The Biden Presidency

[Skeptic Ginger]

I'm actually not in favor of statehood for DC or Puerto Rico. I think rWashington, DC should be considered another congressional district in Maryland for voting purposes. Of course, other Marylanders wouldn't like that as it dilutes their voting power.

The residents of Puerto Rico have shown a weak, variable interest in statehood. I'd like them to have a referendum that results in a clear, unambiguous desire for statehood before we tie the knot.

More people live in DC than all of these western counties combined

See map in the link.

And if you are looking at land mass, consider this:

Of course for truly large areas, with few people, one has to look to Alaska. Few people have a grasp on just how enormous Alaska is compared to other states, but laying it on top of the continental US gives some sense of its size. And yet despite all that land mass, DC’s population is nearly equivalent to Alaska’s. DC has more people than Alaska if two of six Assembly districts in Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage are removed — or all of Alaska except for the part in blue on the map below. And over the last 10 years, DC’s population has grown faster than Alaska’s, putting the District just one Assembly district behind Alaska.

There are 50 states in the United States. This section compares District of Columbia to all of the states in the United States. Scroll down. DC has more people than Vermont and Wyoming. Also check out the density compared to other states while you are looking at total numbers.

DC might seem like it is too small to be a state but relatively it isn't.

 

[Segnosaur]

The residents of Puerto Rico have shown a weak, variable interest in statehood. I'd like them to have a referendum that results in a clear, unambiguous desire for statehood before we tie the knot.

The last referendum was held during the 2020 general election.

Voter turnout was 55%.

52.5% voted for statehood. 47.5% voted against it.

I think a 5% difference is enough to characterize it as a 'clear majority'.

(It should also be noted that not all of the 47.5% who voted against statehood favored the status quo... at least some of them wanted independence.)

See: Wikipedia

 

[Craig4]

The problem becomes the House of Representatives. With the gerrymandering and reapportionment happening, the House looks lost for the Dems. A bill created during in 2021 dies at the end of the Congressional term.

I don't think the House is all that lost. The demographics in the gerrymandered districts changed. The Dems took the house from the Republicans in 2018 with gerrymandered districts. The demographic changes happening in the US mean that gerrymandering and voter suppression will only take you so far.

Stacy Abrams seems to have figured out a way to beat all of it in Georgia and will franchise it everywhere in 2022. People of color and those that believe that this is their moment will mobilize to keep from moving backwards. History is not a good guide to the 2022 elections.

 

[acbytesla]

I'm actually not in favor of statehood for DC or Puerto Rico. I think rWashington, DC should be considered another congressional district in Maryland for voting purposes. Of course, other Marylanders wouldn't like that as it dilutes their voting power.

The residents of Puerto Rico have shown a weak, variable interest in statehood. I'd like them to have a referendum that results in a clear, unambiguous desire for statehood before we tie the knot.

I'm totally in favor of statehood for both. Actually I wish States themselves disappear, but that isn't going to happen.

What I'd really like to see is a major revision of how we do reappointment. In 1929, Republicans passed the Reapportionment Act of 1929. It capped the number of Representatives at 435. This created a system that heavily benefits rural voters. It is kind of an echo of the Great Compromise. It needs to be changed to be more equitable.

This would not only have a great impact on Congress but the Electoral College.

This was created by an Act of Congress and an Act of Congress can revise it.

 

[Delvo]

Stacy Abrams seems to have figured out a way to beat all of it in Georgia and will franchise it everywhere in 2022.

You can lead a political party to a successful strategy, but you can't make them use it.

 

[acbytesla]

I don't think the House is all that lost. The demographics in the gerrymandered districts changed. The Dems took the house from the Republicans in 2018 with gerrymandered districts. The demographic changes happening in the US mean that gerrymandering and voter suppression will only take you so far.

Stacy Abrams seems to have figured out a way to beat all of it in Georgia and will franchise it everywhere in 2022. People of color and those that believe that this is their moment will mobilize to keep from moving backwards. History is not a good guide to the 2022 elections.

Do you follow Dave Wasserman on Twitter? No one knows districting better than him. Yes Stacy Abrams pulled a rabbit out of her hat that resulted in squeaker wins for the Democrats.

And what has the GOP legislature done? Passed a law that dramatically suppresses voting. I'm surprised Byron De La Beckwith and Bull Connor aren't heading the Georgia GOP these days.

 

[bruto]

Do you follow Dave Wasserman on Twitter? No one knows districting better than him. Yes Stacy Abrams pulled a rabbit out of her hat that resulted in squeaker wins for the Democrats.

And what has the GOP legislature done? Passed a law that dramatically suppresses voting. I'm surprised Byron De La Beckwith and Bull Connor aren't heading the Georgia GOP these days.

Yes, it certainly is troubling. Their heirs are, but the apologists for systemic racism would have it that they're not racists if they couch their language in neutral sounding words, and are careful not to use the N word out loud.

I hope, though, that concerned people and politicians get up off their collective sit bones and really do something about this. Not just yell about it, but mobilize, and not only against it but within it. They should find out exactly what is and is not permitted by those laws, and then get out there and get the voters voting anyway. Find out what water and food possibilities are permissible, and fund them, find sponsors, and make them happen. If you can't do one thing do another. If you cant do something in one place, do it someplace else. If ID's are required, fund them. If something is inconvenient, arrange some way to make it less so. If lines are long document them, film them, make news. Make noise. Buy billboard space. If something is possible, do it. If something is impossible, make a true federal issue of it. It's ironic in a way, but the only way to get rid of voter suppression in places like Georgia is to make sure that it does not work. Spit in their face.

People concerned about the suppression of the vote should at least momentarily move their funding from the candidates to the voters. Democracy is fighting for its life.

 

[thaiboxerken]

If you take him at face value, he thinks there can still be a bipartisan government and he seems to think the Democrats are ruining the chances.

He's thinking of staying in office. If he votes with the Democrats, then he'll be replaced by a Republican.

 

[thaiboxerken]

You can lead a political party to a successful strategy, but you can't make them use it.

I agree. Never underestimate the Democrat's ability to steal defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[acbytesla]

He's thinking of staying in office. If he votes with the Democrats, then he'll be replaced by a Republican.

It's short sighted. He might be anyway. West Virginia is a poor State totally dependent on Coal which is taking a nosedive He needs to sell the benefits of the Rescue Plan to them and make sure they know, the Republican party will hang the poor people out to dry.

 

[thaiboxerken]

It's short sighted. He might be anyway. West Virginia is a poor State totally dependent on Coal which is taking a nosedive He needs to sell the benefits of the Rescue Plan to them and make sure they know, the Republican party will hang the poor people out to dry.

The problem with conservatives is that they don't look to the future. Coal is what they know and they believe it will never go away.

 

[Belz...]

If you take him at face value, he thinks there can still be a bipartisan government and he seems to think the Democrats are ruining the chances.

So he's indistinguishable from a Republican.

 

[acbytesla]

The problem with conservatives is that they don't look to the future. Coal is what they know and they believe it will never go away.

I don't buy that. That may have worked 4 years ago in WV. Trump promised to bring coal back. He didn't. Another half dozen coal companies have gone bankrupt. No one, and I mean no one is building coal fired generators in the US and even if they were, WV can't compete with Wyoming and Utah.

The Coal miners (what's left of them) know it is a dying industry.

 

[kookbreaker]

I don't buy that. That may have worked 4 years ago in WV. Trump promised to bring coal back. He didn't. Another half dozen coal companies have gone bankrupt. No one, and I mean no one is building coal fired generators in the US and even if they were, WV can't compete with Wyoming and Utah.

The Coal miners (what's left of them) know it is a dying industry.

The actual coal miners probably realize that. It’s all the folks who are unemployed or have a business that depends on a healthy local economy to survive that are buying into the BS because they can’t see the figures and reality. So they vote for the same BS promises about how coal will come roaring back if we just end a bunch of them lib’rul regulations that keep them from poisoning themselves and the East Coast.

 

[acbytesla]

The actual coal miners probably realize that. It’s all the folks who are unemployed or have a business that depends on a healthy local economy to survive that are buying into the BS because they can’t see the figures and reality. So they vote for the same BS promises about how coal will come roaring back if we just end a bunch of them lib’rul regulations that keep them from poisoning themselves and the East Coast.

I understand, but I don't buy it. Manchin just has to sell, sell, sell. Sell the facts.

You could eliminate all of the regulations. You could treat the great state of West Virginia like a toilet. Poison all the rivers and lakes. You could eliminate every workers safety regulation. It would all be irrelevant. Energy created by coal will not ever again be cost competitive with solar energy and natural gas.

It isn't the Democrats or libruls that is killing coal, it is the market.

 

[Minoosh]

Buy billboard space.

Not to dismiss your other ideas, because you suggest a lot of actions that should be part of a full-court press, but I singled this one out as being one of the few places where people can’t just filter out anything they disagree with. They can disregard it, but at least they’re exposed to it. Problem is, it’s not really clear what message would be most effective. Factual? Emotional? Humorous? A mix?

It's ironic in a way, but the only way to get rid of voter suppression in places like Georgia is to make sure that it does not work. Spit in their face.

Make sure their faces are downwind though

People concerned about the suppression of the vote should at least momentarily move their funding from the candidates to the voters. Democracy is fighting for its life.

HOW do you make an argument against voter suppression accessible to conservatives? I’ve read that people are more receptive if an argument is framed to appeal to their core values.

I’d like to see less handwringing and more cold, hard resolve to make sure voter suppression efforts not only fail, but backfire. How to do that I don’t know, but I’m a little turned off by the message that millions of people will blow off voting if it’s not convenient. Even though that’s probably true, I’d like to see more of an attitude that people will get to the polls come hell or high water - that POC etc. will absolutely not allow themselves to be silenced or intimidated. And IMO that leadership ultimately must come from within those communities, not from well-intentioned outsiders. There is a role for the DNC, but some things need to happen from the ground up.

 

[Delvo]

We just need to face the fact that Manchin is a Republican. He's always acted like it before and he always will.

 

[gnome]

We just need to face the fact that Manchin is a Republican. He's always acted like it before and he always will.

And yet being willing to officially caucus with the democrats makes a huge difference in what goes on in the Senate, even if not much of an agenda can get through. It's still better than Mitch.

 

[SezMe]

Voter turnout was 55%.

52.5% voted for statehood. 47.5% voted against it.

I think a 5% difference is enough to characterize it as a 'clear majority'.

No doubt that is a majority but I just don't see 52.5% of 55% to be a sufficiently large margin to justify becoming a state. Our thresholds for a "clear majority" differ. Clearly.

 

[SezMe]

More people live in DC than all of these western counties combined

See map in the link.

And if you are looking at land mass, consider this:

My position is not based on either land mass or population; rather, it seems to be the most feasible, and thus likely, to actually come to pass. Just create another district in Maryland that is now DC and you're done. All other solutions are far more fraught and thus more likely to fail thus getting nothing done.