Proof Statehood
Posted in Uncategorized on 08/09/2009 05:19 am by admin
Proof Statehood
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US $19.08
In an Op-Ed to Salt Lake City's Deseret News, printed 25 January 2009, Senator Orin Hatch once again backs a bill giving DC a voting seat in the US House of Representatives, balanced by one for Utah (which we should have gotten in the 2000 Census). He makes a strong argument for the rightness of his position--that is, the argument looks really good until you examine his claims in light of historic facts. I take on his arguments one by one--
Hatch: First, the District did not even exist when the Constitution described House composition in terms of "states."
Correction: The district did exist--it existed in theory, though not in fact. "To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may...become the seat of the government of the United States..." (Article I, Section 8). More to follow on this point, but, until then, so what? How does the fact that the District had not yet been created alter the stated definition of representation? It is simple, clear and obvious and the Founders knew the District would be established, so they could provided for representation for the district if they had any desire to do so.
Hatch: There is no evidence that America's founders intended to exclude some Americans from participation in self-government.
Correction: There is absolute proof that America's founders intended to exclude a whole lot of them. In 1787, the United States in Congress Assembled (AKA the Confederation Congress) passed the Northwest Ordinance, a bill that set the pattern for admitting territories into the Union. [With some modifications, this Ordinance is still in effect.] It provided for all territories to elect a single, non-voting delegate to the US Congress. In other words, US citizens in US territories have always been excluded from Congress. Literally tens of millions of US citizens had no vote in Congress over the past 220-plus years and still don't today, if they live in Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, etc. That's why territories pushed so hard for admission to the Union as quick as possible.
Hatch: Virginia and Maryland ceded land...in 1788. Until the District was formally established in 1800, Congress treated Americans living on that land as if they still lived in a state so they could be represented in Congress....That land was no more part of a state in 1790 than the District is today.
Correction: They did still live in a state until 1800. Cession had no effect on the status of that land; the dirt remained part of Virginia and Maryland until the District was legally established in 1800 -- when Congress formally ratified the cession and took possession of the land. The district then ceased to be theoretical and became a fact, the dirt ceased to be part of the states and it became a possession of the US. An analogy: Last March, I bought a car. The papers were signed about the 5th (cession by the dealer), but I didn't take possession until around the 20th, when the loan paperwork and other stuff was finished (ratification and legal change of ownership). On the 20th, it became my car and I took possession.
Hatch: Third, courts have ruled for more than 200 years that constitutional provisions framed in terms of "states" can nonetheless be applied to the District.
Correction: Not true at all. The Courts have ruled that Congress, under Article I Section 8, has authority to apply state law to DC. Check the cases again; in every one, the laws under suit were laws the Constitution specifically empowers Congress to enact. When the Founding Fathers wrote "To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District" there was an unwritten assumption -- that the subject of such legislation would fall within the powers extended to Congress. It was not a grant of monarchial, despotic, absolute power by Congress over DC; it was not carte blanche. Such a concept was anathema to the Founders. They had thrown off one despot, then created a worthless government under the Articles of Confederation specifically to prevent the new government from becoming absolute. Nothing I have ever read from any Founding Father suggests they would support absolute power over anything by any branch of government.
Congress can establish rules of interstate commerce; therefore, Congress can apply interstate commerce law to the District. Congress has authority to lay and collect taxes; therefore Congress can lay and collect taxes in the District. The Constitution specifically grants membership in the House to representatives of "the several states." This is an independent power not granted to or connected to any branch of the federal government -- it is a right of statehood exclusively. (See also the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights.) When the states formed the federal government, they were independent nations and they fought hard to retain their sovereignty. Read the debates over the ratification of the Constitution if you doubt they fought hard to give up this sovereignty.
Conclusion:
Senator Hatch is doing what he thinks is right for Utah, but intent doesn't cut it -- you have to actually do what is right, not just want what is right. The ends do not justify the means. If the Gentleman form Utah wants to assure his state gets the fourth seat it should have received following the 2000 census, he should sponsor and push through Congress legislation that requires the Census Bureau to count every citizen -- at home and abroad. Legislation that will require it a fair and complete census. He needs to work within the rules of the Constitution and established law, he should not try to circumvent those rules.
Phoenix Roberts has been a journalist, freelance writer and desktop publisher for over 10 years. His work has appeared in local, regional and national publications and he's worked for numerous corporate, community and political clients. Recently, he was an SEO Content Writer for Internet discount retailer http://www.Overstock.com
Phoenix also operates a small publishing company focused on US history, Baron Phoenix Media.
(C)2009 Baron Phoenix Media--All Rights Reserved.
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