Ellis Washington
Cowardly conservatives: Either govern D.C. or resign!
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By Ellis Washington
May 13, 2015


The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.

~ Einstein

Prologue: GOP, read the damn Constitution!

Did you know that the Republicans who since the 2014 midterm elections have had majorities in both Houses in of Congress, yet what policies have they passed, or more importantly, what tyrannical socialist policies of Obama have the Republicans repealed? Nothing! Did you know that the party in power (either Republicans or Democrats) have a constitutional mandate to govern Washington, D.C. as a benign dictatorship? The enumerated powers of Congress in the U.S. Constitution under Article 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 reads as follows:
    To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be...
As a constitutional law scholar this means to me that the original intent of the Framers mandated that Washington, D.C. was not to be a state, but essentially a district controlled and administrated exclusively by Congress. I understand this to mean that the Republicans, who presently control both Houses of Congress, has the constitutional authority to immediately fire all of the Democrat leaders running Washington, D.C. – from the Mayor, the City Council, to the police and fire chiefs, all the way down to the janitor and dog catcher based on Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution. Of course those same unique, comprehensive powers would be in the hands of the Democrat Socialist Party whenever they regain power in Congress.

Now the question of ultimate concern is this – In the 113th Congress there are 173 lawyers – 128 in Congress, 45 in the Senate, therefore these people presumably went to law school and studied the U.S. Constitution and should know the extent of congressional power which is their present job, right? Then why doesn't the cowardly Republican majority exercise their legislative power, appoint true-blue conservatives into all of the positions of power in Washington, D.C. next week? Because they are lazy, feckless, cowardly conservatives ignorant of and hostile to their sacred oath – "To protect and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Republican laziness, cowardice and apathy regarding the administration of power in Washington, D.C. reminds me of a famous aphorism – We have met the enemy and he is US.

America's mandate to the Republicans is therefore quite constitutional, simple and succinct – Cowardly Conservatives in Congress, either govern Washington, D.C. or resign!

The Framer's Original Intent for D.C.

Over the past 40 years the Republican Party has been invisible in D.C. politics while the collective hopes and dreams of countless millions of D.C. Blacks and other minorities have been held hostage inside the Socialism slavery abyss of Democrat Party hegemony. No Republican has ever been elected mayor since D.C. homerule began in 1975. The most effective and prominent Republican in elected office of recent years is former city councilwoman Carol Schwartz (At-Large).

First elected in 1984, Schwartz served one term before deciding not to seek re-election in 1988. Voters returned her to the At-Large seat in 1996. She was re-elected in 2000 and 2004, but lost the Republican primary election in 2008. Schwartz ran for mayor of the District of Columbia four times (1986, 1994, 1998 and 2002), all unsuccessfully. The Republicans in D.C. have had no representation in the D.C. Council since Carol Schwartz left office in 2009. Do you think Speaker John Boehner and the hundreds of worthless country club Republicans ever lifted a finger to help Carol Schwartz raise money in her heroic efforts to become the first Republican mayor of D.C. in 40 years? No. Relatedly , think about the millions of little Black boys like me, languishing in D.C. ghettos who could have had a fair chance at life instead of being mis-educated, rotting in jail, addicted to drugs, failing to be a real father; who would have had their lives saved from the Democrat Party Plantation had the Republicans showed just a small measure of humanity to Black America in D.C., instead of cowardly delegating their vast powers to the Democrat Socialist Party in 1975. Now the irrelevant Republicans are too busy golfing, drinking cocktails with the Democrats and doing treasonous backroom deals with President Obama selling out Black America to Poverty and Pathology while keeping their hopes and dreams eternally mired in the abyss of Socialism slavery.

Why did the constitutional Framers vest this awesome power in the hands of Congress? I believe it was for History... for the Ages. I believe that Washington, D.C. was to be a visible public policy laboratory for the party in power to either – "Put up, or Shut up." In other words by placing in the hands of Congress the awesome power of running the most powerful city on earth, the capital of America if you will, would put all of their conservative Think Tank theoretical, philosophical and political policies on public display where both the residents of Washington, D.C. (which has for decades been a Democrat-run hellhole) can actually live under a conservative Republican regime and determine first hand if conservative political policies actually work on a Democrat voting population? Ronald Reagan (1981-89) proves that conservatism does work every time its tried, however, Reagan's successors – Bush-41-Clinton-Bush-43 and especially Obama did everything in their power to destroy the legendary legacy of this great statesman who did yeoman's work to restore the power and prestige of American exceptionalism by using his executive powers without apology enumerated under Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

Cowardly GOP: a Norton mouse chases a herd elephants

To demonstrate how cowardly and ignorant the Republicans are of their vast legislative powers, DailyCaller reporter, Josh Fatzick in a timely article, "DC Rep Warns House GOP: Don't Mess With Local Laws," quotes District of Columbia Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton who warned Republicans Thursday to keep their hands off D.C. laws and stop using them to push conservative policies. Holmes Norton threated that Republicans in the House will pay a terrible political price if they try again to "infringe on the rights of D.C. residents" and block local laws.

"Today we issue a warning to members of the House who oppose the District's right to democratic local self-government by trying to overturn our local laws," Norton thundered at an earlier press conference. "I will force a roll call vote on each and every rider that targets a D.C. local law." Like a one-woman army Norton ranted that the GOP has launched many overt assaults against D.C. laws, with the most recent being an unsuccessful attempt last week by House republicans to block a "non-discrimination" bill passed by city council.

The GOP bill was designed to stop employers from discriminating against employees who choose to use birth control or get abortions, however many conservative and Christian members of Congress under moral and First Amendment reasons rightly thought that the Democrat Socialist law would force businesses to infringe on religious beliefs in the hiring of new employees. And as Shakespeare famous said, "And there's the rub."

Since 1977, this Socialist hack, Eleanor Holmes Norton, has been a District of Columbia Representative, a title with no actual political power. It's tantamount to a mouse ruling over a herd of hundreds of Republican elephants. If the GOP had a backbone they would fire Rep. Norton this week and replace her with Sarah Palin, Rep. Michelle Bachmann, radio host, Laura Ingraham or Ann Coulter, the Sen. Joseph McCarthy of our time. The irritation value to the Democrat Socialist Party would be worth this policy change alone. Who does this Norton woman think she is to 'warn' the Republicans about anything to do with Washington, D.C.? According to Art. 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 of the U.S. Constitution D.C. should be a Republican city and have the power to administrate and run every appointed position – from the Mayor to the janitor – and if the predominately Black D.C. residents don't like being ruled over by conservative Republicans, tell them to read the U.S. Constitution, or move to another city. This is War!

The Marxist Media, Inc. has cowered the Republicans for so many decades that they are afraid to exercise their legislative powers vested under the 18 enumerated powers under Article 1, Sec. 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Eventually, the GOP effort to stop the law failed, but House Republicans have asserted to continue fighting the law throughout the appropriations procedures. The reporter wrote that "since D.C. is a district controlled by the federal government, even though revenue is raised locally, all decisions must be approved by Congress." Wrong! D.C. is a district controlled by Congress alone, without advice and consent from the Executive Branch (Obama) or any consultations from the Judicial Branch (U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts). This total power under Article 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 is the closest thing we have in the Constitution amounting to absolute power. It is the legislative equivalent to the vast, limitless powers of judicial review the Supreme Court has under the infamous Marbury v. Madison (1803) case.

Primary among Norton's Republican targets were senators and Republican presidential nominees Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. Norton was on the rampage that Rubio had the temerity to introduce a bill that would end the city's gun laws while the bill introduced by Sen. Cruz was an effort to stop a "non-discrimination" law passed by D.C. council earlier this year. Despite the fact that the bills seemed stalled in the Senate, Norton said the timing was no accident. "It is no accident that both senators introduced their bills just before announcing their presidential bids," Norton said. "Marking the first time D.C.'s local laws have become fodder for presidential campaigns." I like the policies that both Rubio and Cruz have proposed but think about how much smoother the road would be if they had a conservative Republican Mayor and Republican City Council to pass their laws without the barriers of the democratic process? It would be utopia!

Speaking of mayor, Norton was joined at the press conference by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and a coalition of local and national advocacy groups meeting on behalf of the various policies of D.C. concern. At this event Rep. Norton laughed that this is the start of the appropriations process in Congress (not anything that House Speaker John Boehner or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does). Bowser repeated Norton's views regarding D.C. homerule, declaring D.C. has had a balanced budget for 20 consecutive years. Congress should focus on national issues, "and the duly elected mayor will focus on the district," Mayor Bowser said. "We will do our jobs, so please, please do yours."

My view here is that instead of the GOP Congress running D.C. according the Article 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 17, the cowardly conservatives in Congress for over 40 years have sat idly on the sidelines and have allowed the Democrat Socialists under the failed policy of "homerule" to run D.C. into the ground. This is outrageous. If Congress had the courage to exercise their constitutionally mandated power, Democrat Socialist Mayor Muriel Bowser would be given her pick slip by Friday and somebody like a Col. Allen West, radio host Star Parker or a rising young star in the Republican family, should be appointed Mayor of D.C. in her stead.

Epilogue: GOP or GIP? (Grand Irrelevant Party)

Of course Marxist Media, Inc. has been demanding [Socialist] homerule whereby D.C. would not only continue to be operated by D.C. residents. Yet homerule violates the expressed constitutional provision that D.C. must be administrated by Congress and since Republicans are currently in power, they constitutionally have the mandate to legislate all of D.C. Mayor Bowser lamented that district residents are reminded this time every year that they have taxation without representation because they pay income taxes at the highest per capita rate in the nation, yet district residents have no voice on how that money is spent. Too bad, Mayor Bowser, that's the original intent of the constitutional Framers. To have Rep. Norton and Mayor Bowser dictate to the hundreds of Republicans in the House and Senate, representing tens of millions of American citizens across this country, is tantamount to a tiny rat scaring a mammoth elephant since Norton "represents" D.C. in Congress only in a symbolic capacity. Norton is a figure-head delegate with no power to vote on bills.

In conclusion, Albert Einstein, a very prescient observer of human nature and witness to many grotesqueries of the human condition leading up to World War I, the rise of Socialist tyrants like Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini , Hitler, World War II and the Korean War once said, "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." Einstein was right. If these cowardly conservative Republicans had a backbone and knowledge of their vast powers under Article 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 – "To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District..." then not only would that arrogant harridan, Eleanor Norton, but every Democrat Socialist in D.C. be constitutionally sacked by next Friday and replaced with true-blue Ronald Reagan conservatives – from the Mayor down to the dog catcher. Homerule would be thrown on the ash heap of history where it belongs, then D.C. would no longer be referred to as "Chocolate City" – a typical ghetto hellhole perpetuating eternal Socialism slavery, but Washington, D.C. would forever be in the words President Ronald Reagan said of America... "A shining city on a hill." Yea, Washington, D.C. under the Republican's Art. 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 powers would forever be an eternal laboratory of conservative ideas, successful social programs: a legendary public policy blueprint to cleanse all of America's pathological, blighted, big city, welfare state ghettos like Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, Newark, Chicago, Cleveland, Flint, Pontiac, and my Detroit could emulate locally, nationally and globally where Washington, D.C. would forever be known as the Conservative Utopia of the Potomac.


Book Notice

Please purchase my latest opus dedicated to that Conservative Colossus, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Here are the latest two new volumes from my ongoing historical series – THE PROGRESSIVE REVOLUTION: History of Liberal Fascism through the Ages (University Press of America, 2015):
However, before the book is officially released to the public, I have to place 100 pre-publication orders (50 orders per each volume). I need your help to make this happen ASAP. Please place your order today for Volume 3 & Volume 4. Of course, if you can order all 100 copies today, the book will become official tomorrow.

Please circulate this flyer to all your email contacts & Facebook/Twitter followers who may be interested in purchasing this opus which will serve as a ready apologetic against the rampant Marxist-Progressive propaganda taught in America's public schools, colleges, universities, graduate schools, and law schools. Thanks in advance to all my friends, associates and colleagues for your invaluable support! Law and History Blog: www.EllisWashingtonReport.com


Invitation for manuscripts

I am starting a new a program on my blog dedicated to giving young conservatives (ages 14-35) a regular place to display and publish their ideas called Socrates Corner. If you know of any young person who wants to publish their ideas on any subject, have them send their essay manuscripts to my email at ewashington@wnd.com.

© Ellis Washington

 

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Ellis Washington

Ellis Washington is a former staff editor of the Michigan Law Review (1989) and law clerk at the Rutherford Institute (1992). Currently he is an adjunct professor of law at the National Paralegal College and the graduate school, National Jurisprudence University, where he teaches Constitutional Law, Legal Ethics, American History, Administrative Law, Criminal Procedure, Contracts, Real Property, and Advanced Legal Writing, among many other subjects... (more)

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