Promoting democracy abroad, ridiculing it in the nation's capital

Now that we know Iraq wasn't a threat, the Bush Administration and its neocon puppeteers have started to portray their efforts in Iraq as part of a larger goal to promote democracy abroad. While many left-wingers detest the notion of America telling others how to govern, DC clipmonkey fully supports it as long as exceptions aren't carved out for repressive "allies" like Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

That being said, what's remarkable about all of this talk about democracy is the fact that there remains an egregious violation of it in Washington, DC. While DC residents have a city council with some power to represent them and a vote for president, they lack a voting member of Congress and cede ultimate authority for the city's purse strings and legislation to Congress.

Now, a group of Senators, many of whom are simultaneously trying to erode the minority party's rights in the Senate, is seeking to overturn the District of Columbia's 1976 ban on handgun ownership. Democracy in Baghdad, but not in DC? The abuse of power goes on...