D.C. Statehood should be an urgent priority for the next Democratic Congress
By 
The dispositive case for D.C. statehood is that being governed by legislators one plays no role in electing violates the most basic tenets of democracy. At this point, we can drop the mic — arguments against it are unserious. There are additional democratic benefits, such as adding a more diverse small state to the Senate to balance the many lily-white ones.
As Susan Rice observes, Bill Barr’s various goon squads provide yet another good reason:
An often overlooked piece of the justice agenda was cast into stark relief last week, when President Trump ordered heavily armed federal forces into the District of Columbia against the will of Mayor Muriel Bowser. Largely because Washington lacks statehood, Mr. Trump had the authority to line city streets with military Humvees, to fly Black Hawk helicopters dangerously low to terrorize protesters, to fill the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with military personnel and to deploy thousands of federal forces, many unidentifiable with no discernible chain of command, like Russian “Little Green Men,” to intimidate residents.
Most shockingly, after threatening to federalize the Metropolitan Police, Attorney General William Barr unleashed federal forces who violently dispersed journalists and peaceful protesters using tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, horses, shields and batons. All for a presidential photo-op.
For one long week, Mr. Trump transformed my hometown into a war zone to burnish his “law and order” credentials. Without statehood, Washington was virtually powerless to prevent Mr. Trump from using the capital as a petri dish to intimidate protesters, divide Americans and goad activists into ugly street battles to galvanize elements of his base.
A robust voting rights statute should be the first thing passed should Democrats get a trifecta in 2021, and it should include D.C. statehood. It would also be the perfect bill to use to blow the filibuster into oblivion.