Elon & Twitter

[bkp_duke]

I'm glad to hear you would support Puerto Rico statehood. (Hawaii became a state in 1959.)

However, why "never" to DC statehood? It has a larger population than 2 other states.

The position that it requires a change in the Constitution (and 67 votes in the Senate instead of 60 or 51 with the filibuster removed),
is not "clear", it's just the position of mostly the Republican Party. So I'm going to quote a FoxNews article on that (but there are of course others like it):

House passes DC statehood bill: Here’s how it would work

The Democratic-led House on Friday for the first time passed a bill that would make Washington, D.C. the 51st state.

www.foxnews.com

A specific bill for statehood has already passed the House. The reason it would fail in the Senate is described in the FoxNews article this way:


(If it passes without a change in the Constitution, it may come to the Supreme Court. However even 67 votes doesn't seem completely impossible since it would most likely get almost all Democratic votes.)

So this appears to be mostly the self-interest of "winning", and contradict the claimed "dedicat[ion] to the proposition that we are all equal", which was my point.

The "why" is complicated, but it boils down to the original intent of the founding fathers. If DC were to become a state, it would be the only state that contains the seat of government for all 3 branches of the federal government. The original intent was to avoid this as to have a "district" that is neutral and favors no state.

I concur with that assessment, as DC statehood would propel DC to a status above all other states, and that should be avoided.


EDIT - or as @STS-134 stated, return all but the smallest fraction to Maryland and Virginia. Problem solved.

 

[SO16]

someone like Mr Beast placing an exclusive twitter video would help.

YT doesn’t need to “die” in order for Twitter videos to do well.

Case in point, Tucker Carlson. ~24 million views on Twitter. Videos on YT about this same video, 12k to 880k. Most on low end.

But I do think Twitter should adopt an ad profit sharing model like YT. I have no desire to pay for subscriptions to all these different content creators. That would add up quick.

 

[Norbert]

The "why" is complicated, but it boils down to the original intent of the founding fathers. If DC were to become a state, it would be the only state that contains the seat of government for all 3 branches of the federal government. The original intent was to avoid this as to have a "district" that is neutral and favors no state.

I concur with that assessment, as DC statehood would propel DC to a status above all other states, and that should be avoided.


EDIT - or as @STS-134 stated, return all but the smallest fraction to Maryland and Virginia. Problem solved.

As my quote states, the Consitution intended in Article I, Section 8 "the creation of a federal district to be the seat of government".

As @STS-134 stated as well, this can also be achieved by carving out that same small fraction (that includes the White House and Capitol Hill), and creating a new state for the main part of Washington DC.

This is what bill HR 51 proposes which has passed the House.

EDIT: This also appears to be what the residents in Washington DC want.

EDIT: (Even the DC Republican Party stated in 2020: "The District of Columbia must either become a state or its residents must be exempt from federal income taxes.")

 

[bkp_duke]

As my quote states, the Consitution intended in Article I, Section 8 "the creation of a federal district to be the seat of government".

As @STS-134 stated as well, this can also be achieved by carving out that same small fraction (that includes the White House and Capitol Hill), and creating a new state for the main part of Washington DC.

This is what bill HR 51 proposes which has passed the House.

EDIT: This also appears to be what the residents in Washington DC want.

Well, the dems want it to be a separate state, vs. being returned to Maryland, because DC votes 95% or more dem. That would give them an edge in the Senate. Let's be honest here, that's the drive behind the push for statehood vs. "representation" by returning the bulk of DC back to Maryland.

 

[Norbert]

Well, the dems want it to be a separate state, vs. being returned to Maryland, because DC votes 95% or more dem. That would give them an edge in the Senate. Let's be honest here, that's the drive behind the push for statehood vs. "representation" by returning the bulk of DC back to Maryland.

As I just added to my previous post, independent statehood is also how the DC Republican Party thinks:

Platform

The 2020 Platform of the District of Columbia Republican Party On May 13, 2019, Mr. José Cunningham, Chairman of the Republican Partyof the District of Columbia, appointed the following members […]

dcgop.com

DC Voting Rights

The District of Columbia must either become a state or its residents must be exempt from federal income taxes. In the absence of statehood, the DC GOP demands that the District of Columbia, as a federal territory, be afforded the same rights and benefits as citizens of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Samoa, and the Marianas.

Without voting representation, we demand NO TAXATION. The residents of the District of Columbia should be exempt from the payment of federal income taxes. Aside from politics, this would enhance the DC economy by attracting business to DC, giving DC Residents more personal disposable income; and encouraging small business startups.

 

[italian bread]

Well, the dems want it to be a separate state, vs. being returned to Maryland, because DC votes 95% or more dem. That would give them an edge in the Senate. Let's be honest here, that's the drive behind the push for statehood vs. "representation" by returning the bulk of DC back to Maryland.

The "why" someone or some party supports statehood is immaterial, what's important is what is best for the people living and working in DC. And of course to give consideration what the people in DC want regarding statehood.

 

[T3SLAROD]

Musk says if you don’t post on Twitter he will reassign your user name ……

 

[DarkandStormy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1653820431621668869

 

[bkp_duke]

The "why" someone or some party supports statehood is immaterial, what's important is what is best for the people living and working in DC. And of course to give consideration what the people in DC want regarding statehood.

No, the boundaries and if another state is added and WHY is important. DC has had it's boundaries redrawn considerably over the centuries, so if it becomes a state and WHY is important. Otherwise, what's to prevent TX from splitting into 5 new states just to "pack the senate".

 

[STS-134]

No, the boundaries and if another state is added and WHY is important. DC has had it's boundaries redrawn considerably over the centuries, so if it becomes a state and WHY is important.

The way states have always been added has never been about representation. It's always been about keeping the balance between slave states and free states or between the two parties. Alaska was supposed to be a reliable Democratic state and Hawaii was supposed to be a reliable Republican state when both were added in the same year although not exactly at the same time. This did sort of keep the balance although the states now reliably vote the opposite way people in 1959 expected.

Otherwise, what's to prevent TX from splitting into 5 new states just to "pack the senate".

How about making every Hawaiian island a new state, with Hawai‘i Island retaining the Hawaii name and Honolulu County becoming the state of O‘ahu and so on?

 

[Knightshade]

Otherwise, what's to prevent TX from splitting into 5 new states just to "pack the senate".

Article IV, Section 3, of the United States Constitution expressly prohibits any other state from dividing up and forming smaller states without congressional approval. Yes that includes Texas.

 

[bkp_duke]

Article IV, Section 3, of the United States Constitution expressly prohibits any other state from dividing up and forming smaller states without congressional approval. Yes that includes Texas.

Yes, I am aware of that. The same essential tug of war applies to statehood for DC and PR in that regard as it would be to divide up a state into smaller ones - congressional approval.

 

[italian bread]

No, the boundaries and if another state is added and WHY is important. DC has had it's boundaries redrawn considerably over the centuries, so if it becomes a state and WHY is important. Otherwise, what's to prevent TX from splitting into 5 new states just to "pack the senate".

Two totally different cases. Texas is already a state. Puerto Rico and DC are not states but the residents want them to become states.

 

[italian bread]

Article IV, Section 3, of the United States Constitution expressly prohibits any other state from dividing up and forming smaller states without congressional approval. Yes that includes Texas.

Every so often, conservatives make noise about wanting to split away from the US.

 

[Knightshade]

Every so often, conservatives make noise about wanting to split away from the US.

Has not worked out well for them, historically speaking

 

[italian bread]

No, the boundaries and if another state is added and WHY is important. DC has had it's boundaries redrawn considerably over the centuries, so if it becomes a state and WHY is important. Otherwise, what's to prevent TX from splitting into 5 new states just to "pack the senate".

You mean like how North and South Carolina did?

 

[italian bread]

Has not worked out well for them, historically speaking

You know what they say about not learning from history…

 

[bkp_duke]

Two totally different cases. Texas is already a state. Puerto Rico and DC are not states but the residents want them to become states.

The POINT is that BOTH SCENARIOS require congressional approval. They may be different cases, but they require essentially the same "approval". New state from new land (DC, PR), or new states from existing states, both require an act of congress authorized by the constitution.

1) DC, PR - have to come up with a state constitution and the residents accept (vote) it. Then joint resolution of Congress has to be passed to accept the state.

51st state - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

2) Split a state - as mentioned above, via Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution. Requires . . . guess what . . . a joint resolution of Congress be passed.

 

[STS-134]

You know what they say about not learning from history…

But that would require an education.

 

[italian bread]

But that would require an education.

Banning books certainly doesn't help.