Republicans Go Berserk on House Floor after Rep. Calls out Their Racist Arguments on D.C. Statehood

[dogknob]

"I have had enough of my colleagues' racist insinuations that somehow the people of Washington, D.C. are incapable or even unworthy of our democracy. One Senate Republican said that D.C. wouldn't be a 'well-rounded working class state.' I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word 'white.'"

"One of my House Republican colleagues said that D.C. shouldn't be a state because the district doesn't have a landfill. My goodness, with all the racist trash my colleagues have brought to this debate, I can see why they're worried about having a place to put it."
At this, Republican House members vocally erupted, demanding the Speaker Pro Tempore intervene.

"The truth is, there is no good faith argument for disenfranchising over 700 thousand people, Mr. Speaker. Most of whom are people of color."

-- Representative Mondaire Jones (D-NY)

Republicans like Louie Gohmert of Texas urged the Speaker to strike Jones' words from the record, to which Jones acquiesced before continuing:

"These desperate objections are about fear. Fear that in D.C., their white supremacist politics will no longer play. Fear that, soon enough, white supremacist politics won't work anywhere in America. Fear that if they don't rig our democracy, they will not win. Today, Democrats are standing up for a multiracial democracy. To democratize all 51 states in this country. I yield back."

https://secondnexus.com/mondaire-jones-dc-statehood-racist

[sheshe2]

1. Hell Yes.

Kicked and recommended.

[stillcool]

2. Marvelous.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Gloves Off!

They've been fighting bare knuckle for 45 years or more.
Time to start punching back.
They don't like getting a bloody nose? Too bad.
Don't want none, don't start none!

[COL Mustard]

72. What Did They Say During The Last Election???

Give me a second, it'll come to me.

Oh yeah, they said "Fuck Your Feelings". Guess they don't like getting that back either!!!

[ProfessorGAC]

73. I Use That Back At Them

About 4 times now!
Boy, it shuts them down.

[Dave in VA]

4. Seems someone

hit another nerve!

[monkeyman1]

5. sell tickets! we can use the money !

[MustLoveBeagles]

6. Aw, did their delicate fee fee's get hurt?

Tough shit. We're done coddling these assholes.

[smb]

71. Awww, Such Sad Little Snowflakes! nt

[OnDoutside]

7. Make it uncomfortable as hell, make them own it.

[Grokenstein]

8. Screwy Louie pretending to be offended is gold.

Everybody knows what he is, and everyone knows that he's scared.

[demtenjeep]

14. Gooey Louie

is an idiot

[Major Nikon]

53. Gohmert Pyle

[spanone]

9. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼K&R👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[Qutzupalotl]

10. A hit dog will holler.

[Caliman73]

12. Thank you for quoting that correctly and using it in proper context.

I have seen too many stupid republicans try to use that phrase and mangling it.

[dogknob]

11. Washington DC...

1) Pays MORE in Federal Taxes than 21 states do.
2) Has budgets larger than 12 states.
3) Has a higher population than 2 states. Wyoming and Vermont.

[spooky3]

16. Pays more per adult person than any other state. Nt

[malthaussen]

23. So do literally dozens of other metropolitan areas.

Should they all be states? If your answer is that they are already parts of states, and have proper representation, then it is a more valid idea to make them part of Maryland and elect those Senators.
This argument for making DC a state is all about getting more (putative) Democratic senators into Congress. That's a worthy cause of itself. I am underwhelmed with the argument that this particular city should receive consideration that Chicago or Los Angeles does not.

-- Mal

[CrackityJones75]

34. Sorry. Fuck that!

DC is a defined area. It deserves statehood.

[ck4829]

56. Maybe they should

[kcr]

75. DC isn't a city in the same way that Chicago and LA is

Chicago and LA don't need consideration. They are cities within a state. They can't be moved around like chess pieces. Imagine talking about moving NYC to Connecticut. You are underwhelmed by the argument because you fail to understand it accurately. Why give DC to Maryland? Why shouldn't it go to Virginia? Or West Virginia? Or Pennsylvania? Or any other state? DC is its own entity. It doesn't belong to Maryland or Virginia or any other state any more than any other city could be moved.

[malthaussen]

76. I suggest Maryland because Maryland is where they came from originally...

... back when they were a disease-ridden wasteland owned by George Washington, who was glad to get the land off his hands.

-- Mal

[Clash City Rocker]

26. This is good info, thanks

[FakeNoose]

28. Those facts are a good argument for making New York City a separate state

But that's a fight for another day.

For now we need Washington DC to stand on its own two feet.

[wnylib]

37. Don't do that. Without NYC, the rest of the state

would go red.

[alwaysinasnit]

13. I applaud our representatives who are finally "taking the gloves off."

[Marcuse]

15. Why did the GOP even bother to demand a procedural fig leaf to cover their shame?

They already say the quiet part out loud.

[bucolic_frolic]

17. That's it, in a nutshell

[Hekate]

18. "I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word 'white.'"

“One of my House Republican colleagues said that D.C. shouldn't be a state because the district doesn't have a landfill. My goodness, with all the racist trash my colleagues have brought to this debate, I can see why they're worried about having a place to put it."

You go, Mondaire Jones!

[soldierant]

47. "So many syllables in the word 'white.'"

I can see myself using that one. I hope he won't mind.

[electric_blue68]

50. Heh! Both Brilliant statements!

[Caliman73]

19. Their whole, "I'm offended" schtick isn't working as well anymore.

The newer crop of congress people are out of fucks to give about the "civility" BS that Republicans rely on to get away with their stupidity.

Good on congressman Jones!

[czarjak]

38. Still working well enough for some die-hardship. How dare we!

[Caliman73]

63. Anything works on the die-hard.

The ones who still thought that some magical superweapon was going to save the 3rd Reich, the ones who hid in the cave for 10 years waiting for orders. The ones who still think Trump will somehow get sworn in ... any day now.

[Snackshack]

20. Good

Dems need to fight back just as hard against the GOP. Enough with the political decorum all too often that gets in the way of the truth of the matter.

[KatK]

21. Speaking the truth! Yes! n/t

[Jay25]

22. About time. Put their racism and oppression of others in their their faces, without sugarcoating or

minimizing their true intentions.

[abqtommy]

24. Berserkers howl and berserkers wail. Tag 'em and bag 'em and throw 'em in jail.

[paleotn]

25. I can't rec this enough.

Wow! Finally. Just lay it out. Don't hold back. Tell them what they REALLY are! Thank you, Rep Jones!

[panader0]

27. Recommended.

Mondaire Jones is telling it! That's the tone we need to strike.

[BobTheSubgenius]

29. With additional statehood(s),* they KNOW there will be from 2 to 6 Senate seats,

and who knows how many in the House they will NEVER win. They're in the fight of their lives that many of them weren't sharp enough to see coming. With these new, hypothetical seats in play, they will be fighting uphill, for sure. I wouldn't say it's as dire as bringing a knife to a gunfight, but it would be like bringing a knife to a machete fight.



"statehoods is a pretty sketchy-sound word. Seems grammatically correct, though.

[Politicub]

30. I am swooning over this remark:

One Senate Republican said that D.C. wouldn't be a 'well-rounded working class state.' I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word 'white.'"

Damn!

[PatSeg]

60. And "well-rounded working class"?

Like Idaho perhaps? Apparently if a state is predominantly white, it is "well-rounded" or that Senate Republican doesn't know what well-rounded means.

[Richard D]

31. Maybe we can take up a collection for . . .

. . . hankies so they can blot up their tears.

[wnylib]

39. Throw them a box of tissues.

[Richard D]

41. Rolls of cheap toilet paper . . .

. . . even better.

[wnylib]

43. ok.

[electric_blue68]

51. Better still a roll of paper towels ; )

[mountain grammy]

32. My thanks to Congressman Mondaire Jones

for telling it like it is!!

[niyad]

33. KNR

[TygrBright]

35. More! More!! MORE!!! n/t

[CountMyVote4Reality]

36. Kudos Representative Mondaire Jones!

Well said on every point.

[NellieStarbuck]

40. Rep. Jones is my newly elected Congressman and he is already making me proud to have voted for him.

[Hekate]

48. I never heard of him before this & I'm already a fan

[Doremus]

42. Beautiful. Keep up the momentum!

[Martin68]

44. "These desperate objections are about fear. Fear that in D.C., their white supremacist politics will

no longer play. Fear that, soon enough, white supremacist politics won't work anywhere in America. Fear that if they don't rig our democracy, they will not win. Today, Democrats are standing up for a multiracial democracy. To democratize all 51 states in this country. I yield back."

[BootinUp]

45. Way to make the case! nt

[rpannier]

46. It doesn't have a landfill

That's got to rank near the top of the stupidest reasons given for opposing anything

[jaxexpat]

55. I can't find a landfill in Scarsdale, NY either. Anybody know how they deal with trash in Scarsdale?

I'm getting the impression that rich people have means to prevent landfills conveniently operating in their neighborhoods. So where do they take it, the excess of the excessive? I'm sure they have to haul off the loose change from time to time, the 1's and 5's laying around accumulate and block access to the Bentley. Don't want to be accused of hoarding, do we? And everyone knows that fumes from burning money is hazardous. Though father usta' say, "you can always tell how well a house is doing by the numbers of dollar ashes in their summer firepits". And a few bundles of fifties do get a grand fireplace roaring in a trice, come's a cold winter morning. Better than balsa, some say. Had a neighbor who kept his in an oubliette built special for the purpose. He sent an accountant down on a rope to tidy up a bit and hadn't heard of him since. He'd say, "Can't trust those crafty bean counters, ya' know. I place my trust in the trash man." But even he didn't know where it was hauled to and when the trashman bid on a parcel in the neighborhood the joke was on him, wasn't it? Neighbors, some things never change.

[Best_man23]

57. They're throwing this one out now

Because their previous argument "DC does not have any new car dealerships" was shown to be a lie (there is a Tesla dealer in City Center).

I'm sure the next one the Republicants will try will be: "DC can't be a state because it does not have a power plant or waste water treatment plant (fact, DC has both).

[rpannier]

61. I heard DC doesn't have a professional croquet team

How can you be a state without a professional croquet team?

[electric_blue68]

49. Pow! Kudos Powerful Retort!

[Cha]

52. LOL.. Maagats so

Scared!

[Paladin]

58. Suck on THAT, Louie Gohmert. (nt)

[Hotler]

59. IN YOUR FACE! And f*#k your feelings. nt

[ecstatic]

62. Is anyone surprised?

Of course they're not going to support DC statehood! These are people who refuse to defend and protect the most basic rights of people of color in this country. The QOP now views themselves as being above the law. They don't believe they have to answer to anyone—not the courts, not Congress or anyone who they disagree with.

They're against the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

They're even against the George Floyd Police Reform Act.

I don't know why those QOP reps wasted time objecting to Rep Jones' comments. They KNOW he's right. Who are they performing for, at this point? Donors?

[moose65]

64. Whew. This guy is great

These Republicans are so inept. They can't even coalesce around a single bullshit "reason" that DC shouldn't be a state. That proves to me that there IS no valid reason. They can't base it on population since DC has more people than Wyoming and Vermont (and getting closer all the time to Alaska and North Dakota). DC isn't already part of a state, so we aren't breaking up any states.

I've also heard that the "Founders didn't intend for DC to be a state." There are a lot of things that the Founders didn't intend to happen - like the Air Force. We have changed in 245 years.

I think we should turn it back on them by saying something like "DC is about 37% white. Don't you care that you're disenfranchising your fellow white citizens??"

[dogknob]

65. "I think we should turn it back on them..."

"...by saying something like 'DC is about 37% white. Don't you care that you're disenfranchising your fellow white citizens??'"

I really like that idea. Maybe that one can stay in the record.

[SpankMe]

66. I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word 'white.'

Perfect!!

[SWBTATTReg]

67. They are racist...back in the day when a new state was added to the Union (the US), unfortunately,

compromises were made to bring in a southern state and a northern state, the criteria being that the southern state could have slavery vs. the northern state NOT. Disgusting. It's the same filthy argument to maintain control of the Senate and/or perhaps House majorities.

The republican Senators need to reread their history books and/or Constitution and the corresponding Amendments, but I'm sure that they won't listen to reason or rhyme.

If anything, perhaps we need to look at in extreme detail this situation that allows the manipulation of the Senate and / or House to maintain positions of power in this manner, Wash. DC and I suspect if Puerto Rico comes up for a statehood issue, the same racist logic would pertain too.

And by the way, sure Wash. D.C. may not have a landfill, but obviously, that trash is going somewhere. I don't know why this would be relevant in anyone's book but I'm not surprised. They are throwing out everything but the kitchen sink to stop this statehood push (about time don't you think?).

[moose65]

68. Yep! And....

The biggest manipulation to affect the Senate happened during Benjamin Harrison's presidency in 1889. SIX states were added to the Union in less than a year:

North Dakota and South Dakota (which were deliberately split to make 2 states with 4 Republican Senators);
Washington and Montana (those 4 states were all admitted in about a week of time)

Idaho and Wyoming (admitted about a week apart in 1890.)

That fact is really amazing to me. Harrison was elected President in 1888 after losing the popular vote to Cleveland. To his credit, he DID try to pass some civil rights laws to help African-Americans. The Republicans still had a shred of their former idealism, 25 years after the Civil War. But the fact that a popular vote loser was still able to oversee the addition of SIX states is amazing to me.

[dogknob]

74. The sickest thing is that they believe they're acting nobly and honorably n/t

As Nixon‘s right hand man, John Ehrlichman, told reporter Dan Baum: “You want to know what this was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and Black people. Do you understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.“

https://hartmannreport.com/p/why-the-reagan-revolution-scheme

[The Wizard]

69. For years the Democrats

have been wearing boxing gloves to a knife fight. It looks like they finally realized that reaching across the aisle results in pulling back a bloody stump. The gloves are off, and when the Republicans are down it is our patriotic and moral duty to put heels on their necks and rotate. Giving theses son of bitches the benefit of any doubt is flawed logic. They are neither gentlemen and gentlewomen, nor are they our friends. They are a fifth column aligned with the Third Reich.

[LW1977]

70. They can't handle the truth