Congressman Makes Up Statistics About Black People To Argue DC Residents Are ‘Irresponsible’

[MADem]

Typical Republican...!

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/21/3741521/congressman-makes-up-statistics-about-black-people-to-argue-dc-residents-are-irresponsible/

Appearing at a town hall meeting Wednesday night, Congressman Andy Harris (R-MD) argued that Washington, D.C. should not be a state because its residents make “irresponsible decisions.” District residents have been engaged in a decades-long fight for statehood in order to gain representation in Congress and full local control of their government.

In a confrontation with marijuana legalization activist Adam Eidinger, Harris told Eidinger that he did not “think D.C.ought to be a state because they make irresponsible decisions like legalizing marijuana when the African-American unemployment rate is 40 percent and the African-American graduation rate from high school is 12 percent.”

Harris might want to brush up on his facts. The actual unemployment rate for African Americans in Washington, D.C. is 13.6 percent. The high school graduation rate for African American students in Washington, D.C. is 59.7 percent.

Harris did not specify whether by “they” he meant African American residents of D.C. or the entire D.C. population. Overall, 70 percent of District residents voted to legalize marijuana.
There is no credible evidence linking marijuana legalization with lower graduation rates. After legalizing marijuana, Colorado saw its unemployment rate drop.....

[Recursion]

1. DC isn't even majority black anymore

Sadly that's probably good news for the representation effort

[MADem]

2. Yeah it is, barely. It's just under fifty percent black, with other races and swirlies making up

the rest. But it is less chocolate than it used to be back in the day when it was regaled as Chocolate City. Now it's more like a four scoop banana split with two scoops of chocolate, one of vanilla, and one of coffee!


http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/11000.html

[IronLionZion]

11. Oooh yeah, I'm a proud part of the coffee scoop

Repugs don't want us to have statehood because we're reliably liberal dem

[BlueMTexpat]

3. What a joke this guy is! eom

[MADem]

4. He's being primaried by a former Marine/state trooper. I know nothing about his district, but

it would seem that it is a GOP stronghold....if we can't win there, hopefully the cop who wants to lighten up on weed laws can! This ass needs to GO. And this is the type of clown the GOP puts on APPROPRIATIONS? No wonder our tax dollars are wasted!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-state-police-commander-to-challenge-harris-20151008-story.html

[elleng]

7. He's a true pain in the ass!

'Maryland's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maryland. The district encompasses the entire Eastern Shore of Maryland, including Salisbury, as well as parts of Baltimore, Harford and Carroll counties.

The district is currently represented by Republican Andy Harris, who defeated Democratic incumbent Frank M. Kratovil, Jr. in 2010. The district was the subject of a 2014 boycott following legislation Harris introduced.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland%27s_1st_congressional_district

[MADem]

8. He sure sounds like one! nt

[jmowreader]

10. The ENTIRE EASTERN SHORE?

Let me guess: the district wasn't shaped that way until 2011.

[Number23]

5. The poor man. He forgot about this thing called the Intertubes where things can actually be

fact checked and verified.

In a confrontation with marijuana legalization activist Adam Eidinger, Harris told Eidinger that he did not “think [D.C.] ought to be a state because they make irresponsible decisions like legalizing marijuana when the African-American unemployment rate is 40 percent and the African-American graduation rate from high school is 12 percent.”

Harris might want to brush up on his facts. The actual unemployment rate for African Americans in Washington, D.C. is 13.6 percent. The high school graduation rate for African American students in Washington, D.C. is 59.7 percent.

Pretty big freaking differences between his "facts" and the real ones.

[MADem]

6. Really!!! I'm not one to root for a Republican, but this assclown is from a

GOP "lock" district....and he's being PRIMARIED--by a former Marine/state trooper who wants sane pot laws! Who knew? I hope his opponent wins--it'll get this moron off Appropriations (to be replaced by another moron, but still...!).

[kwassa]

9. It is a very rural area of Maryland ....

Flat as a table. My wife is from there, and we go to a giant family potluck over there every thanksgiving.

Also the birthplace of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. It was full of plantations that remained the same families for hundreds of years. Now along the bay there are some exclusive rich estates. Cheney and Rumsfeld have places over there.