Boebert appears to argue the Founding Fathers opposed adding more states to USA
Congressional Republicans have never been particularly concerned with reality, history, or any kind of context that does not serve their partisan narratives, but the ridiculous drivel being spewed by this newest class of GOP freshmen is truly astonishing to behold.
Today, the House passed a bill along party lines that would add the District of Columbia as the 51st state of the United States of America. After 300 long years, the people of D.C. might have some representation to go along with their taxation, if it can make the sadly unlikely jump through the Senate. It would also add two more Senators to the most undemocratic institution in American politics and help break the iron grip that a small minority of extremists politicians have over our nation’s politics.
This has predictably led to some hysterical reactions from Republicans, who have not been shy about articulating that they oppose statehood because much of the population of D.C. is Black. House Minority Whip and hate group ally Steve Scalise claimed that D.C. was undeserving of statehood because the “crime was too high,” while Rep. Glenn Grothman claimed that D.C. shouldn’t be a state because it doesn’t have any agriculture or manufacturing (meaning white people). Democrat Mondaire Jones publicly called out the Republicans for their dogwhistles on the House floor this morning, saying that “One Senate Republican said that D.C. wouldn’t be a quote, well-rounded working-class state. I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word white.”
But the most brain-shattering take came from Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, who appeared to argue that the Founding Fathers stood against…adding states?
Today it’s DC. Next is Puerto Rico. Then Guam. And they’ll just keep going. Trust me, the Democrats will not be satisfied until they have unlimited and unchecked power. It is EVERYTHING that our founders stood against! #NODCStatehood
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) April 22, 2021
Yep, if there’s one thing the Founding Fathers of the United States of America hated, it was creating states and then joining them together in some kind of union, perhaps even calling it something like “the united states.” That’s why they specifically didn’t lay out a way by which to add more states to the union in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution. That’s why we still have only 13 states today!
All sarcasm aside, if we bother to engage with Boebert’s assertion in any serious fashion her argument doesn’t hold up either. Yes, the Founding Fathers opposed unlimited and unchecked power — which is why they would oppose the recent development of the Senate filibuster as a way for a tiny minority to block the entire political agenda of our legitimately elected Congress out of sheer spite. That’s also why they would oppose the appalling efforts of the Republican Party to make it unreasonably difficult for people to use their right to vote and to punish people for using their First Amendment right to protest.
Folks, when Republicans send us Representatives to Congress, they are not sending us their best!
Social media immediately erupted in mockery:
Imagine trying to explain to the founders that we have a state called California & it has 40M people but only 2 senators.
— Colleenie The Socialist Meanie ☘️ (@TheLeftTea) April 22, 2021
Trust me says the one who’s tax liens disappeared the same time as she claimed the equivalent of a trip around the globe. Trust me says the one who said she had to arm herself after a man was beaten to death outside her diarrhea diner who actually died of an overdose!!
— Gary McDougall (@GMC_59) April 22, 2021
It's almost like we want all American citizens to have a voice, not just the ones you cherry pick to suit your needs. If Puerto Rico and Guam were to seek statehood I'm all for it. pic.twitter.com/StwI80E7gv
— Mogwai (@MogwaiCrankyCat) April 22, 2021
ok – we'll just combine North and South Dakota into a single state. No reason for them to have double the senate power of California with only 1.6 million people between them.
— David Goldberg (@Roceye84) April 22, 2021
Imagine Lauren back in the day complaining about Alaska and Hawaii joining the union.
— T. witter's ucking me again. (@Blacksmitheart) April 22, 2021
Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.