Disorganized Crime

Politix

Politics, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2023

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

D.C. is not a state. At least not yet. The District is allowed to govern itself in some ways, but its laws are subject to veto authority by the federal government. All that forms the backdrop for a big dust up surrounding a lengthy effort by the city council here to update the city’s janky old criminal code. What would ordinarily be a technical, local issue turned into a multifaceted political fiasco for the city, the mayor of Washington, the people of Washington, Democrats in Congress, and even President Joe Biden. What was actually in the much-debated bill? Why did Biden agree to overturn it? Will it be revived? Will Republicans continue to use the federal government’s power over the city as a wedge issue to divide Democrats? And what does the whole episode say about the future of the city and its and its determination to govern itself completely? Slate writer Mark Joseph Stern joins host Brian Beutler to discuss the actual substance of the bill and what the whole incident reveals about how sincerely Democrats support equal rights and democracy reform, and whether they’re equipped to fight against an increasingly fascist opposition party.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The important work of political and civic engagement doesn't just happen every two years.
0:04.8	Votesave America's No Offers program is here to help you stay engaged throughout 2023's
0:10.0	critical elections starting with a must-win Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin.
0:14.7	Visit VotesaveAmerica.com right now to donate now to help get out the vote in Wisconsin ahead
0:20.3	of their April election. And sign up to join our No Offers campaign to stay in the loop
0:25.3	on what's happening and how you can get involved for your remote and in-person
0:29.0	volunteer opportunities, targeted donations, and more. That's VotesaveAmerica.com.
0:35.2	The world is getting warmer, but there's still time to put out the fire.
0:39.3	If you're looking for inspiration during the climate crisis, check out Outrage and Optimism,
0:43.6	a podcast featuring former UN Chief Cristiana Figueras. Each week she and her co-host take you
0:49.0	through the intersection of politics and climate change, covering everything from the annual UN
0:53.3	climate change conference to everyday greenwashing, and hopefully spark you to take action
0:58.4	along the way. Find Outrage and Optimism wherever you get your podcasts.
1:21.2	Hi everyone, welcome to Positively Dreadful with me, your host, Brian Boiler.
1:26.0	So here's a quick summary of my time in Washington DC, which at least partially shapes my
1:32.3	perspective on this week's conversation. I've lived here almost continuously since about
1:37.6	this time in 2005. When I arrived, the city was in the early stages of a big revival.
1:45.6	Its population had just started growing again after shrinking pretty continuously since the
1:50.7	Civil Rights era. Its crime rate and particularly its violent crime rate were falling.
1:57.1	Combined those two things, and one, there was a lot of optimism about the city's future, but two,
2:02.9	housing costs skyrocketed. I remember hearing from some war rewards when I was finalizing my plans
2:09.8	to move here, and they warned me, you know, don't go east of 16th Street or 14th Street.
	...

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