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Joe Manchin opposes DC statehood bill in blow to Dem push for more Senate seats
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Leroy N. Soetoro
Jun 29, 2021, 4:14:41 PM6/29/21
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https://nypost.com/2021/04/30/joe-manchin-opposes-dc-statehood-bill-in-
blow-to-dem-push-for-more-senate-seats/
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Friday said that he opposes a
bill to make Washington, DC, the 51st state — effectively killing a push
by fellow Democrats that would all but guarantee them two more seats in
the Senate.
Manchin said that he believes a constitutional amendment is required,
rather than a House-passed bill that would shrink the federal district and
admit the remainder of DC as a new state.
A constitutional amendment won’t happen. It would require two-thirds
support in each chamber of Congress and ratification in three-fourths of
states.
Manchin told local radio host Hoppy Kercheval of MetroNews that Democrats
historically believed a constitutional amendment was needed, He said
Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and the Carter administration both held
that view.
“They all came to the same conclusion: If Congress wants to make DC a
state, it should propose a constitutional amendment. It should propose a
constitutional amendment and let the people of America vote,” Manchin
said.
DC statehood would result in two new senators and one new voting member of
the House. All likely would be Democrats, given President Biden took more
than 92 percent of the city’s vote last year.
House Democrats passed a DC statehood bill for the first time last year
along party lines — and did so again this month. The last time DC
statehood had received a House vote, in 1993, it failed with just one
Republican vote and almost half of Democrats opposed.
In the intervening years, local Democrats pushed into party orthodoxy a
proposal to shrink the federal district described in the Constitution to
only include the White House, the US Capitol and federal buildings
flanking the National Mall.
Although the idea has won near universal backing among Democrats, it has
not swayed centrist Republicans in the Senate, where Democrats hold a bare
50-50 majority with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking ties in their
favor. Typical swing-voting Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Lisa Murkowski
(R-Alaska) indicated they didn’t support the bill.
Manchin’s opposition to the bill greatly reduces the likelihood that
Democrats would abolish the 60-vote procedural filibuster that requires a
supermajority to pass most bills in the Senate.
Conservative opponents of DC statehood have long advocated that DC be
given back to Maryland if residents want voting representation in Congress
and have put forward an array of arguments premised on the views of the
Founding Fathers.
But former President Donald Trump forged new ground last year by telling
The Post — in his first remarks on DC statehood as president — that
Republicans must oppose the idea because it would benefit Democrats.
“DC will never be a state,” Trump told The Post. “You mean District of
Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic — Democrat
senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That’ll never happen.”
Trump added: “They want to do that so they pick up two automatic Democrat
— you know it’s 100 percent Democrat, basically — so why would the
Republicans ever do that? That’ll never happen unless we have some very,
very stupid Republicans around that I don’t think you do. You understand
that, right?”
Republican politicians have embraced that previously unspoken truth.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said at his Republican
National Convention speech last year that DC statehood must be opposed to
prevent Democratic legislation from passing.
“They want to tell you what kind of car you can drive. What sources of
information are credible. And even how many hamburgers you can eat,” he
said. “And they want to codify all this by making the swamp itself,
Washington, D.C., America’s 51st state. With two more liberal senators, we
cannot undo the damage they’ve done.”
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: sf.n...@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
blow-to-dem-push-for-more-senate-seats/
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Friday said that he opposes a
bill to make Washington, DC, the 51st state — effectively killing a push
by fellow Democrats that would all but guarantee them two more seats in
the Senate.
Manchin said that he believes a constitutional amendment is required,
rather than a House-passed bill that would shrink the federal district and
admit the remainder of DC as a new state.
A constitutional amendment won’t happen. It would require two-thirds
support in each chamber of Congress and ratification in three-fourths of
states.
Manchin told local radio host Hoppy Kercheval of MetroNews that Democrats
historically believed a constitutional amendment was needed, He said
Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and the Carter administration both held
that view.
“They all came to the same conclusion: If Congress wants to make DC a
state, it should propose a constitutional amendment. It should propose a
constitutional amendment and let the people of America vote,” Manchin
said.
DC statehood would result in two new senators and one new voting member of
the House. All likely would be Democrats, given President Biden took more
than 92 percent of the city’s vote last year.
House Democrats passed a DC statehood bill for the first time last year
along party lines — and did so again this month. The last time DC
statehood had received a House vote, in 1993, it failed with just one
Republican vote and almost half of Democrats opposed.
In the intervening years, local Democrats pushed into party orthodoxy a
proposal to shrink the federal district described in the Constitution to
only include the White House, the US Capitol and federal buildings
flanking the National Mall.
Although the idea has won near universal backing among Democrats, it has
not swayed centrist Republicans in the Senate, where Democrats hold a bare
50-50 majority with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking ties in their
favor. Typical swing-voting Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Lisa Murkowski
(R-Alaska) indicated they didn’t support the bill.
Manchin’s opposition to the bill greatly reduces the likelihood that
Democrats would abolish the 60-vote procedural filibuster that requires a
supermajority to pass most bills in the Senate.
Conservative opponents of DC statehood have long advocated that DC be
given back to Maryland if residents want voting representation in Congress
and have put forward an array of arguments premised on the views of the
Founding Fathers.
But former President Donald Trump forged new ground last year by telling
The Post — in his first remarks on DC statehood as president — that
Republicans must oppose the idea because it would benefit Democrats.
“DC will never be a state,” Trump told The Post. “You mean District of
Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic — Democrat
senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That’ll never happen.”
Trump added: “They want to do that so they pick up two automatic Democrat
— you know it’s 100 percent Democrat, basically — so why would the
Republicans ever do that? That’ll never happen unless we have some very,
very stupid Republicans around that I don’t think you do. You understand
that, right?”
Republican politicians have embraced that previously unspoken truth.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said at his Republican
National Convention speech last year that DC statehood must be opposed to
prevent Democratic legislation from passing.
“They want to tell you what kind of car you can drive. What sources of
information are credible. And even how many hamburgers you can eat,” he
said. “And they want to codify all this by making the swamp itself,
Washington, D.C., America’s 51st state. With two more liberal senators, we
cannot undo the damage they’ve done.”
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: sf.n...@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
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