Baseball and Politics

First, the politics: Residents of the District of Columbia are represented by a non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have no representation in the U.S. Senate. Although they are citizens of the United States and must pay federal taxes like the rest of us, D.C. residents do not have the same representation the rest of us have. But perhaps you're saying to yourself, "D.C. is too small to have two senators and a voting representative in the House." Fine. Then let's take away Wyoming's congressional representation because its population (506,529--according to the most recent Census Bureau estimate) is smaller than the District's (553,523).

Second, more of the politics: Residents of the District of Columbia are eligible to vote in presidential elections, thanks to the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1961. In the 2004 election, John Kerry received 90 percent of the vote in D.C. That, of course, is why Republicans have no problem denying voting rights to the people of the District of Columbia. It's all about moral values, after all. Not.

Third, the baseball: As you may have heard, Washington, D.C. has a new baseball team, the Nationals. The D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission is trying to sell the naming rights to RFK Stadium where the Nationals are currently playing. (Move over, Bobby.) Recently, the Pentagon was rumored to be interested in paying $6 million for the name "Armed Forces Field at RFK Stadium" and, more importantly, for the right to recruit fans inside the stadium. Apparently someone thought about that for a minute or two and decided against it. Anyway, D.C. still doesn't have a corporate sponsor for its baseball field. (You'd think the team was still playing in Montreal.)

Some enterprising Washingtonians have launched a campaign to name the field--at least until a real sponsor comes along--Taxation without Representation Stadium. Baseball fans, Democrats, and others who like the idea that all U.S. citizens should have representation in Congress, can support the cause at this web site.

(See what happens to the blog when the Sharks don't have a game on Saturday?)