The Case for DC Statehood with Bo Shuff, Executive Director of DC Vote

The nation’s capital has a population of nearly 700,000 people, and has no voting representation in Congress—because it’s not a state. But efforts to change this are heating up, and so we've invited Bo Shuff, the Executive Director of DC Vote on the show to discuss. About DC Vote The District of Columbia is just like any community you would find in any other part of America.  As DC residents we raise our families, pay our taxes and serve on juries, we fight for our country in our nation's military and we work together to create a strong community in which our children can learn and grow. Yet, every day, every one of the 700,000 residents of the capital of the world's strongest democracy is denied the right to participate in that same democracy. Not only are DC residents deprived of full voting representation in Congress, we are also subject to the politically-motivated whims of members of Congress from other parts of the country. Any law or budget that we as citizens support must be approved by Congress - a body that has more than enough trouble handling its own business. DC residents should control their own budget and be in charge of local affairs, just like any other community in the country. The District of Columbia was created in the late 1700’s to help protect the original Congress from unruly mobs.  At the time, the area was sparsely populated farmland and swamp.  There is no way our Founding Fathers could have envisioned that their action would lead to the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of American citizens in the thriving DC of today. DC Vote fights for full and equal representation for DC residents through DC Statehood – nothing more than the same rights you enjoy today. And we're pushing to keep members of Congress from Utah or Kentucky or anywhere else out of our local affairs. Please share our message with your network of friends and family and ask them to join us, too. Together, we will make history!