Ryan, yours is the noblesse oblige argument that has served DC so poorly for so long (as in, it's one of the many reasons there are so few home-grown political leaders there worth their salt): "We, the wise white fathers who live and govern here will look out for you, DC residents, don't worry your pretty little heads." It's a black and white issue, indeed.

Statehood, what are you people smoking anyhow, you must be kidding us.

I love those those plates, but I was stunned to see a political mesaage/complaint on license plates. That would be like Illinois having plates exorting politicians to stop the corruption. (For non Illinoisans, this may be the most corrupt state in the country, after Louisiana. Though I know Florida and New Jersey are very close.)

How about a D.C plate that says "Taxation Pays My Bills"

Not that I'm trying to start a new argument or anything, but Florida has a special anti-abortion license plate -- says something like "Choose Life." How does something like that get through?

Interesting how someone made this into a racial issue when the city has as its most beloved franchise, a football team with a name that can be deemed as pretty offensive. But, I digress.

In terms of the getting representation issue, I believe you need to look at political reality. Political reality one is that we've become a fairly divided society between the left and the right. We may be in a cycle where elections are won at the national level by modest margins and where the Congress remains fairly close. Getting the requisite support will be tough given the perception that the DC population is fairly pastisan.

Political reality 2 is that the Republicans aren't going to push for DC representation when it might swing the balance of power in the House and Senate.

In terms of your last best chance, the Democratically controlled Congress in Clinton's first two years in office, I think you have to remember that the Marion Barry incident was still pretty fresh in 1992 and 1993.

I too love the plates. A considered alternative was "America's Serfs". I think other states might try something bolder as well. For example, Wisconson: "Come smell our Dairy Air!"

Actually, one of the proposals was to give DC a vote while also giving an additional vote to a Western state that is underrepresented, I think its Wyoming or Utah.

I can't defend Marion Barry, but in no other city in the country is representation withheld from the residents on the strength of their mayor's competence, or lack thereof.

I posted these license plate slogans last spring and thought it is appropriate for this thread:

Please have a sense of humor and help me with my list of license plate slogans. There are no sacred cows! I have slammed my own state. Does anyone have slogans which you like better? I can not think of a slogan for a few of the states.

with love,
Jor \/

Alabama, The kissin' cousins state
Alaska, Hell with the Lower 48
Arizona, Snowbird bait of the USA
Arkansas, Dumb and Dumber than Missouri
California, The Golden Broke State
Colorado, The Square State
Connecticut,
Delaware,
Florida, The birth place of Methamatics
Georgia, Yankee Go Home
Hawaii, Land of no Interstate Highways
Idaho, White as a peeled potato
Illinois, There is no noise in Illinois
Indiana,
Iowa, Remember Radar on MASH?
Kansas, The fly-over state
Kentucky,
Louisiana, We ain't as stupid as Missip
Maine,
Maryland,
Massachusetts,
Michigan, Rust capital of America
Minnesota, Hillbillies of the North
Mississippi, How do you spell Mississippi?
Missouri,
Montana,
Nebraska, Except In Nebraska
Nevada,
New Hampshire, The state next to Vermont
New Jersey,
New Mexico,
New York, Its a State, Stupid!
North Carolina,
North Dakota, Land of White People
Ohio, The Other rust state
Oklahoma,
Oregon, Spend your money here and Leave
Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Blink and you will miss us
South Carolina,
South Dakota, The dead presidents state
Tennessee, All roads lead to Graceland
Texas, Biggest before Alaska showed up
Utah, Where Wives outnumber Husbands
Vermont, Vacancy, Gays Welcome!
Virginia, We have Virgins??
Washington, The one on the West Coast
West Virginia, Just west of Virginia
Wisconsin, Land of five million Drunks
Wyoning, We got Real cowboys!

E,
You want to have representation then fine. But, first come join the rest of us in the country that get SIGNIFICANTLY less in return then we send to Washington. You want equal representation, then first let's make you equal by bringing you pack to the pack when it comes to benefitting from tax dollars collected.

According to the non-partisan tax foundation, in 2002 Washington, D.C. received the benefit of $6.17 for every $1 collected in income tax from District residents.

Know what number 2 New Mexico got? $1.89. So, Washington, D.C residents got back 326% MORE then the next closest person in America.

Want to talk about taxation without representation, then consider my fellow NJ residents to be first on the list as we're number 51 on return of funds sent. For every $1 of federal tax we pay, we get back $0.62.

Tell you what, you take our Conressmen, we'll take your $6.17.

Connecticut - the state that doesn't know what team to root for (NY or Boston)

Love the Wisconsin slogan above; another dairy-oriented one for them is "Eat Cheese or Die."

And here's another favorite list of state slogans:

Alabama: Heck Yes, We Have Electricity
Alaska: 11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!
Arizona: But It's A Dry Heat
Arkansas: Literacy Ain't Everything
California: By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda
Colorado: If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother
Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only The Kennedy's Don't Own It Yet
Delaware: We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water
Florida: Ask Us About Our Grandkids
Georgia: We Put The "Fun" In Fundamentalist Extremism
Hawaii: Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, But Leave Your Money)
Idaho: More Than Just Potatoes ... Well Okay, We're
Not, But The Potatoes Are Real Good
Illinois: Please Don't Pronounce the "S"
Indiana: 2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free
Iowa: We Do Amazing Things With Corn
Kansas: First Of The Rectangular States
Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names
Louisiana: We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, But
That's Our Tourism Campaign
Maine: We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster
Maryland: If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It
Massachusetts: Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's (For Most Tax Brackets)
Michigan: First Line Of Defense From The Canadians
Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes... And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes
Mississippi: Come And Feel Better About Your Own State
Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars At Work
Montana: Land Of The Big Sky, The Unabomber, Right-wing Crazies, And Very Little Else
Nebraska: Ask About Our State Motto Contest
Nevada: Hookers and Poker!
New Hampshire: Go Away And Leave Us Alone
New Jersey: You Want A ##$%##! Motto? I Got Yer ##$%##! Motto Right Here!
New Mexico: Lizards Make Excellent pets
New York: You Have The Right To Remain Silent, You Have The Right To An Attorney ...
North Carolina: Tobacco Is A Vegetable
North Dakota: We Really Are One Of The 50 States!
Ohio: At Least We're Not Michigan
Oklahoma: Like The Play, Only No Singing
Oregon: Spotted Owl... It's What's For Dinner
Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal
Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY An Island
South Carolina: Remember The Civil War? We Didn' Actually Surrender
South Dakota: Closer Than North Dakota
Tennessee: The Educashun State
Texas: Si' Hablo Ing'les (Yes, I Speak English)
Utah: Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus!
Vermont: Yep
Virginia: Who Says Government Stiffs And Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?
Washington: Help! We're Overrun By Nerds And Slackers!
Washington, D.C.: Wanna Be Mayor?
West Virginia: One Big Happy Family... Really!
Wisconsin: Come Cut The Cheese
Wyoming: Where Men Are Men ... and the sheep are scared!

Brilliant idea, Ryan, perhaps we should just base representation on tax dollars paid.

What do you think that money is going for in D.C. . . .? A huge share is infrastructure and support for -- guess what -- the federal government.

It's not like much of that is filtering down to residents. In fact, the state/local tax load is second to only New York.

And then because -- surprise -- a lot of federal employees live in the District, the flow of federal dollars here is perfectly understandable.

And New Jersey does have representation -- it's just not very good. And N.J. voters are to blame -- that's not the case in D.C.

Ryan, you make a good point. Every city in America would kill for the ability to have all of their income flowing in from outside areas instead of money going from Joe to Moe to Mary and back to Joe all within the same city.

D.C has an ideal situation where most money comes from All of the 50 states, is mandated, gaurenteed, and can not be changed. Thats why I suggested a plate that says "Taxation Pays My Bills"

You're right, Repete is it going for indrastructure and the Federal government such as Federal government jobs that provide DC residents with employment, Federal government dollars that provide DC businesses with revenue, and Federal government funding for much of the cities infrastructure.

And that infrastructure supports the federal government. Take for example, the Million-Whatever Marchers or the IMF protests. Whose police department works those?

The point is that the benefits of those tax figures to typical DC residents aren't what they seem.

Residents pay the same federal taxes as everyone else and their local/state tax load is more than that of 49 states. They just don't get the same representation. It's a matter of simple fairness.

"Author: Shane
Date: 10/15/2004, 05:11 pm
Message: If DC gets statehood, can Maryland's Eastern Shore secede from the rest of the state and become our own state?"

I doubt that would ever be the case, though we can dream. By the way, where on the Eastern Shore do you live?
I live/lived (go to college elsewhere, come back during break) in Salisbury. I've always been a "Seperatist" and everyone seems to laugh when I say that. We have our reasons to demand independence. I even had a mini poster made to demand statehood for the Eastern Shore.

Washington DC deserves statehood just by principle, it pays taxes. Also, the population of DC is similar to some entire states, such as Wyoming (not quite).

I live just off the Wye River, near Queenstown. Frankly, as long as both political parties agree that it could be done equitably, I'd wouldn't mind the US being split into 100 states. Maine seceded from Massachusetts in 1820 you know. Maryland's Eastern Shore could get statehood. Michigan's Upper Peninsula. California could split three ways, as some have proposed. Technically, Texas has the right to split 5 ways. Washington state could split at the Cascades. The Democratic West could have their desired reps and senators and the Republican East could have theirs. Heck, almost 40 years ago Norman Mailer advocated statehood for New York City- not too bad an idea.

How about:

Washington DC: If not for the Feds, this place would still be a swamp.