If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em… and Take Credit.

Incredible. CNN just aired an add trumpeting "the mayor's plan" to provide opportunity scholarships to D.C. children trapped in schools which, as the ad notes, wealthy residents who can afford private school would never dream of sending their kids to.

Well, it's fantastic that this is happening, but it's just a little difficult to watch D.C. mayor Anthony Williams patting himself on the back for this after being just recently dragged, kicking and screaming, to his present position of grudging support for educational choice.

Comments

[Mark S.]

Welcome to politics! Whenever a bill or a regulation you oppose passes despite your best efforts to block it, just take credit for it! Don't worry, the voters won't notice.

[Plutarck]

Hee-ll-o, are we forgetting the age old saying?

"If you can't beat'em, join 'em!"

There you go. Case closed.

[joe]

No, Mark. This didn't pass over Williams' opposition. This issue is very much still in play, and Williams switched from the side that was winning to the underdogs. Vouchers (I'm sorry, what does Faux want us to call them again? Opportunitybulbs? Educationalchoicebulbs? Deathtaxbulbs?) are very, very unpopular in DC. They haven't "passed" anything. Williams is really sticking his neck out by doing this. I may disagree with him on policy on this one, but for a politician to 1) changed his positition publically, and 2) change in a way that makes his own re-election less likely, is pretty admirable.

[Joanne McNeil]

If the city of DC doesn't want vouchers, isn't it a bad idea to shove them down the locals throats? It was the House -- yes, the federal goverment makes decisions for the district -- that passed this initiative. Undoubtably the voucher plan will have few, if any, immediate results. And Mayor Williams will abandon this effort as a the latest fluke.

The only libertarian argument against DC statehood seems to be "Well, they're all Democrats and thus can't handle major decision making." Maybe we should be more vocal in city-level debate, instead of letting the House hold the reins for city policy they shouldn't be responsible for

If the roles were reveresed in this example, -- city wants vouchers, Democrat house majority says "no" -- libertarians would be up in arms.

[MP]

Joanne,

There is a massive conflict of interest in having the seat of national political authority have its own representation in Congress.

[Lefty]

It's a massive injustice to have a population equivalent to North or South Dakota deprived of representation.

[YDC]

There are always multiple solutions to every problem. If the people of DC deserve representation, why not let them live in states which have it? In other words, why does Washington DC need to exist at all?

Other than the Mall and a few surrounding commercial and official areas, why not grant the various residential areas of DC to the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia?

[Jason Ligon]

Solution: reduce the size of DC so that it only covers federal offices. Everyone else gets instant voting rights in VA.

[Jason Ligon]

Spooky, YDC. What am I thinking NOW?

[F.A. Cetious]

Hey, Mark! Good to see you here!
Talking about all 5 vowels, I've got one for ya.

Mary's father has five daughters. He named them in this order:

1) Mamy
2) Memmy
3) Mimmy
4) Moomy
5) M____________

(What's the fifth daughter's name?)

[Anonymous]

Kate.

[joe]

Re-incorporating DC into Maryland makes sense. Statehood, or some constitutional provision for Congressional representation, makes sense as well. But the Republican Party is unceasingly opposed to any solution that allows DC residents to have representation in Congress.

And it has nothing to do with DC's demographics skewing poor and minority.

[Mark A.]

Anon@3:20,

Uh, Mary?

[Julian Sanchez]

"Do you always have to start writing on H&R after you've left the corner bar?"

Hell, works for me...

[flatfoot]

Nobody "forgot" that age old saying, Plutarck.

It just so happened to be the title of Julian's article.

(Duh!)

C'mon Plurack, we expect a lot better from you than simply echoing stuff. Do you always have to start writing on H&R after you've left the corner bar?

[Mark A.]

Jason & YDC,

OK, except Maryland makes more geographic sense. DC lies on the same side of the Potomac.

The unfairness issue of DC's lack of representation could also go away if we adopted an at-large system for election to the HR, perhaps like the one outlined by thoreau in the "Candidate Who?" discussion thread.