Taming the Streets of the US Capital
Recently in Washington, DC, Edward Coristine was beaten badly by a group of minors. Coristine, aka Big Balls (don’t ask), was trying to protect a female companion and thwart a carjacking, according to Faith Bottum, an assistant editorial features editor of the Journal.
The Psychological Effect of Nominative Determinism
Mr. Coristine (19) was one of the first employees of the Department of Government Efficiency under Elon Musk. Earning his moniker, Mr. Coristine was photographed with blood on his face, chest, and arms. Add to that a (reportedly) broken nose, concussion, and black eye.
Yes, the incident did catch Donald Trump’s attention, goading Trump to promise action. Trump will press lawmakers to repeal home rule.
National Guard troops are being deployed, and the Metropolitan Police Department is being placed under federal control, a power granted to the president by the 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act when there are “special conditions of an emergency nature.”
A Failing City
Truly awkward, but no surprise, Washington, DC is not run well. In 2023, DC’s crime rate was double the national average. The violent crime rate is more than three times as high. Should the capital of the US have the fifth-highest murder rate among big U.S. cities and the highest rate of car theft?
Some hark back to blame Mayor Marion Barry, who contributed to the criminal chaos by weakening city services, mismanaging finances, and facing accusations of corruption.
In 1990 Barry was caught on FBI surveillance smoking crack cocaine with a woman in a hotel room, leading to his famous line, “B— set me up.” He left office in 1991, served six months in federal prison, was elected mayor again, and began his fourth term in 1995.
Ms. Bottum explains why home rule, though a failed experiment, won’t be easy to end. Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), who introduced a reform bill in February, recognizes that Congress needs to do its job. According to Sen. Lee, America must “reassert its lawmaking power over our nation’s capital city.”
Why will plans to end home rule face bitter opposition? Senate Democrats would surely try to filibuster any attempt to undo the 1973 law. Some are still pushing statehood for the district.
In a city where “Taxation Without Representation” is still printed on license plates, some will view Trump’s comments on DC as misguided and offensive. According to Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district’s nonvoting House delegate, “D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and brown, are worthy and capable of governing themselves without interference from federal officials who are unaccountable to D.C.”
As outlandish as this might sound, Donald Trump is known to be a champion of law and order. Protests will ensue; some could be violent. Trump is advancing his goal simply by pointing out a reality that most Americans can see: The beating of Mr. Coristine is infuriating. Washington is a failing city. And decades of misrule have demonstrated the need for reform.
Late historian Fred Siegel wrote how “social license and economic restrictions” drained cities like Washington of their vitality. Sigel warned that over-regulated and inefficient cities like DC were saddled by a “state-supported economy of social workers.”
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