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Tuesday, February 04, 2003
But How Do You Really Feel, Mr. President?
At a recent Ari Fleischer press conference, White House reporter Russell Mokhiber, the editor of the DC-based Corporate Crime Reporter, initiated this exchange:
Mokhiber: The President has repeatedly said that he wants to bring democracy to Iraq. But here in the District of Columbia, citizens have no elected representatives in Congress. On the DC license plate, there is a permanent protest that says "taxation without representation." What is the President doing to bring democracy to the District of Columbia?
Fleischer: Per the Constitution, the District of Columbia is a unique entity. The President has expressed no desire to change the representation that the District of Columbia was given by the framers. And I don't really think you can equate the District of Columbia being a democracy with Iraq's failure to be a democracy -- and it is, in fact, of course, a totalitarian state.
Thanks to Russell Mokhiber, via Stand Up for Democracy. Mr. Mokhiber co-authors the weekly Focus on the Corporation column with Robert Weissman, which Common Dreams publishes. He can be reached by e-mail here.
DC Metro Action is published by Michael Schlesinger, a 32-year veteran of electoral and issue organizing who is committed to social justice and to increasing participation in the political process.
All original content (C) 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Michael Schlesinger