Dave Weigel writes about how if Republicans ride to victory in November denouncing the expansive power of the federal government, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who will run the District of Columbia Subcommittee, plans to use that power to completely violate DC residents' right to govern themselves by helping to overturn recently passed District laws he doesn't like, such as the recently passed right of same-sex couples to marry. What's his defense of this federal power grab? This:
“When you're in Washington, D.C., you'll see license plates that say ‘Taxation Without Representation,” says Chaffetz. “I think we all recognize that that is fundamentally flawed. But what's paramount in this discussion is the U.S. Constitution, and the Constitution explicitly says that voting rights are reserved for the”—he quickly formed air quotes with his hands—“several states.”
You really don't get more craven than this. Chaffetz is basically conceding that circumstances of District residents violates his own first principles, but he's okay with taking advantage based on a mere constitutional technicality because the way the District does things doesn't fit his conservative sensibilities. Some dude from Utah telling DC residents how to govern their own city isn't as much of an outrage as the reverse because federal power grabs are okay if you're a Real Murrikan rather than some liberal fascist.
