The Mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, tried to sell the statehood of DC during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech. She stated that the battle over the filibuster in the Senate wouldn’t have been an issue if the District had a couple of Senators.
She maintained that she had to ensure no one forgot about Washington DC because they could not talk about voting rights without talking about the disenfranchisement of around 700,000 taxpaying citizens. She also suggested that the lack of a voting representation at Congress from DC is simply a legacy of slavery as well as Jim Crow America.
Muriel Bowser Claims DC Statehood Would End Filibuster
In her statement, Muriel Bowser kept talking about how the situation of the filibuster would be if Washington DC had two senators- the two senators she believes the place deserves. Bowser went on to tie her advocacy for the statehood of DC with Democratic-led legislation that was aimed at overhauling the election system in the country.
She continued her speech by saying that there was no reason one should forget that not only did the filibuster routinely silence the voices of the majority, but the will of the majority also isn’t even represented fully. And the plight of the capital is the same plight that millions would be facing if the John Lewis Voting Rights Act wasn’t passed in Congress.
Similar to Muriel Bowser, the previous week saw President Biden stating that such legislation should be passed because it was vital to democracy. But, most Republicans in power have opposed the bills because they believe that the amendment would be favoring their opposition, whilst depriving the states of their basic constitutional right to determine how they end up running their elections.
Unfortunately for Muriel Bowser, the statehood for DC has been opposed by several Republican lawmakers, who believe that the initiative would simply be a power grab by the Democrats.
