what counterargument there can be for this, except maybe to stamp your foot and tell the mayor to "try harder". Expecting that to work would seem to be the triumph of hope over experience.

I agree with you they have the authority to do this in DC. I understand federal control of DC. My statement was I think they have better things to spend time and money on.

My comments regarding local control were in regards to statements that DC should be the first and they should do the same thing in other cities.

 

[Brent in Az]

Main reason is 2 Senators in a place that votes for Democrats at 97%. If they also succeeded in Puerto Rico then GOP would be locked out of the Senate for the near and far future.

It would also allow the democrats to draw up an ironclad constitution in their favor.
Ironic, considering how much they despise the constitution.

 

[Brent in Az]

People deserve the Government they vote for. DC is easy as it is not a State with its own Constitution and is under the purview of the Federal government. I'd have a big issue with the Feds taking over Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit etc. PD and sending National Guard there for policing. That would also be unconstitutional probably. We are not like France with a central government that has a Gendarmerie that has jurisdiction all over the country.

People also have to suffer under a government they didn't vote for.

 

[Russ16]

People also have to suffer under a government they didn't vote for.

Yes and the one of the consequences of our system. And an incentive to vote. It works in both directions.

 

[Tanks]

It would also allow the democrats to draw up an ironclad constitution in their favor.
Ironic, considering how much they despise the constitution.

Nope. Still wouldn’t give them 2/3 majority in States, or 2/3s in Congress.

People also have to suffer under a government they didn't vote for.

As Obama said: “Elections have consequences “. See-sawing of power between both sides is a good thing. Neither side can screw it up too much. One party rule isn’t good long term regardless of which side is in power as we have nut jobs at both sides.

 

[Brent in Az]

Nope. Still wouldn’t give them 2/3 majority in States, or 2/3s in Congress.

As Obama said: “Elections have consequences “. See-sawing of power between both sides is a good thing. Neither side can screw it up too much. One party rule isn’t good long term regardless of which side is in power as we have nut jobs at both sides.

If D.C could become a statehood, they could draft a state constitution that would lock up D.C in their favor.

 

[skydiver386]

If D.C could become a statehood, they could draft a state constitution that would lock up D.C in their favor.

I understood what you meant, but reading comprehension seems to be an issue for some on this forum.

 

[Tanks]

If D.C could become a statehood, they could draft a state constitution that would lock up D.C in their favor.

You didn't specify that it would be the State constitution. DC would be in their favor regardless; no way it would go GOP with 97% voting Democrat at every election.

 

[Wheels]

Don’t be surprised if Trump proposes a Federal area that includes the area around the mall and deeds the rest of DC back to Maryland. This would effectively stop the talk of DC statehood. A solution like this would obviously turn into a political fight with an uncertain outcome.

 

[Russ16]

Don’t be surprised if Trump proposes a Federal area that includes the area around the mall and deeds the rest of DC back to Maryland. This would effectively stop the talk of DC statehood. A solution like this would obviously turn into a political fight with an uncertain outcome.

That would be a great outcome and has been proposed before. It is what they did giving Arlington county back to VA in the 1840s.

It is opposed by many if not most DC residents mainly because most folks in this area make fun of Maryland.

But it would make a lot more sense.

 

[SaintPanzer]

Wouldn't it take a Constitutional Amendment to make DC a state?

I mean, there is that whole... What was it? Constitution of the United States, Article I, section 8, Clause 17...

 

[DillonG]

The entire DC news is a distraction. Just stay focused on the Ukraine and Israel Wars. Trump can use executive power where it is legal. Nothing else will happen from reforming DC. Everyone can unclasp their hand from their pearls.

 

[Corey0372]

I think the question is not whether DC has too much crime. We can all agree on that, I suspect. Everyone deserves to live in a safe environment, without fear of being murdered.

The question is whether truth and facts matter. For example, some have said that DC has the worst murder rate of any city in the world. For example, this chart is about as misleading as it comes:

View attachment 706577

The Council on Criminal Justice reports that 49 cities in the world with a population of over 250,000 people had homicide rates higher than 39.1 (per 100k) in 2023, compared to about 26.5 in Washington DC (2024 number; 2023 is a bit higher). Six US cities also had higher murder rates than Washington according to the same report: Memphis, New Orleans, St. Louis, Baltimore, Cleveland and Detroit. Memphis was over 40 per 100,000 people.

Washington clearly is not the worst city in the world, not is it even the worst city in the US.

So who picked the cities on this chart, and for what purpose? Or does it even matter? I think it should; you may disagree.

I think they were trying to make the point about capital cities around the world in particular, not cities writ large.

Buenaventura, Colombia has a higher murder rate than Bogota.

Marseille has a higher murder rate than Paris.

 

[Scott CWO]

This is where we disagree. I don’t think handling local crime is appropriate for the federal government. Fundamentally I believe they should deal with foreign policy, national defense, interstate commerce, and trade. Local issues should be handled by local governments and if the citizens of that locality choose to elect leaders that tolerate crime then they have to live with the consequences.

Admittedly this gets complicated with DC because of the federal overlay of its governance.

Au contraire, my friend. The city governments are run by corrupt democrats. If they won’t act, I’m all for the federal government acting.

 

[Russ16]

Wouldn't it take a Constitutional Amendment to make DC a state?

I mean, there is that whole... What was it? Constitution of the United States, Article I, section 8, Clause 17...

What they would do is shrink the size of the federal enclave and make the rest a state.

 

[Russ16]

Au contraire, my friend. The city governments are run by corrupt democrats. If they won’t act, I’m all for the federal government acting.

Then when the Republican mayor of a mid sized city decides not to enforce something like an emissions law or other left leaning policy you have to accept that it is appropriate for a democrat President to step in and take action.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...bama-aoc-harris-august-11-update/85606931007/

Presidential betting odds (Aug. 11, 2025)​

• JD Vance: +250
• Donald Trump Sr.: +900
• Gavin Newsom: +900
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: +900
• Pete Buttigieg: +1400
• Josh Shapiro: +1400
• Donald Trump Jr.: +1600
• Marco Rubio: +2000
• Gretchen Whitmer: +2000
• Kamala Harris: +2500
• Ron DeSantis: +2500
• Michelle Obama: +2500
• JB Pritzker: +2500
• Ivanka Trump: +2500
• Andy Beshear: +2500

Source: oddschecker.com

 

[spike.t]

Mobile internet to be completely shut down in Russian-occupied Crimea for a long time | Ukrainska Pravda https://share.google/4lkFvQphZ4m07lW31

 

[Waldo2382]

Just now at the Anchorage International Airport. Luckily I’ll be home in about an hour to avoid the anchorage madness.

 

[fourfive8]

Just now at the Anchorage International Airport. Luckily I’ll be home in about an hour to avoid the anchorage madness.

Same here. By sheer luck, got out of there three days ago.