DC Primary's a Joke. It Could've Been Great

The problem with Tuesday's District primary is that it's a pitiful gimmick. The main purpose was to highlight the disgraceful second-class citizenship forced on District residents and to educate those outside the city who don't realize that we have no vote in the Senate or the House of Representatives.

Instead, with fewer than half of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls on the ballot and no convention delegates actually being picked, this non-binding "beauty contest" isn't attracting too many looks. Even its biggest boosters know that most Washingtonians will ignore the contest. The rest of the country, whose attention the primary's promoters hoped to grab, remains focused on the presidential contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. We District voters seem more marginal than ever. Like sad sack comic Rodney Dangerfield, our city "can't get no respect."