THE DEMOCRATS MAY RETAKE THE SENATE AND HOUSE, BUT WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO PRESS THE REPUBLICANS ON SUPPORTING D.C. STATEHOOD

Monday November 2, 2026

Having risen through the Civil Rights Movement, both Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Walter Fauntroy --- who marshalled the D.C. Voting Rights Amendment through the House and Senate --- were silhouettes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Both believed that some elected Republicans were within our reach, and they were right.

Congress passed the D.C. Voting Rights Amendment, by SuperMajority votes, two-thirds in the House and two-thirds in the Senate. Because it was a proposed Amendment to the Constitution, once it passed by two-thirds in the House and Senate, we needed to gain ratification by three-fourths (38) of the states, within seven years. The D.C. Voting Rights Amendment, House Joint Resolution 554, which I am proud to have drafted while on Congressman Fauntroy's Staff, would have given D.C. two Senators, at least one Voting Representative in the House, and proportionate votes in the Electoral College. The Joint Resolution however failed to get ratification by 38 states in seven years. D.C. STATEHOOD ONLY REQUIRES ONE-HALF OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE TO BECOME LAW (That is, of course, assuming that the President either signs the Bill or chooses not to veto it). With President Trump eager to make Canada, Greenland or even Venezuela the 51st State, we should be encouraged that the politics are orienting towards D.C. Statehood as a real possibility in the next Congress.

Republican Senators Barry Goldwater (Arizona), Strom Thurmond (South Carolina), Bob Dole (Kansas) and Howard Baker (Tennessee)(who later became Ronald Reagan's White House Chief of Staff) voted with us. Indeed, the principles that undergird the unshakeable notion of representative government in America are principles that are etched in Republican, yes MAGA Dogma. You may be surprised to learn the path we travelled to secure Super Majorities in the House and Senate, and again perhaps comforted to know that with D.C. Statehood, only Simple Majorities are required. While the President has a role in the D.C. Statehood process, so too did the Republican President when we passed the Martin Luther King Holiday Bill, and the anti-Apartheid Legislation (which ultimately caused Elon Musk to move to America from South Africa.

During the debates on the D.C. Voting Rights Amendment, doubters, naysayers and opponents relied heavily on the views of Congressman John H. Rhodes, a former Federal Judge, and the Republican Leader in the House. Those views were debunked by a Booklet we distributed, "A Simple Case of Democracy Denied" and hearings we held, gathering opposing views from legal scholars, across America. One of my proudest moments was to secure a supportive, written Statement from Professor Charles Alan Wright of the University of Texas Law School, and a close personal lawyer for Ronald Reagan. For quite some time, every law student read Wright on Federal Courts and Federal Systems. Perhaps they still do.

I recall one Sunday, seated in Congressman Fauntroy's Church (he was also a practicing pastor), a man in a very advanced state of inebriation - he was stone drunk- entered the welcoming doors, and immediately, boldly interrupted the Congressman's Sermon on "God is the Answer". The man inquired, "If God is the Answer, what is the question". The Congressman, a Yale University trained, thoughtful Minister, paused, then changed the subject of his Sermon to "What is the Question". The man sat and listened to the remainder of the presentation.

I gained from that Sermon that it is often best to know the right questions than to know the right answers. My Booklet, "Towards Equal Footing", the Front and Back Covers of which appear below will be available for purchase, this Wednesday, 4 November 2026, from The Store of livingwiththelaw.com, for the modest price of Thirty Dollars ($30). My Daughter, Sia, was the principal Editor. It first raises the right questions, then provides the right answers. The $30 covers all costs, including postage, with a very moderate return.

The D.C. Voting Rights Amendment was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chaired by Senator James Eastland, a Democrat and Dixiecrat, who was a Plantation Owner and avowed Segregationist. When the Resolution passed the House, Senator Birch Bayh, a Democrat from Indiana --- shown in the photo below, seated next to Senator Ted Kennedy, with Vice President Mondale and the "101st Senator", Clarence Mitchell --- used an arcane Senate Rule and took the Resolution from the House Clerk who delivered it, and placed it directly on the Senate Calendar, thus bypassing Senator Eastland's Committee. Parenthetically, when my Mama, Pinkie Barnes, and her sisters, "The Craig Sisters", from Indiana by way of Alabama, visited with Senator Bayh, they called him "Birch", rather than Senator Bayh. I was quite embarrassed until he greeted them as "Pinkie, Goldsby, etc."

In the spirit of Kennedy and Fauntroy, I nonetheless regularly reached out to Senator Eastland's Staff, and we became friendly and cordial with each other. I went to his Office for a meeting with him. He was dressed in all white, white suit, white shirt, white tie, white socks and white shoes. We shook hands and embraced, and he said, "The Senator will see you now". I stepped back, without words, I did not expect to meet with the Senator. As I stuttered, he repeated, "The Senator will see you now".

I was taken into the Senator's Office. His chair was turned. His back faced me. His staff left. The Senator tuned and said to me, "You know about my Motion to Recommit yo' Bill to my Committee, don't ya'?" I couldn't speak. I simply shook my head. "Well, you didn't waste yo' time comin' over here, did ya'" I sat in stunned silence. "I know ya' needs my vote for this here thing to pass, right?" I could only nod yes. "Well, if the House go long wit' it, and the Senate go long wit' it, and the President go long wit' it (remember the President has no role in proposed Constitutional Amendments, and he knew that), and all the states go long wit' it, and the Supreme Court go long wit' it, I might go long wit' it." Before he turned his chair, displaying again his back to me, signaling I could leave, he repeated, "Well, you didn't waste yo' time comin' over here, did ya'"

I left Senator Eastland's office discouraged and disillusioned. His staff, my friend, embraced me as he directed me out.

The Senate voted, and the Resolution passed. We got a Super Majority. Senator Eastland did not vote with us, but he did not vote against us. He just did not vote at all on the Resolution, which very narrowly passed.

I really like the photo below of Senator Eastland chatting with Senator Ted Kennedy, reflecting the legislative genius of that Kennedy Son.

I am encouraged by the energy and activities of D.C.s next Congressman, Robert White. Get ready for the coming Congress, after the Midterms. Next year is our year for D.C. Statehood. Buy my Booklet, "Towards Equal Footing", at livingwiththelaw.com. It gives you the right questions and provides the right answers. In that way, you won't waste yo' time goin' to the House or Senate or speaking with yo' Family and friends from the states, "will ya'?"

: (Original Caption) Washington: Riot Inquiry May Be Broadened. chairman James O. Eastland, (D-Miss.), (R), announced today that the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet soon to chart the future of the first major Congressional investigation of ghetto riots. He made the announcement after an amicable meeting with sen. Edward M. Kennedy, (D-Mass.), (L), who wants to broaden the inquiry by looking for the social and economic causes of the rioting. This photo was made at the start of the hearing today.