The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 51—the bill providing "admission into the United States of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia" in a 216 to 208 vote Thursday afternoon.
Rather than prioritizing policies to address the crisis challenge at our southern border, spiking violent crime, rising fuel and energy prices, or aggression from China and Russia, the "we know best" Democrats have cleared another hurdle in their latest push to give Washington, D.C., statehood.
Sure, those pushing DC statehood will make the supposedly noble case that Washingtonians deserve representation in Congress, but Democrats couldn't care less about taxation without representation. Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin said the quiet part out loud recently, stating, "The Senate has become a major impediment to social progress for the country."
Rep. Jamie Raskin admits the REAL reason Democrats want to make DC a state:
— Mark Bednar (@MarkBednar) March 24, 2021
(hint: it's about expanding their own power)
"the Senate has become a major impediment to social progress for the country" pic.twitter.com/q0q0HBqp2t
To be clear, he is saying that the duly-elected representatives of the American people are not monolithic enough in their thinking—not spineless enough to blindly go along with Democratic leadership—for him and his ilk to be satisfied. Rather than coming up with better policies that have appeal or engaging in actual bipartisanship, Democrats decided to add more seats to the Senate that are essentially guaranteed to pad their majority.
As we've pointed out repeatedly, this most recent attempt at adding D.C. as the 51st state isn't even constitutional.
When constitutional questions—like what will happen to the District's three Electoral College votes or how Democrats can pull off making D.C. a state via statute, effectively amending the Constitution without following the established process—have been raised as H.R. 51 made its way through committee, Democrats brushed them aside.
Constitution, schmonstitution, seems to be their party line.
Democrats are trying to ensure they are not impeded in their radical agenda by the diverse ideas inherent in government that's representative of America's diverse population. It's all part of their larger plan to restructure the federal government in a way that prioritizes their interests, rather than one that adheres to the Constitution.
Packing the Supreme Court to rig a liberal majority, gutting the filibuster to enjoy unchallenged lawmaking, and handing out statehood to liberal enclaves are the priorities of the party that is sick of pesky ideological diversity and constitutional guidance that has protected our system of government from tyrannical rule for centuries.
D.C. statehood now heads to the U.S. Senate where, as my colleague Reagan McCarthy pointed out recently, it is "unlikely to garner support to overcome the 60-vote hurdle in the Senate."