Melissa Holzberg, a junior majoring in political communication, is The Hatchet’s opinions editor.
In case you missed it, here’s the best and worst news from around campus and the District this week.
Thumbs up:
If the current draft of the Democratic Party’s platform holds through the Democratic convention, D.C would be one step closer to being the 51st U.S. state.
While local officials have campaigned for years for D.C. to be recognized as a state and have votes in Congress, this would be the first time the issue came up as a major national topic. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, endorsed D.C. statehood a few months ago. But it wasn’t until July 1 that D.C. statehood was endorsed by a major political party.
According to a draft of the Democratic Party’s platform released July 1, the national Democratic Party would pass statehood, so D.C. citizens “have full and equal congressional rights as well as the right to have the laws and budget of their local government respected without Congressional interference.” Currently, D.C. residents only have one Congressional representative, and she isn’t allowed to vote – which means that D.C. residents have no say in almost any federal issue. Just take a look at the District’s license plates that read “taxation without representation.”
Although this platform draft is provisional and could be changed before the convention on July 25th, it’s a turning point in the fight for statehood. In April, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser called for a city-wide vote to decide if the District should become the 51st state. The vote city-wide vote could be held as early as November, but D.C. officials still have to create a state constitution.
Of course, putting this in the platform doesn’t guarantee statehood. First, the Democratic Party would have to win the presidency and then actually hold a vote to grant D.C. statehood. But this development does at least start the debate over what the 51st state’s name could be.
Thumbs down:
Those of us in D.C. saw the fireworks try to fight their way through the hazy and cloudy skies Monday night, but rather than watching bursting fireworks overhead, we just saw the clouds change colors. People near and far who tuned into PBS’s “A Capitol Fourth” saw a wondrous firework show that featured clear skies and a Capitol building without scaffolding – even though any D.C. resident or Capitol Hill intern could easily correct you that the scaffolding is still there.
The broadcast was advertised as live, but viewers almost immediately realized that PBS was using canned fireworks footage.
Of course, viewers turned to Twitter to express their outrage over the pre-recorded fireworks. Although PBS quickly apologized for the gaffe and said they made the decision “was the patriotic thing to do,” the entire event left some fireworks enthusiasts upset.
But there is still one thing television viewers got that those of us who stood on the National Mall did not – a fireworks show they could actually see.
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