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Is Baucus hurting Montana by filibustering the DC voting rights bill?

by: Jay Stevens

Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 11:04:39 AM MDT

Cece first wrote about Max Baucus' filibuster of the DC voting rights bill. Here's what she said:

You see, the people who live in our nation's capital, Washington D.C., have never had representation in the Senate or the House, and for the first time, we are only 3 votes away from getting the legislation passed to right a 200 year old wrong. And your senator, Max Baucus, is one of the ones stopping it from passing.

(By the way, Cece's not the only one angry with our senior Senator over this issue. It appears to have pushed Wulfgar! over the edge.)

I've actually written on this subject before, and I don't understand the arguments against extending representation to a city, as Cece pointed out, with a population greater than Wyoming.

Not only would giving a Representative to DC only "dilute" Montana's House representation by about 0.0011 percent, Montana is actually over-represented in Congress because, despite our small population, we have two Senators representing us in Congress.

The deal would also grant Utah another House seat, which would likely go to the GOP, balancing out the fact that a DC Representative would likely be a Democrat. So neither party gains an advantage.

But the most inane part of this filibuster is that, by blocking this bill, Senator Baucus may actually be hurting Montana's chance at getting a second House seat. David Sirota, quoting from a 2001 Billings Gazette article:

Montana will have just one representative in the U.S. House for at least another 10 years. The state failed to meet population growth standards needed to reclaim its second congressional seat, U.S. Census results released Thursday showed...the state grew 12.9 percent over the past 10 years, but missed gaining a second House seat by 8,168 people, according to the nonpartisan research group Election Data Services of Washington, D.C...Only Utah "missed getting another congressional seat by a narrower margin; it lacked 856 people."

Got that? If the DC voting rights bill is passed, Montana moves up to the front of the line for a new House seat after the next census. If this bill doesn't pass, as Sirota wrote, "Montana will likely be stuck with just one House seat for another decade."

Jay Stevens :: Is Baucus hurting Montana by filibustering the DC voting rights bill?

Tags: DC voting rights, Max Baucus, (All Tags)

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Is Baucus hurting Montana by filibustering the DC voting rights bill? | 9 comments

You can't say that (0.00 / 0)

Montana is "over-represented" in the Senate because of our small population. Senators were never meant to be apportioned by population levels--only by the state. So it really doesn't add anything to the argument to do so.

One can say that because Senators were intended in a way to represent whole state's rights, instead of Congressional Districts, that ultimately the Senate would uphold the integrity of the republic by seeing that the issues of statehood and apportionment were properly conducted.

In the case of DC, Cece alludes to the fact that Congress can correct the issue of DC. To clarify, it would seem that a Constitutional amendment is needed to take care of this issue once and for all to recognize DC for what it is, and allow for representation of its peoples.

Furthermore, the nation has a pesky little issue with Guam and Puerto Rico right now. Puerto Rico may well be one of the most important upcoming primaries in this election season, yet they still are not a state. PR has 63 pledged and super delegates, compared to Montana's 23. What's up with that? Guam has 9 delegates (pledged and super-duper).

Puerto Rico has 4 million people, and as a "semi-autonomous territory" was granted "commonwealth" status by the US in 1952. But the relationship between the US and PR is a mess--as much so as is the relationship between the US and DC, if not moreso.

Baucus needs to get off his high holies and start leading to some solutions in these, and other, messes.

Like the 16 territories still under control of the US--including PR, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Midway Islands, and a dozen or so "unincorporated unorganized territories" that include places like Johnston Island, which arguably is one of the worst nuclear disasters in the world--where the US tested nuclear missiles above ground during the Cold War. Yes, complete with accidents leading to explosive nuclear contamination across a broad swath of the Pacific, and the first ever nuclear detonation in space.

American hegemony really needs to be revisited in the 21st century. Maybe Baucus' filibuster in DC is a wakeup call. Obama, it's 3am, are you listening?

by: JC @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 13:40:04 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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I can, too! (0.00 / 0)

Whatever justifications are posed to support Montana's over-representation in Congress and in the Electoral College -- and I'm not saying they're not just -- you cannot avoid the fact that small states like Montana are disproportionately represented in the federal government.

It's a nice position to be in as a Montanan, but that doesn't escape the fact that decreasing MT's influence in the House by 0.0011 percent doesn't in any diminish our power in Congress...

by: Jay Stevens @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 13:49:46 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

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Well, you can say it, but that doesn't make it right, (0.00 / 0)

even if that is the argument used against Montana receiving another rep. Anyone with a basic civics lesson should know that arguing against Montana receiving another rep because of Senatorial representation is complete BS. I'm not referring to you, but to all the other dimwits out there who would raise this issue.

But none of that goes to your point about the .0011. I'm not sure how you reached that number, but in any case, adding a rep to Congress from DC shouldn't be argued against by Baucus because it makes our Denny's vote 1/455 less powerful. And I don't know why the issue has to be confounded over reapportioning another seat to Utah. Enough of this "one for us and one for you" nonsense.

by: JC @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 14:21:32 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Baucus fundraiser (0.00 / 0)

I heard there is a fundraiser next week to BUY MAX A SPINE!

by: Michael @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 15:22:48 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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Even Gumby implants (0.00 / 0)

are just cosmetic surgery.

by: JC @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 15:56:27 PM CDT

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by: you @ soon

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Max (me too!) Baucus (0.00 / 0)

has finally found a useful position if he is actually capable of keeping the camp followers from DC out of congress...

by: jed @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 20:01:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Open House (0.00 / 0)

Actually, ironically, shortly after my post, someone stopped by my office with a flier asking me to go to the Max Baucus' Helena Field Office Open House on March 24, 2008 from 2 to 4 pm, at 326 Fuller Ave here in Helena.

The kid handing out the flier told me that Max would be there. I replied "Great! I want to talk to him about his failure to defend democracy while having the gall to call himself a Democrat." I think I scared the kid.

Why is it that the open house is scheduled during most people's work day?

by: Cece @ Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 10:26:25 AM CDT

by: you @ soon

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Just for you :P (0.00 / 0)

Missoula's open house is tonight at 5, but i doubt the Senator will be there.

by: Mathello @ Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 10:53:15 AM CDT

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by: you @ soon

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Why would any politician want working people (0.00 / 0)

at an open house?
It makes almost as much sense as asking "why would he want them at a fund raiser"..?

by: jed @ Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 14:24:24 PM CDT

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by: you @ soon

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Is Baucus hurting Montana by filibustering the DC voting rights bill? | 9 comments

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