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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Getting back on topic: Looks like I83 (ranked choice) has a chance to make it on the November ballot, and of course the Democratic Party establishment is furious: [url]https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/745543/election-reform-measure-initiative-83-can-appear-on-november-ballot-board-rules/[/url]

So the question becomes, is it really Home Rule if the Party manages to control what you can vote on? [/quote]

Yes, Home Rule means local decisionmaking, it doesn't mean every local gets everything they want.

I hope the party loses this and ranked choice voting is adopted, because it makes sense. But let's not pretend this is a Home Rule question. If you want to vote in the Democratic Party primary, it's very easy to register Democratic just for the primary. You can switch to whatever other registration you like right after that. If you just don't like the fact that the vast majority of voters in D.C. happen to be Democrats, that's fine, too, but that alone is not a reason to wipe out their right to vote on local affairs.[/quote]

I'll summarize this approach as "its our town to run into the ground as we see fit."

DC is a creature of the Federal government, and the legislation that devolved power to the city (Home Rule Act) can be revoked or modified by Congress at any time, which is something DC Democrats should keep in mind. Their voting "rights" are actually provisional. Much like having a learner's permit allows one to drive within certain parameters. The sooner the DC Democrats remember this, the less painful the inevitable correction will be.

The good news is that the people insisting on local control in DC will probably move out of the city in the next few years anyway, fleeing from the consequences of their own choices. 
[/quote]

Again, the condescension toward the idea that your fellow Americans should be able to decide what happens in their own city (which you also maybe live in?) is extremely off-putting. Voting rights in D.C. are not akin to a learner's permit.

At any rate, I don't see what your sneering reply here has to do with what I posted, which is (a) I favor ranked-choice voting and hope the D.C. Democratic Party loses its attempts to block it and (b) there's no conflict between having local control and having party primaries.

Finally, if you think every person who wants local control of D.C. plans to move out of the city in a few years, you're badly mistaken about who supports Home Rule. [/quote]

You're missing out on the irony of the whole situation. The Democratic Party while crying about statehood and Home Rule, and democracy for Americans, etc... doesn't want voters to have any choice but the pre-approved ones. The reality is that no one wants the people of DC to be making real decisions. Its just a question of which group will be making the decisions for them, and how transparent that control is. I prefer a method that is out in the open and historically effective. Some people cling to the pretend democracy that produces horrible outcomes. [/quote]

Notably during the Control Board period, DC notables like Eleanor Holmes Norton were in support. For the simple reason that DC needed help fiscally which was clear to all. The current situation is totally different, with DC’s governance unfortunately becoming fodder for a culture war with no relationship to what DC actually needs.

I dislike Charles Allen, think crime is terrible, hated covid school policies. Yet even the biggest DC critics like me see the GOP fulminations about DC for what they are. You will find zero and I mean ZERO support for a control board among people who are stakeholders in DC and care about DC no matter how critical they are.

Anyone who claims they know best about how to “save DC” yet supports the obviously bad faith politicization by the GOP is full of absolute sh*t. [/quote]

Its just a matter of looking at trend lines and getting out ahead of them. Some people can see where this is heading, and others can't until disaster is already happening. Its just a matter of time before the CRE collapse leads to a budget collapse, during a collapse of law and order. Luminaries will once again be holding their hat out for Congress to save them.

As much as people like to hate on the GOP, and often they have good reasons, your average GOP Congress critter at least understands that you need to put criminals in jail. That's something the super educated ruling class of DC has unlearned with tragic consequences. A period of Congressional rule is the medicine this city needs.

That being said, the President appointing a Mayor is an even better solution. They have a much better track record. [/quote]

Sure, if you think it's absolutely unavoidable that the budget will completely collapse as will law and order, I guess your perspective here makes more sense. I don't personally think the "trend lines" are quite as rigid as you do (for one, violent crime is down 35 percent year over year), but whatever.

In reality, I think you're just trying to be a high-handed contrarian jerk, mostly for the sake of trolling, and I don't know whether you believe or care in anything you're saying. You're definitely succeeding in all that, so... congratulations?[/quote]

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