The Federal Lab Rat

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By Colbert I. King

Saturday, January 17, 2009

As a Washingtonian, I am delighted to learn that President-elect Barack Obama has decided to put District affairs on his crowded agenda.

We certainly can use a little presidential attention. We need help in gaining voting representation in Congress. We shouldn't have to obtain approval from Capitol Hill to spend our own tax dollars. And we deserve the authority to appoint our own judges.

At the same time, I hope our next president will just say "whoa" to any Cabinet member who suggests using the District of Columbia as a model for administration policy initiatives.

The District has been there, done that. We have scars to show for it. The next president, before saying yes or no, should give us a chance to speak our piece.

"Guinea pig" sounds unflattering. "Lab rat" does, too. "Test case" is a tad better. Whatever the description, the unpleasant fact is that various newly minted administrations have chosen to experiment on us. We weren't asked to volunteer. Informed consent was out of the question.

Our lack of political clout made us an ideal candidate for experimentation.

Lest I be accused of inventing such a charge, join me in a brief trip down memory lane:

· 1970: Richard Nixon, elected on a law-and-order platform and proclaiming that he wanted to make the District "an example of respect for law," pushed a D.C. crime bill through Congress that was neither sought nor needed by the city. It authorized "no knock" arrests and searches, preventive detention, mandatory sentences and expanded police wiretap authority. Nixon also sharply increased the size of the police force -- leaving the District with a huge, unfunded pension liability.

· 1989: George H.W. Bush's "drug czar," William J. Bennett, announced a federal initiative to make the District a "test case" in the U.S. war on drugs. Within two years, and with the District's crack cocaine-fueled homicides at a record level, Bennett up and quit. Casualties of drug wars, meanwhile, continued turning up on city streets.

President-elect Obama told The Post this week that he wants to help us decrease homelessness.