Democrats Push For Unconstitutional Addition Of Voting House Seat For DC

The AP reports that "debate opened Monday on a bill to give the 600,000 people of Washington D.C. a full vote in the House. A new Democratic president, Barack Obama, and heftier Democratic majorities in Congress have improved the prospects for the decades-long effort that would certainly ensure another Democrat lawmaker in Congress. Democrats outnumber Republicans by some 4-to-1 in the capital. In a bit of horsetrading to offset the Democratic pickup, the bill would award a fourth House seat to Republican-leaning Utah, which narrowly missed getting that extra seat after the 2000 national census. With the two new seats, the House would have 437 representatives."

The only problem is that this goes against the clear language of the Constitution. The founders wrote that the House shall be composed of members chosen "by the people of the several states." D.C. is simply not a state. It is, as per Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, "the seat of the government of the United States." This may not seem to many like the biggest deal as Republicans will get an extra seat in Utah. But it should worry Americans when the powers that be in Washington decide to simply ignore the Constitution. It remains to be seen if after Congress adds these voting seats to the House whether a state will file a lawsuit to have the courts render this unconstitutional.

Read George Will's analysis on this issue at http://townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2009/02/05/the_unconstitutional_compromise
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