In what is bound to be but one of many examples of the current government showing its lack of concern for the Constitution, I see that the Senate has voted to approve the DC Voting Rights Act of 2009.  Although a more flagrant violation of the Consitution is hard to imagine, the most surprising aspects of this bill actually have very little to do with its primary intent.

In what is quite possibly an attempt to trick Republicans other than the misguided Senator Hatch (R-Utah) into voting for this bill, it apparently also spends some time establishing new media policies, the most noteworthy of which is that it declares the Fairness Doctrine to be prohibited.  Exactly what this has to do with giving DC a voting member in the House, I have no idea.  Equally elusive to me is the reason why anyone should care in the first place whether or not Congress has passed a law to forbid this Doctrine.  Any legislative prohibition in the hands of the current Congress is just so many words.  The law does not currently mandate a Fairness Doctrine, the FCC (citing constitutional concerns) does not enforce one, and any prohibition passed by Congress can always be repealed or inverted later.  One need only look at the blighted history of “pay-go” to realize that a congressional promise to not do something is not worth the paper it takes to print the promise.

But the fun doesn’t stop there.  Using what is probably also an attempt to buy Republican votes, the Act also includes a bunch of pro-gun provisions which, at least at a cursory glance, seem to pretty much get rid of the DC gun laws which have the NRA types all upset.  This part of the Act has the distinction of being the only part which appears both relevant and constitutional.  This part is also what Congress should have done instead of filing an amicus brief in Heller.  Most interestingly, however, is that this part of the Act brings with it a deep irony for those who truly believe that DC deserves to have a vote in the House: The very law which would give DC a vote would directly overrule DC law without letting DC vote on the issue.

At the end of the day, the obligation that members of Congress have to vote against this piece of legislation is clear.  There are too many reasons, both practical and constitutional, why this Act is not deserving of any of the 61 votes it has already received.  Republican legislators need to not be swindled by the carrots being hung in front of their noses, for beyond that tasty snack is a cliff as deep as history.  The Republican consituency will surely be told that their lawmakers voted against prohibiting the Fairness Doctrine and against gun rights in DC; paying attention to those charges would be the gravest of errors.  May the Republicans stand strong.

Tags: 2nd Amendment