Split internally, D.C. Democrats, including the mayor, activists, and the business sector, lack a comprehensive plan to counter this new era of congressional interference.
Why it’s important The bipartisan House vote last week to invalidate two D.C. laws was the first attempt at local unity that failed.
Quick recap: As I previously reported, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration declined to fight in the Senate against the repeal of the criminal code because she opposed the measure politically. Now, there are no plans to do so.
Many anticipate it will pass the narrowly Democratic-controlled Senate when it comes up for a vote, most likely in early March. This is because an incredible number of House Democrats voted to repeal the criminal code reform and a law allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections. The bill can be overturned with a simple majority.
According to my calculation, 25 Democrats who had backed the statehood bill from the previous year cast a vote to nullify a municipal ordinance, the noncitizen voting one.
So much for trusting on D.C.’s ability to govern itself.
The intrigue: Where’s the chest-thumping, thundering herd of outrage? There is none. Through my conversations with local activists and D.C. bigwigs, it’s clear many District leaders have abdicated a principled defense for home rule when it comes to laws they disagree with.
Michael D. Brown, an unpaid “shadow senator” whose principal role is to advocate for statehood, blames the D.C. Council’s leftward tilt for inviting Congress to intervene.
“Why would you send a bill up to a conservative Republican House of Representatives that says you’re going to let a noncitizen vote?” he tells me. “The City Council in the District of Columbia acts like a petulant child.”
The opposing side: Without a well-funded lobbying operation, activists like Patrice Sulton, who pushed for the criminal code reforms Congress is now about to reject, are left with no choice except to send one-pagers to the Senate.
Sulton asserts, “There is no ringleader.”
The big picture: Despite having K Street, Washington, D.C. has long lacked a well-funded and successful lobbying effort for local autonomy. That matters more than ever right now because Republicans are more eager than ever to get involved in the District’s governance.
Also, the mayor’s office does not regularly mingle with Capitol Hill; this lack of interaction was not even enough to prevent scores of Democrats from leaving the District when it came time to vote last week.
