The culture of the District of Columbia flies smack in the face of the Libertarian agenda. Legions of civil servants, lobbyists, federal contractors and K-Street lawyers live in the district — and oppose anyone who wants to scale it back.
For nearly 22 years, incumbent Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton has been D.C.’s Delegate to the US Congress. Republicans didn’t even bother to run a candidate against her this year.
But for Libertarian Bruce Majors the stakes are different. If he wins more than 7,500 votes, the Libertarian Party will gain permanent ballot status in D.C., which will save the party tens of thousands of dollars in future elections.
Michael Monroe, the Republican who challenged Norton in the 2004 election, won over 18,000 votes. The Libertarian stands a good chance of picking up many them.
Bruce Majors calls for both slashing federal spending and repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which effectively denies recognition of same-sex unions by the federal government.
“DOMA is a discriminatory piece of legislation that implies that marriage is only between a man and a woman,” he noted. “It denies same-sex couples over 1,000 legal rights and privileges that straight couples receive.”
D.C. is unique among US territories. As a non-state, the federal district has only partial congressional representation. The House delegate can vote only in committees, but not on the floor.
Yet D.C. residents are fully taxed, which Majors sees both as unjust — and as an opportunity because it offers a chance to end federal taxation in the district.
“Put a referendum on the ballot and let D.C. residents decide whether they would like to be a state and continue paying taxes — or get the same deal as Puerto Rico: No taxation without representation,” he proposes.
Bruce Majors has been a well-known and well-liked political activist in D.C. since 1990. He has helped with six local campaigns and attends community events on a regular basis. His campaign is running ads in local papers, raised over $12,000 and collected over 5,000 signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot.
