No vote for the federal seat

By Michael Duncan
Washington

A “voting right” for 60 square miles of concentrated federal government runs afoul of every intention of our Constitution [“D.C. voting rights hypocrisy,” editorial, Oct. 20]. The Founding Fathers would be appalled by such a sprawling monument to federal power. Do not forget that the District is the seat of our federal government, not a state; the government operates at the service of the people, not as part of the electoral process.

Washington, a place where people make a living working for government, lobbying government and profiting from government, does not need to cast any congressional vote aimed at justifying the growth of itself. Democracy can be found in the apportionment of D.C. residents into Maryland and Virginia voting districts, retrocession of the District to Maryland or a constitutional amendment making the District the 51st state.

But Democrats know that none of these are realistic options politically, and so they try, like all politicians, to circumvent the system.