“This body and this nation has [sic] a territories and a colonies problem.” Those words from Del. Stacey Plaskett echoed in the House chamber this week as the delegate interrupted the election of the House speaker to demand a vote for herself and the representatives of other non-states. The problem, however, is not with the House but with Plaskett and other members in demanding the violation of Article I of the Constitution.
After her election in 2015, Plaskett has often shown a certain disregard for constitutional principles and protections. Despite being a lawyer, Plaskett has insisted in Congress that hate speech is not constitutionally protected, a demonstrably false assertion. Where there is overwhelming evidence of a censorship system that a court called “Orwellian,” Plaskett has repeatedly denied the evidence presented before her committee. When a journalist testified on the evidence of that censorship system, Plaskett suggested his possible arrest. (Plaskett suggested that respected journalist Matt Taibbi had committed perjury due to an error that he made, not in testimony but in a tweet that he later corrected).
However, ignoring the free speech or free press values pales in comparison to what Plaskett was suggesting this week in nullifying critical language in Article I.
Article I, Section 2, states:
“The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch in the States Legislature.”
The ability to vote in the House is expressly limited to the elected representatives of “the several states.”
Nevertheless, as the vote was being taken on the eventual election of Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), Plaskett rose to demand recognition and to know why she was not allowed to vote:
“I note that the names of representatives from American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia were not called, representing, collectively, 4 million Americans. Mr. Speaker, collectively, the largest per capita of veterans in this country.”
The presiding member asked a rather poignant question in response: “Does the gentlelady have a problem?”
The answer was decidedly “yes.”
Plaskett responded, “I asked why they were not called. I asked why they were not called from the parliamentarian, please.”
The response was obvious:
“Delegates-elect and the resident commissioner-elect are not qualified to vote/ Representatives-elect are the only individuals qualified to vote in the election of the speaker. As provided in Section 36 of the House rules and manual, the speaker is elected by a majority of the members-elect voting by surname.”
Plaskett then declared “This body and this nation has a territory and a colonies problem. What was supposed to be temporary has now, effectively, become permanent. We must do something about this.”
As Plaskett’s mike was cut off, she objected “But I have a voice!” as Democrats gave her a standing ovation. The media joined in the adoration, including the Atlantic which referred to her as “Congresswoman Plaskett” rather than a delegate.
There is no question that the Virgin Islands has a high percentage of veterans for its population (which stands at only 104,000). It is also a cherished part of our country, but it is not a state.
Plaskett was demanding a floor vote for herself and delegates from American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and D.C..
These delegates are currently allowed to vote only in committees. The House is permitted to grant such authority since these delegates are not actually voting on the final language or adoption of legislation.
What Democrats were supporting was to allow votes on the House floor, which would have collapsed the bright-line rule that has governed the body for decades. It would also have effectively removed the language referencing “states” from Article I, Section 2, without a constitutional amendment.
This is why Plaskett’s “problem” goes further than simply the selection of the Speaker.
The Democrats have long argued that delegates should be allowed to vote as full members, starting with the D.C. delegate. I have written previously on that issue in academic publications. See, e.g., Jonathan Turley, Too Clever By Half: The Partial Representation of the District of Columbia in the House of Representatives, 76 George Washington University Law Review 305-374 (2008). I also testified at the prior congressional hearings (here and here and here) and written columns (here and here) on why I considered the bill to be flagrantly unconstitutional.
It is neither pleasant nor popular to raise such constitutional objections. I received heat after one Senate hearing in which Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton told the senators that, if they were going to vote against this bill, “do not blame the Framers blame Jonathan Turley.” However, the problem has always been the curious constitutional status of these districts and territories.
The language of the Constitution is clear and unambiguous. Absent an amendment to the Constitution, only states may vote on the floor of the United States House of Representatives.
The problem is not, as claimed by Del. Plaskett, with “colonies.” The Virgin Islands is not a “colony.” It can, at any time, move to become an independent nation. Otherwise, the American people would have to vote for this tiny island to be a state. Either way, citizens will choose the status of the island.
The Democrats giving Plaskett a standing ovation would have presumably added half a dozen new votes for non-states. The call would likely then be for the addition of some representation in the Senate. That would certainly give the Democrats control of the House, but it would allow a fluid definition of what constitutes a representative — a definition that could be manipulated in the future by the majority to maintain their control of the House.
The vote for speaker illustrates the problem. Short a couple of votes, the Democrats were demanding the recognition of new forms of representatives to elect Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.). (It is not clear if it would have made the difference given the party division of these six members).
Presumably, a future house could then remove the votes to achieve the same advantage. It could also recognize other territories to increase voting margins. (Notably, some liberal professors have also suggested dividing blue states to simply multiply Democratic votes in the Senate. That would be constitutional if it is allowed by Congress).
The call to create new forms of voting members on the House floor is consistent with the ad hoc measures in other areas. For example, despite opposition from the public, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and others have pushed to simply pack the Court with a majority of liberal justices to support their agenda.
The public’s opposition to court packing has not deterred the Democrats. In the same way, unable to secure a majority of citizens to support D.C. statehood, the Democrats previously sought to create a voting member without a constitutional amendment or change in status.
This week, they would have accomplished that result not just for D.C. but other non-states, including the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth covering only 180 miles with a population of less than 50,000.
We have the oldest and most stable constitutional system in the world precisely because we have resisted improvisational or ad hoc measures to achieve political ends. The Constitution is a common article of faith that transcends our passing or petty divisions. These demands for constructive constitutional amendments are the voices of the faithless.
To paraphrase Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, “the fault dear [delegate] lies not in our [states] but in ourselves.”
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
OT
THUNE HEDGES ALREADY
“Senator Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) Questions if It Is ‘Realistic’ to Deport Everybody in the Country Illegally”
“Is it realistic to deport everybody? I mean, there are a lot of people in this country who are here illegally, but I think they have identified already, and anybody who has committed a crime in the country ought to be on the list, and there are about a million, 1.4 million, I think, on the current administration’s list of people that need to be deported. So start with that, and then we will go from there, and we’ll figure it out. I think the administration, when they take office, these are decisions that obviously that they’ll have to make.”
– Meet The Press
* She’s not up to snuff and seeks attention. Puerto Rico doesn’t pay fed income tax other that soc sec and FICA. It’s a tax haven without capital gains tax. So are the others…cut them loose. She’s total BS. Do some reasearch…
She’s a destroyer aka demon.
Jonathan: He hasn’t even been inaugurated and DJT has picked fights with Denmark, Canada, Mexico and Panama. DJT wants to deport millions of the undocumented. But that plan is facing pushback from Mexico and other leaders of Central America. Honduras is the latest to counter DJT’s threats.
DJT proposes to deport up to 525,000 Hondurans living and working here. The president of Honduras says that if DJT carries through with his threats Honduras will close the US military base in that country. That could be a significant move. But first a little history of the US military presence in Honduras and why it is important.
Honduras is the proverbial “banana republic”. In the 1980s Honduras was ground zero for US military/CIA operations in Central America. It was a base of operations for the US-trained, funded and backed Contras in their war against the Nicaragua’s Sandinista government. In the 1950s, Honduras gave logistical and military support to the CIA when the agency overthrew the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala.
Today, Honduras is still the nexus of US military operations in Central America based at the Soto Cano Air Base. It is the largest US military base in Latin America. It houses 1,200 to 1,500 US troops. And the US base is rent-free. So, for example, if DJT wanted to take back the Panama Canal the air base in Honduras would be the staging area. So the US base in Honduras is vital. If the US lost the air base in Honduras it would be a logistical nightmare to plan for an invasion of Panama.
So it is clear. DJT and his advisors have not thought threw the consequences of their mass deportation plan. DJT has not thought threw his threat to take back the Panama Canal. But DJT thinks by issuing threats the other side will back down. He apparently spent too much time reading the speeches of Adolph Hitler. Threats may work with a newspaper publisher but threatening other countries is a different matter. They don’t easily bend to the demands of a guy who likes to strut around like the leader of some “banana republic”. Xiomara Castro, President of Honduras, has seen those types before! She’s not easily intimidated!
Hot Dammit Denny Baby you came through! Our most excellent one and most esteemed one, President elect and prior President (1 of 2) in our history, President Donald J. Trump has authorized me to send you his official thank you. The Donald, as he allows his friends to call him, believes ALL publicity and activities that keep him at the forefront of social media are good. He thanks you and your cohorts for keeping him in every single Turley post. Did I mention that Kamala Harris lost Bigly, as The Don often likes to say. Biden/Harris lost because of their WOKE policies and because they are corrupt douche bags of the highest order. As a matter of fact, the Don is considering creating a new Presidential award, the Golden Woke Douche Bag Award, not sure which Democrat or RINO is in the lead, they’re all so deserving.
Undocumented? Hey Dennis they are ILLEGALS! Are you for open borders letting in millions of criminals/terrorists??
The United States could squash the economy of any of the Latin American countries in a matter of months.
They will come around. If they don’t (Mexico) we will declare war on the Cartel, designate them a terrorist organization and hunt down their leaders one by one. If these Latin American leaders don’t make a public show of things, they will be executed and their families killed or tortured. The Cartel plays for keeps. They are ruthless.
I predict:
All illegals will be given a chance to leave this country peacefully and then they can get in line and apply for a green card and citizenship properly. Then they will be invited once they have been vetted and can provide proof they are coming to contribute.
Those who stay and resist the law and are deported will lose their place in line for many years. They will not be rewarded. Criminals will be severely punished.
Those who get in legally will have to learn civics and how to speak functional English at B1 or B2 level.
We need and want immigrants, but we need those who follow the law and who can contribute to our nation, to become Americans.
I work with at least two to three non-English speakers per working day. I don’t blame them for wanting to come here, but some of the ones lately do not appear to be contributing to our society.
The porous Southern border was never about altruism. It is purely political. These numbers add more representatives to states that are hemorrhaging tax payers and replacing them with people who are being subsidized by taxpayers. It is a premeditated plan to shift the political landscape and thus undermining the fundamental tenets of our nation.
Why would you marry an adulterous person with $36T credit card debt, never ending unfunded liabilities and expect them to take care of your multiple kids?” Especially, when you are getting the milk without buying the cow or paying for the hay to feed it!
I’ve often wondered that myself.
House Committee on the Budget:
– In 30 years, CBO estimates show the U.S. will have $120 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
– Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will be insolvent by 2031 and the Social Security Trust Fund will dry up by 2033
Shall we reopen negotiations with the Indians?
Let’s ask George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Mason, John Jay, Ben Franklin, Patrick Henry et al.
No.
We should ignore the design and intent of the men who made this country and whose country this is by history and Constitution.
The singular American failure is the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court.
@ George: The singular American failure is the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court.
George enthusiastically gives his intersectional endorsement to Democrats putting his fellow Marxist racists like Sotomayor and Jackson on SCOTUS. And then pronounces the results a failure of SCOTUS!
The singular American failure is the continuing existence of the Democratic Party and their racist Marxist apparatchiks like George. even after America watched their “progression” from simple racism to racism energized with neo-communist Soviet “Progressivism”.
The USSR spy who defected, Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov warned us about fraudulent “constitutionalist” commies like you, George, back when many of us were well into our work careers. That was before you were having your first Democrat wet dreams about your Democrat heroes like George Wallace and his best friend young Senator Joe Biden.
At least sign an organ donor so we can hope you make some marginal contribution to this great country at some point in your otherwise meaningless failure of a life.
Yuri Bezmenov – A Brief Summary Of Communist Ideological Subversion As Used By American Communists Like George
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJnRmvqTdEQ
FULL INTERVIEW with Yuri Bezmenov: The Four Stages of Ideological Communist Subversion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yErKTVdETpw
George is one of the commies the USSR gifted us.
Old Airborne Dog
Professor Turley is the most reliable, brilliant, parsimonious, and mannered public commentator on national legal and constitutional affairs. We as a nation benefit immeasurably from the wisdom of such a rare, disinterested intelligence.
David Pfenninger PhD
“This body and this nation has [sic] a territories and a colonies problem.”
– Non-Voting Delegate, U.S. Virgin Island, Stacey E. Plaskett
_________________________________________________________________
Abraham Lincoln had some ideas on “a colonies problem” and mass deportation, two subjects, apparently under current consideration, which enjoyed a firm legal basis in immigration law until Lincoln was infected by the principles of Karl Marx.
_____________________________________________________________
Lincoln’s Support for Resettlement
Lincoln’s ideological mentor was Henry Clay, the eminent American scholar, diplomat, and statesman. Because of his skill in the US Senate and House of Representatives, Clay won national acclaim as the “Great Compromiser” and the “Great Pacificator.” A slave owner who had humane regard for blacks, he was prominent in the campaign to resettle free blacks outside of the United States, and served as president of the American Colonization Society. Lincoln joined Clay’s embryonic Whig party during the 1830s. In an address given in 1858, Lincoln described Clay as “my beau ideal of a statesman, the man for whom I fought all of my humble life.”14
The depth of Lincoln’s devotion to Clay and his ideals was expressed in a moving eulogy delivered in July 1852 in Springfield, Illinois. After praising Clay’s lifelong devotion to the cause of black resettlement, Lincoln quoted approvingly from a speech given by Clay in 1827: “There is a moral fitness in the idea of returning to Africa her children,” adding that if Africa offered no refuge, blacks could be sent to another tropical land. Lincoln concluded:15
If as the friends of colonization hope, the present and coming generations of our countrymen shall by any means succeed in freeing our land from the dangerous presence of slavery, and, at the same time, in restoring a captive people to their long-lost fatherland, with bright prospects for the future, and this too, so gradually, that neither races nor individuals shall have suffered by the change, it will indeed be a glorious consummation.
In January 1855, Lincoln addressed a meeting of the Illinois branch of the Colonization Society. The surviving outline of his speech suggests that it consisted largely of a well-informed and sympathetic account of the history of the resettlement campaign.16
In supporting “colonization” of the blacks, a plan that might be regarded as a “final solution” to the nation’s race question, Lincoln was upholding the views of some of America’s most respected figures.
– Robert Morgan
Turley tries to avoid the idea of those territories seeking statehood. The delegate is right. The issue still needs to be resolved. What Turley is not saying is that if those territories were to seek statehood they would undoubtly be democratic and thus increase the majority in both Houses. Republicans would never accept that, not with the razor thin majority they have in the House. Guan is a strategic island and it’s only purpose is to keep an eye on Cjhina and Taiwan. Making it a state would effectively expand U..S. Territory. Trump wants to make Canada the 51st state and buy Greenland. Why not make Guan the 51st state. It’s already a strategic asset and has U.S. infrastructure. Guan has a good case to become a state. If they want to.
@George: The delegate is right.
She won your approval when she told Americans as a member of the House that Trump should be shot?
Or before that, when she stood in the House and said that every FBI and IRS whistleblower who came forward to reveal the criminality and corruption of those agencies was a paid liar for the GOP?
You’re a cheap fake Democrat police state fascist and Confederate racist, George.
Old Airborne Dog.
Guam?
Jonathan: Three cheers for Stacey Plaskett, the non-voting delegate from the US Virgin Islands, for speaking truth to power. She is right. We have a “colonies” problem. Six of our territories, including DC, have “delegates” in Congress but cannot vote on legislation.
There are about 14,000 US military veterans in four of the territories, excluding Puerto Rico that has 90,000 veterans living on the island. Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans currently serve in the US military, yet they have no voting representation in Congress. It would seem that if you are willing to fight and die for this country you should have some say in how the country is run.
The defenders of the current regime, like you, want to preserve the status quo as part of the long standing project to keep the Senate and the House majority WHITE. Admitting the territories could upset the balance of power. White GOP politicians in Congress don’t want DC admitted because it is 49% Black.
By standing up in the House and pointing out the “problem” Plaskett has performed a great public service!
Of all the things Dennis has been called, and they are numerous, I had never heard race baiting used as an identifier. It’s a first!
The leftists love firsts.
Hip, hip, hooray for the ‘non-voting delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands’.
Dennis McIntyre: Jonathan: Three cheers for Stacey Plaskett, the non-voting delegate from the US Virgin Islands, for speaking truth to power.
Plaskett won Baghdad Bob McIntyre’s lifelong support when she stood up in the House to proclaim that every single FBI and IRS whistleblower who risked (and lost) their careers to uncover Democrat corruption and crime was nothing but a paid GOP liar.
Please Believe Us; Nothing To See Here, Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes™?
Now THAT’S what “speaking truth to power” looks like to Soviet Democrats like Plaskett and McIntyre. Remember when they LOVED “whistleblowers” (who weren’t)?
Of course, she already had it after being named Pelosi’s House impeachment manager when they impeached Trump AFTER he left office.
This girl breaks glass ceilings for Baghdad Bob even better than Hillary Clinton and her illegal servers and “Russia Dossier” ever could.
Here’s hoping Baghdad Bob McIntyre and Plaskett don’t change a single thing in their behavior throughout the midterm and then next presidential elections!
Old Airborne Dog
Old Airborne Coward, tell us your MOS and which war you fought so valiantly in.
The defenders of the current regime, like you, want to preserve the status quo as part of the long standing project to keep the Senate and the House majority WHITE.
Dennis McIntyre voted for the actual current regime headed by the longest serving racist Kluxxer in office: Joe Biden.
Dennis voted for Biden despite knowing he told Americans he didn’t want black American “jungle bunnies” in the schools his children attended. Dennis agreed!
Dennis voted for Biden despite knowing he told Americans that, in his 40+ years serving in Washington DC, he never once met as single clean, decent, well spoken black American, even among his colleagues. That is, until he met a white mulatto who renounced his life of Rich White Privilege in order to run for public office as a po’ black chil’ from da projects!
Again, Dennis agreed and enthusiastically voted for that racist!
And we’re supposed to believe that Biden is one of Dennis’s “white GOP politicians”!
Please Believe Me; Nothing To See Here, Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes™?
Old Airborne Dog
Turley was not suggesting what you say; he was explaining what the Constitution currently requires and the actions that are required to change it. There are steps to go about that and that does not include trying to make a spectacle during a vote to elect a Speaker.
Dennis, if you obliterated all other constitutional impeditments to House membership by US teritories – US Vigin Islands, Guam and every other US teritory except Puerto Rico would STILL not get a single seat – in fact Plasket would have to go home. Vurrently there is one Representative for every 800K citizens. There are not 800K people in every US teritory combined – excluding Puerto Rico.
So the only question here is Does Puerto Rico wish to become a state – in which case it gets 2 senators and 3 representatives, remain as it is, or become an independent country.
Puerto ricans are divided equally between those 3 choices so the status quo remains.
As to Guam or the US Virgin islands – they can remain US teritories or become independent countries.
But there is n arrangement by which they would get a voting representative that would not only violate the constitution but disenfranchise millions of other americans.
The US Virgin Islands would need 8 times its current population to get a single representative.
“This is much ado about nothing. ”
And you are the dingbat to fall for it.
My county has ONE representative and more people than all US teritories excluding Puerto Rico combined.
There is nothing “unfair” here.
Nor are these territories colonies.
They are free to leave the US as they please. None have chose to.
They are better off as US teritories than as independent nations or as part of any other country.
They have made a wise choice.
If the US teritories were all granted the same representation as current US states – Puerto Rico would get 3 representatives, and Stacy Plasket would have to go back to the US Virgin Islands, combined all other US teritories do not warrant a single representative.
There are 80,000 US personel stationed in Okinawa – 30,000 US soldiers, there are probably far more in Germany.
Are we going to give Okinawa – which is a part of the country of Japan or US soldiers in Germany a representative ?
To Do so are we going to expand the size of the house to 4300 members ?
This is all sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
or typical Dennnis fare.
I other news – despite your glee filled rants – Johnson was confirmed as speaker of the house on the first round of voting as predicted.
There are lots of Republicans members of the House that want even more serious returns to constitutional government than Trump and most of the rest of the republican party will go for. Those representatives are correct. But they are not powerful enough politically.
And they wisely chose to settle for the current Republican agenda. I am sue they are not happy about that.
Just as Sanders and AOC are not happy about portions of the democratic platform. But they vote Democrat most of the time when the choice is between what the majority of democrats want and what republicans want.
The same is true of the freedom Causcus in the GOP.
They may be right, they may raise hell, but they are NOT going to give Democrats control of the house.
They’re not colonies. We aren’t holding them against their will.
“Plaskett has performed a great public service!”
Because she was ignored and made herself a laughingstock???
Just like Dennis.
To put it terms that a Democrat can understand. The United States is comprised of 535 “Super Delegates”.
Love when the Russian stooge Turley gets whipped up to the point he’s got to go public with it….
That’s if he hasn’t leased this blog entirely to the FSB as it functions as textbook Russian disinformation.
You must an incredibly stupid person which gives you good reason to sign as anonymous
His one and only date was a Russian dude but dumped him when Anonymous took off his clothing. Imagine the horror when the Russian dude discovered his date was not only a broken male, an Anonymous troll and batshlit crazy, but also that there was a chub appendage and a make believe vagina constructed of fat taken from his lard ass and thighs. The Russian had to be medicated due his state of apoplexy while Anonymous never got over the fact for being busted for being a loser with a fat fake vagina and a chub appendage
🤣
Dear Prof Turley,
I try to learn something new every day. Previously, I had thought the Virgin Islands was a British colony.
In any case, I live by the code of the Hills (aka the Hillbilly code). Which is like the Pirates code, only different.
While I’m rather fond of the Declaration of Independence, the oldest, ‘most stable’ constitution in the world today is really ‘more like guidelines’ .. .
The Delegate from the Virgin Islands is not confused. She is outraged that our territories, including Guam where I lived for 5 years, are treated unfairly and their status needs to be changed as both parties has previously promised. It is time to end their colonial status as “possessions.” These are citizens of the United States and should not have to move to a state to claim the full benefits of their citizenship. If a constitutional amendment is needed, so be it. Each territory should have a voting representatives equal to their population. Statehood should be made a possibility but there must be a solution. Maybe not Senators but representation in the House and electoral college delegates is appropriate.
Mark not to be uncaring or mean – but if you take away the Military Bases and remove the personnel of Guam whom ended up there because of the U.S. Military (Retirees that receive benefits and contribute to the economy), leaving only the ‘Native Guamese’ living on a Sea-Mountain Peak in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, what value as a State do they have to contribute?
Guam is not a “possessions”, if anything Guam possesses the United States as their primary income generator. Guam lost its strategic importance when we entered the ‘space-age’, When a Northrop B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber takes flight from the Mainland, do it’s mission in the Pacific and come home. The Navy uses nuclear propulsion, no need to refuel, and Satellite technology has replace the need for land based stations.
The world moved on … sorry about that.
Mark, currently each State representative, has about 800K constitutuents. Please name a single US Territory that would receive a single representative ?
Guam has a population of 173,000, the US Virgi9n Islands 104K. My county has a population of over 1M and only one representative.
Except Puroto Rico not a single US teritory would qualify for a representative. ALL of them combined would not qualify for one.
No, a tiny island in the pacific is NOT entitled to the same representation in congress as my city.
Guam and the US Virgin Islands are free to seek indepence if they wish – form your own country.
John Says, “ Mark, currently, each State representative has about 800K constituents.”
Wrong. Wyoming has a total population of 585,000. Each representative from Wyoming represents far less than 800,000 people. Wyoming has only one representative with less than 800k constituents. You should look up the Wyoming Rule.
Guam can have a representative if it becomes a state. Alaska has a population of less than 800,000 and has only one representative. A single territory could have one representative. Alaska, the biggest state, has only one, and Wyoming has only one.
Well then, if the present situation for the Virgin Islands, Guam, et., al., is so unfair nothing is stopping those territories from declaring themselves independent and funding themselves instead of asking for and accepting our tax dollars. Go your own way, pay your own way.
How are they treated unfairly? They are not taxed on income generated in that territory yet they are ALL on the taxpayers teat? Sounds to me like they have a great deal, sovereignty and all benefits of our US treasury.
In which case they should be invited to leave…
Professor Turley: here is a better and more accurate title for this column:
Does My Fellow Democrat Layer And Member Of The Washington DC Bar Have a Problem?
One could claim that Plaskett is an avatar for why Democrat lawyers are a plague on America when looking at her history in college and government.
Washington DC Lawyers | Profile Stacey Elizabeth Plaskett-Duffy
https://www.martindale.com/attorney/stacey-e-plaskett-396616/
– Graduated from dear old Georgetown where she was active in the Anti-Semitic “Anti-Apartheid Movement” attacking Israel and Israelis
– Ran for student government on a “progressive” platform
– Her professor for constitutional law was now House Democrat Congressman, Jamie Raskin, a fascist communist (like his father) in words and action
– Joined the DoJ in Washington DC to work on the anti-meritocracy DEI objective of increasing the number of minorities and women at the DoJ
– Moved from there to work for then Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who showed her how it was done by taking out Scooter Libby with a corrupt Special Counsel
– Chosen as Democrat impeachment manager for Trump’s second impeachment AFTER he had left office. How constitutional!
– Coauthored a paper with Democrat Ranking Member Jerry Nadler claiming that all three FBI whistleblowers were liars, and there was no evidence of FBI misconduct
– Moved into the spotlight in 2023, going on MSNBC to proclaim that President Trump “needs to be shot”
Plunkett’s problem, Professor Turley, is that she is a rage and hate filled Democrat lawyer and member of the Washington DC Bar, now sitting in Congress.
One whose idea of the Constitution is that it is deeply flawed because it was created by old racist white men (like Jerry Nadler and Joe Biden). And at best, merely an advisory piece of paper that can sometimes be useful in pursuit of her political goals.
A rhetorical question: why is it almost always your fellow Democrat lawyers ignoring the Constitution and Bill of Rights?
Old Airborne Dog
Wow ! Crazy much ?
Is it “Crazy” to steal the valor of true war fighters by falsely claiming “Airborne” and being too craven to reveal whether he was actually infantry and in which war?
There is nothing lower than this fraud.
Airborne, your synopsis of this ugly, angry radical is eye opening. I knew she was an ugly, ranting, radical from the few times I have seen her making a fool out of herself in committee hearings (why the he** is she on a committee?) and I knew that she was an illiterate, closed minded Democrat that needs to be shunned.
@hullbobby: she was an illiterate, closed minded Democrat that needs to be shunned.
She is neither illiterate nor stupid. She has made a successful political career out of being a Washington DC lawyer and member of the Washington DC bar, grifting her way around the restrictions on government that are supposed to exist in the American justice system and the Constitution.
She helped James Comey use his chosen corrupt Special Counsel attempt to take out VP Cheney when they already knew the identify Colin Powell’s aid who leaked that CIA woman’s name. She was perfectly happy to be a part of putting Scooter Libby, who they knew from the beginning had nothing whatsoever to do with that leak, in jail as a Democrat consolation prize. (BTW, the actions of both Colin Powell and George Bush to allow that as they watched silent from the sidelines are lifelong stains on their honor)
And she was happy to be the Democrat Pelosi chose to be their House Impeachment Manager for the “glass ceiling breaking” second impeachment of Trump after he left office.
This woman is a police state fascist Soviet Democrat with contempt for both the Constitution and the rule of law. For her, the ends justify the means. Which is why Dennis McIntyre loves everything she says and does.
She is all of that. But she is neither stupid nor illiterate – she wouldn’t be where she is and have her past history serving Comey and then Pelosi if she were.
Old Airborne dog
Why is she on a committee? Because the majority decided to allow territorial delegates to serve on them, and the minority gave her one of their seats.
There’s no reason she shouldn’t be on one. It’s entirely up to each house what committees it wants to have, and who it wants to put on them. It’s not restricted to members of Congress. There would be nothing unconstitutional about the House or Senate deciding to put Donald Trump on one or more of its committees. Or they could put Prof Turley there, if he was interested. So they can certainly do so for territorial delegates, who have been part of Congress with full speaking privileges for over 230 years. And they have in fact put them on committees, as full voting members, for at least the past 50 years.
Does it need to be any more clear the dems are part of a globalist regime? She was basically placed there, she is not a native of the territory she represents (cracks me up that the average modern left voter seems to think that’s a good thing, and they have the temerity to call others ‘colonialists’. The brain damage and inability to any longer think critically, along with the mind numbing hypocrisy of these people is something that should be studied someday). This is just Aristocracy 2.0. Sorry lefties: you ARE ‘The Man’, and worse.
She is just another of the privileged carrying water for the privileged. They will never stop, we must marginalize them to an even greater extent in 2026 and beyond. One election cycle will not be enough to cut the tendrils and burn the roots of their madness, and that is *crystal* clear. Sanity no longer remains on the left in any form whatsoever.
And a personal pet peeve: the next one that tells me they are magically ‘educated’ due to their buying an education receipt, and calling it a degree, from the ‘right’ school – 🙄🙄🙄. Then again the aristocratic gene pool has always been a wee bit, shall we say, *thin*.
She was not “basically placed there”. She won an election fair and square. And not on her first attempt, either. She lost the 2012 Dem primary, before winning in 2014.
And what possible difference could it make that she was not born in her district? How many representatives were born in their districts? How many senators were born in their states? Why should such a thing ever be expected of her, when it is never expected of anyone else? Her parents were both from the USVI, she grew up regularly traveling there, and she lived there for about 8 years before being elected. That gives her more of a connection to her district than many congressmen.
Plaskett has served as a non-voting delegate from the USVI since 2015. In other words, she’s about to start her 11th year in the job. I find it extremely difficult to believe that in all of that time it never dawned on her what limitations were placed on her role in the Congress.
In other words, her outburst was purely performative, and the fact that she got an ovation from fellow Democrats shows only that they were in on the act. In other words, this is all nothing more than political theater. I’d be a lot more interested to know what the Dems were hoping to accomplish with this little stunt.
Yes it was a blunt reminder that our territories are being treated unfairly. Do something about it. A former Guam resident.
@Mark
That may very well be, but it’s a separate issue. This is a tactic of the modern left though: they conflate things in an attempt to hide their motives, very often employing the exploitation of less powerful others. Don’t be fooled, assuming you are who you say you are and not a troll helping to prop up a new narrative: modern dems don’t give a toss about the territories, they just hate being hampered by the Constitution and rule of law, as ever. 🤷🏽♂️
What’s unfair about it? USVI and Guam residents are only US citizens in the first place by courtesy of Congress , which had no obligation to give them citizenship. And they get a delegate, just as territorial residents have always had, ever since the 1790s. What more should they get? Why SHOULD the constitution be amended to give them voting congressmen? What has changed since the constitution was adopted, and the founders deliberately decided that territories should only get non-voting delegates, and even that only by the courtesy of congress? What makes you think you are wiser than they were?
@Anonymous
I’m sure it’s just another wrinkle of their new narrative they will build on. They can’t win power through honest elections, so they’ll continue to try brute force. This is just an attempt to plant seeds in people’s minds; it’s all any of their despicable theater and propaganda is intended to do.
Like fascists of the past, the dems are willing to play the long game; ours needs to be so long and definitive they no longer bother, and we aren’t there yet, though November was a good start. We do not get to relax anytime soon, alas. It’s by design. These people are simply not well.
The Dems in Congress seem to always be trying to bypass, and eliminate the US Constitution. The connection to Jamie Raskin explains it all. He has spent the last four years conniving was to eliminate the Electoral College in favor of electing the President via Popular Vote. He’s been trying to find ways to manipulate the Constitution to prevent the certification of Electoral College Votes to finalize the election of DJ Trump. Raskin seems to be trying to lead the charge to dismantle the Constitution and has no business in the halls of Congress, as an elected representative who took an oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution. Anyone associated with him and his ideology should also not hold the privilege of representing the country.
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing the information.
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, “the fault dear [delegate] lies not in our [states] but in ourselves.”
This reminds me of thie quote by Leo Tolstoy, about how everyone wants to change the world, but no ono wants to change themselves. If she doesn’t like the rules, then she should use her influence to change the rules to her liking so that she can vote.
Does this seem fair and reasonable?
Or she should move to a STATE, run for office and then screech and vote like the angry radical that she is.
Politicians of either stripe don’t care a fig that the U.S. remains an anachronistic colonialist empire in the 21st century unless the colonized peoples can be of some use to them.
(It’s not all that simple to choose to waltz off the empire’s dance floor.)
A House rule prevents delegates from voting for the Speaker of the House, not the US Constitution.
This is true. It’s entirely up to the House how its speaker is appointed or elected. It could have voted on Jan 3 to allow Donald Trump to appoint the speaker. Or it could have voted to hold a wrestling contest and have the winner be speaker. So a fortiori it could allow delegates to vote for speaker. But no congress has ever done so and I imagine none ever will.
Bye bye.. They’re tax havens ..
Not sure what Plaskett was hoping to accomplish since the six delegates are divided evenly between the two major political parties. Three are democrats who caucus with democrats and three are republicans who caucus with republicans.
Guam Delegate: James Moylan, Republican
U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate: Stacey Plaskett, Democrat
Puerto Rico Delegate: Pablo Hernández Rivera, Democrat
District of Columbia Delegate: Eleanor Holmes Norton, Democrat
American Samoa Delegate: Amata Coleman Radewagen, Republican
Northern Mariana Islands Delegate: Kimberly King-Hinds, Republican
It is wrong to clap for people who are wrong. Vote the bums out.
Live in one of these territories as I have and you might have a better grasp on what are the issues. You are wrong. Former resident on Guam. It is time to end colonial rule and treating our territories as “possessions.”
So seek independence.
Or Statehood.
Well, Mark, the good people of Guam could simply vote themselves independent, couldn’t they? I’ll bet China would love to have them. Think of all the free stuff!
Perhaps you should move back Mark? I hear the beetle nut harvest is coming soon!
Why should we stop treating them as possessions? That’s what they are. There is nothing wrong with colonialism, and no reason to be ashamed of it.