You may or may not have heard, but Nancy Pelosi is attempting to grant voting privileges to the delegates representing the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands. In fact the House is voting on the measure today.

Besides the fact that this is a blantent power grab by the Democrats, (four of the five delegate are Democrats) such a change would actually require a Constitutional amendment. Investors Business Daily writes,

Maybe Democrats aren't familiar with Article 1 of the Constitution, which specifies that "the House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states."

So, what's the motive?

The new majority in the House wants to grant special voting privileges to delegates who do not represent states. The Democrats wouldn't be trying to rig the vote, would they? If the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands so desperately need representation in Congress, they should enter through the front door of statehood. Granting voting rights is a back-door move driven by raw politics.

Now, why is this a bad idea regardless?

So why not let Democrats have their way and restore the rule if the Constitution will continue to stand in the way of delegates getting floor-vote privileges? Three reasons:

First, the rule violates the intent of the Constitution — not that the party that believes in a "living Constitution" would care. Still, with courts increasingly ignoring the Constitution, any chipping away at its authority should not be tolerated.

Second, four of the five would have representation without taxation, since all save the District of Columbia are exempt from federal income taxes. Where's the justice in a delegate who doesn't pay the federal income tax voting to hike the taxes of others? Remember, four of the delegates are Democrats, which makes them likely supporters of tax increases.

And third, American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands would have an out-of-proportion legislative clout. The typical House member represents roughly 600,000 people. Guam has the largest population of the three at 171,000. The Virgin Islands has 109,000 and Samoa fewer than 60,000.

If the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands so desperately need representation in Congress, they should enter through the front door of statehood. Granting voting rights is a back-door move driven by raw politics.

Now the interesting thing about this is that while Pelosi wants to give American Samoa a vote in the full House, she had them exempt from the House version of the minimum wage hike.

Tunagate just got even more fishy...

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