Clinton calls for making DC the 51st state, blasts Trump for no position on issue of voting rights

[Kingofalldems]

Source: Washington Post

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton called for making the country's capital the country's 51st state on Wednesday, promising to be a "vocal champion" of DC statehood.

She blasted presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for failing to say whether DC residents should have the same voting rights as other Americans.



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/clinton-calls-for-making-dc-the-51st-state-blasts-trump-for-no-position-on-issue-of-voting-rights/2016/05/11/daa63d16-1781-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html?tid=sm_tw

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Calling out the racist GOP and their leader---Donald Trump.

And as a DC native I support statehood 100%.

[silvershadow]

1. Oh dear...this again? I support it, and all, but really? She's just pandering now. nt

[Kingofalldems]

2. Do you do this all day?

[ronnykmarshall]

44. Sounds like it

[msongs]

3. so you support it but when she supports it is pandering? nt

[silvershadow]

4. Yep. Exactly. Every time a politician needs to pull in a few more votes, here comes the issue.

Trotted out again, on cue...I can almost hear the theme music in the background...

[Kingofalldems]

7. So you are for it but if a politician even mentions it,

especially Hillary Clinton, it's pandering.

Reads like you are not really for it from here.

[silvershadow]

9. Well quiz me all you want. Not really sure that's the best use of your time, but hey-

it is your time I just pointed out the obvious pandering. I can do it in other threads, when appropriate, if you think it would be better? Not sure you point in all this...

[Kingofalldems]

14. Seems to me you would want 2 more Senators supporting

a Democratic agenda.

Speaking of points, I don't know what yours is either but have a hunch.

Mine was to post a news story about my home town and how the potential Democratic nominee favors statehood.

[silvershadow]

15. Mine is to oppose Sec. Clinton all the way to convention. nt

[Kingofalldems]

31. Odd you have nothing to say about racist Donald Trump.

He WAS mentioned in the story.

[silvershadow]

33. I am completely ignoring general election candidates while we are in the midst of

an epic primary. It is a complete distraction.

[pmorlan1]

29. It's only mentioned

during elections. After that it's not talked about. It's pandering.

[beastie boy]

11. You know, you might be right...

https://www.rt.com/usa/269815-sanders-dc-statehood-bill/

[silvershadow]

13. Thank you!! for pointing out that Bernie has been calling for this for years! Long before he

decided to run for President! See the difference, everyone?

[Kingofalldems]

16. Oops.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2015/07/14/norton-hillary-clinton-supports-d-c-statehood/

[silvershadow]

18. Hey we can make a game of it...you post the earliest you can find her calling for this,

and I will do the same. Let's meet back up...say, a few hours from now? We can compare notes. I can't do it right now, because tracking her many actual investigations and scandals takes precedence...

[Kingofalldems]

19. You said years. Link was from June 2015. Not even a year.

[beastie boy]

20. For year, not years.

The pandering started two months after he announced his run.

Might not be a good idea to call attention to this.

[silvershadow]

22. For him it is a real issue. Also, he's been calling for this for literally years. nt

[Kingofalldems]

21. So was Bernie pandering?

[silvershadow]

23. No, he's been calling for this for literally years. nt

[leftofcool]

42. Years? Post the link where he called for it then?

[Raster]

52. New Columbia (DC) admission as 51st State...

https://the51st.org/2012/10/24/15-friends-in-the-us-senate/

<snip>

In addition to the aforementioned Senators there is one Senator, Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who cosponsored the House Bill (H.R. 51) back in 1993 and voted for it and another seven present-day Senators (Richard Durbin (D-IL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ron Wyden (D-OR), & Maria Cantwell (D-WA)) who at the time voted for the statehood bill on the House floor.

[TheCowsCameHome]

28. This link will fix everything.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1107130675

[Kingofalldems]

38. Aww shucks. ^

[ronnykmarshall]

45. No that's just sounds coming out of your ass.

[hrmjustin]

24. You really can't help yourself can you?

Always have to find a negative in everything she does.

[silvershadow]

26. No. I oppose her, strenuously, all the way to convention. Thanks. nt

[leftofcool]

43. Is it okay if we oppose you right out the door after she wins the nomination?

[ronnykmarshall]

46. I'll help clean up after.

We may have to fumigate.

[LisaM]

30. Remember the DC "Taxation Without Representation" license plates that were created in 2000?

Bill Clinton liked them and had them put on the White House limousines. Bush had them taken off, of course. Obama eventually put them back on.

I don't know what Hillary's position was in 2000, but this seems like something both Clintons would agree on and I think it's fair to say that they were on board with the concept of DC getting more representation at least as early as 2000.

I'm pretty sure Bill got a laugh putting all those plates on knowing Bush would have to drive around in them at least at first!

[onehandle]

35. You don't want a place with a larger population than two states to have a voice?

Is that because there are so many Democrats there?

[elleng]

5. That'll get her far.

[BillZBubb]

6. And she and her fanatics accuse Bernie of unrealistic "promises".

Statehood for DC isn't going to happen for a long time. We'll have single payer health care before that happens.

[Adrahil]

62. She didn;t promise anything other than being a champion for the cause.

Bernie supports this position too, by the way.

[BillZBubb]

63. That was my point, Advil.

Bernie's promise is to fight night and day for his agenda. He isn't making any promises on free tuition and single payer healthcare. Yet the Hillary fanatics claim he is unrealistic, naïve, and a dreamer because he can't immediately keep his "promises".

[left-of-center2012]

8. Is D.C. another of her 'home states'?

She has so many.

[Arkansas Granny]

37. Well, she lived there for 8 years and worked there

for an additional 8 years. How long does it take?

[TwilightZone]

49. Five minutes longer than however long she was there....

[tinrobot]

10. Two more Democratic Senators? Yes, please.

[silvershadow]

27. You are correct. Which is why, of course, this will never happen under a Republican congress.

Or even a DLC-heavy one, for that matter.

[TwilightZone]

47. The DLC will always take more Democrats

Claiming otherwise is ludicrous.

[elleng]

53. Maybe I'd move back!

[houston16revival]

12. All Democrats must blast from now until Election Day

No lollygagging permitted

Keep the war going

[TheCowsCameHome]

17. High priorities, eh?

[Buzz Clik]

32. Many priorities -- as in, more than three issues on the table.

Sanders can only talk about one thing at a time, but others are quite capable of handling more.

[TheCowsCameHome]

34. Yeah, statehood is high on everyone's list these days.

Of course scarfing up a few votes along the way isn't all bad, either.

She is the ultimate politician.

[NYC Liberal]

50. It was four sentences at the end of an op-ed discussing voting rights and restrictions on them.

Here's the main portion of her op-ed:

Ever since the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, many states that used to face special scrutiny because of their history of racial discrimination have passed new voting restrictions. In the last three years, 17 states have made voting more difficult by requiring proof of citizenship, ending same-day registration and restricting early and mail-in ballots.

One of the worst offenders is North Carolina, where Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill that does all this and more. It even includes a harsh new voter photo ID requirement. That only serves to create another unnecessary obstacle for low-income voters and communities of color to have their voices heard.

Make no mistake: These kinds of restrictions don’t come about by accident. They’re a blast from the Jim Crow past, and it’s just one of many other examples of a sustained effort to disenfranchise communities of color across the country.

I believe that we should be making it easier to vote — not harder. And there are several steps we should take immediately to restore trust in our democracy.

First, I believe Congress must move quickly to pass legislation to restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act that American voters need and deserve.

Second, we should implement the recommendations of the bipartisan presidential commission to improve voting. These are commonsense reforms – agreed upon by lawyers from the Obama and Romney campaigns – that include expanding early, absentee, and mail voting, and ensuring no one has to wait more than 30 minutes to cast their ballot.

Third, we should set a new national standard of at least 20 days of early in-person voting everywhere – including on weekends and evenings. Early voting isn’t just convenient; it’s also more secure, more reliable and more affordable than absentee voting.

And finally I’m calling for universal, automatic voter registration. I believe the ability to vote should be our society’s default setting. That means every citizen should be automatically registered to vote when they turn 18 unless they actively choose to opt out.

And here's the very end where she mentions DC:

But enfranchisement isn’t solely a matter of individual rights. In the case of our nation’s capital, we have an entire populace that is routinely denied a voice in its own democracy.

Washington, D.C., is home to nearly 700,000 Americans – more than the entire population of several states. Washingtonians serve in the military, serve on juries and pay taxes just like everyone else. And yet they don’t even have a vote in Congress.

But, hey, voting and disenfranchisement shouldn't be a priority.

[onehandle]

36. Instantly creating a Solid Blue State.

I approve, wholeheartedly.

[Attorney in Texas]

39. So it's "unrealistic" when Sanders proposes to increase taxes on corporations and the ultra-wealthy

in order to fund improved access to health care, but Hillary's promise to make a new state is totally realistic and not pandering.

Gotcha.

[Kingofalldems]

40. No idea what you are talking about.

Thread is about voting rights for DC and Donald Trump's silence.

[TwilightZone]

64. Promising to do something personally and calling for it to be done and acting as an advocate for it

are two completely different things.

This isn't difficult.

[CanadaexPat]

41. "Someone should do something about this."

Standard Clinton.

[ronnykmarshall]

48. If Bernie had proposed it ....

there would be a fucking parade thrown. Or maybe a photo shop of a concert in Russia claiming to be Bernie supporters taking to the streets.

[Agnosticsherbet]

51. The District of Columbia should be the State of Columbia.

[oldandhappy]

54. hmmm 8 years in the white house and now???

[One_Life_To_Give]

55. Would it be possible to separate the residential area from the seat of government.

That is to have Capital Hill and the WhiteHouse still be in a Stateless Federal District. But establish a State for the residents?

[Kingofalldems]

58. That's been proposed before.

[Xithras]

61. A version of that giving it back to Maryland has also been proposed.

The proposal was to carve out a small portion for the federal district and give the rest to Maryland, coupled with an increase to the size of the House to compensate.

I've gone back and forth on DC as a state, personally. While I like the possibility of having two more liberals in the Senate, there's something slightly offensive about giving one relatively small east coast city the same number of Senators as the entire state of California. Why should DC get something that New York or Los Angeles have no right to, when those cities are inarguably FAR more important to the nations economy, culture and political scene?

[Bradical79]

56. I wouldn't oppose this -nt

[Eric J in MN]

57. Bernie Sanders is also for DC statehood and co-sponsored

...."The New Columbia Admission Act."

[EdwardBernays]

59. I thought

She was supporting Puerto Rico to be the 51st state....?

[Kingofalldems]

60. Well one has to be first. Looks like a little nitpicking from here.

Her sentiments are clear.