Article

Fugazi Banter: Government Spending

A person stands on a sidewalk, wearing a sandwhich board sign that says "home rule now"
Woman protesting for Home Rule outside of White House. 1966.

Original version: 35mm slide; DC Public Library, The People's Archive, p35 Darrell C. Crain, Jr. Photograph Collection, 1966 April Tents in Lafayette Square.

By Dr. Rami Toubia Stucky

Introduction

Explore the Series

Between the late 1980s and early 2000s, punk band Fugazi played several times at DC-area parks. Many of their live shows were recorded by fans and then made available. These recordings not only capture Fugazi’s music. You can also hear bandmembers Ian MacKaye, Joe Lally, Brendan Canty, Guy Picciotto, and Jerry Busher address the crowd. Sometimes they prepared monologues or spun off into impromptu musings. Other times they invited guest speakers and activists such as Mark Andersen on stage. What was said was almost always political, though.

Check out the Rest of the Six-Part Series

This page is part of a six-part series that looks at the concerns of DC punks firsthand. Use the links to the right to explore the rest of the series.
Stay here to listen to activists and band members talk DC’s financial crisis, welfare reform, and the underpaid work of Father George Dennis.

Home Rule & DC's Finances

  • Fugazi: Home Rule & DC's Finances | September 16, 1995 - Sylvan Theater

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        An excerpt from the banter in between songs at a January 1991 Fugazi concert held in Lafayette Park. Singer Ian MacKaye decries the city's financial situation.

        Audio Transcript

      “And you know we get calls constantly. In the last year or so, we’ve been getting inundated with calls from people who desperately need money. And they need money because the funding has been cut off by the city because, as you may or may not know, uh, the financial situation here is really f*****d.”

      Explanation:

      A black and white photo of a woman standing next to a sign that says: "all citizens of the united states voting today excepting citizens of the district of columbia"
      Muriel Fritz stands next to a sign reading 'All citizen of the United States voting today excepting citizens of the District of Columbia. 1920.

      Photographer unknown. DC Public Library

      While the local and federal government were spending money on wars and militarization, DC was struggling financially. Between 1874 and 1973, this would have been Congress’s problem. They controlled DC’s affairs and a trio of presidentially appointed commissioners ran the city. The reason for this arrangement was largely racial. White Washingtonians were willing to give up the right to vote if it meant Black people no longer had political power. Meanwhile, southern Segregationists fought to keep DC’s laws, politicians, and spending under Congressional domain.1

      However, staunch Dixiecrats were voted out of office in the early 1970s. The tides had turned. The ability of Washingtonians to control their own affairs, known as Home Rule, seemed possible. In 1973, Congress made it official and passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. This allowed Washingtonians to elect their own mayor and 13-member city council.

      Home Rule came with some stipulations that put the district’s finances under stress. The District could not tax the personal income of any individual not a resident of DC. This means commuters, who rely on District services and work in DC, only pay taxes in surrounding Virginia or Maryland.2

      Other factors put the District’s finances under strain. Between 1990 and 1995, 53,000 residents left for Virginia or Maryland. They were largely dissatisfied with the District’s depleted public services, underfunded schools, and increased crime. However, this exacerbated the problem and eroded the District’s tax base even more. In 1995, DC had accumulated a deficit of $722 million. Wall Street dropped the city’s bond rating to “junky,” creating the perception that lending to DC was risky.3

      Elizabeth Dole & Welfare

      A man wearing a colorful sweater talks to a woman wearing a red cross jacket.
      Gary Godorou, a flood victim of Grand Forks, North Dakota, thanks Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole for the efforts of the Red Cross during her visit to Grand Forks, AFB. April 23, 1997.

      Photographer SRA Cohen A. Young, USAF. National Archives.

      • Fugazi: Elizabeth Dole & Welfare | August 15, 1996 - Fort Reno Park

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            An excerpt from the banter in between songs at a January 1991 Fugazi concert held in Lafayette Park. Singer Ian MacKaye discusses the previous night's Republican National Convention.

            Audio Transcript

          “Did any of you have the distinctive pleasure of watching any of that convention thing last night? I saw Liddy Dole––uh, Elizabeth Dole––do her speech. That was truly bizarre. It was so bizarre I think it’s actually an attempt to make us feel distracted by things that are actually happening. Like this welfare bill. So...”

          Explanation:

          On August 14, 1996, Elizabeth Dole, president of the Red Cross, gave a speech at the Republican National Convention. In a deviation from tradition, she declined to speak at the podium and instead gave her speech mere feet from the audience. At the end of her speech, Bob Dole, her husband, Senator from Kansas, and Republican Presidential Nominee, appeared live on a big screen projected behind her. The audience cheered and, sensing something was afoot, Elizabeth looked behind her. Upon seeing her husband, she laughed, appeared shocked, and called his appearance a “nice surprise.”

          As Senate Majority Leader, Bob Dole helped spearhead the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. Welfare caseloads dropped by half after its passage. Poverty fell among children throughout the 1990s.4 This bill also made most immigrants ineligible for federal public benefits. It imposed work requirements on recipients. It also barred drug-related felons for life from receiving food stamps.5 After its passage, Bob championed that the “enactment of welfare reform is long overdue relief for the millions of Americans.” They are “trapped in a cycle of dependency” and could now look forward to a future of “work, hope, opportunity, and personal responsibility.”6

          During her speech at the RNC, Elizabeth praised Bob’s “sensitivity to the problems of others.”7

          Father George Dennis & The Fort Reno Park Concert Series

          • Fugazi: Father George | August 15, 1996 - Fort Reno Park

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                An excerpt from the banter in between songs at a January 1991 Fugazi concert held in Lafayette Park. Singer Ian MacKaye encourages the audience to recognize a man named Father George Dennis.

                Audio Transcript

              “We should all give a massive round of applause to Father George Dennis. He’s the man that rides around on the bicycle here. [unintelligible]. He works really really really very hard to make these concerts happen every year. And, uh, he certainly isn’t getting paid for it. So, if you see him. Pat him on the back and say ‘Thanks, George!’”

              Explanation:

              A black and white portrait of a man.
              Father George T. Dennis, S.J., from the Catholic University Cardinal Yearbook, 1971.

              Courtesy of Catholic University.

              Father George Dennis moved to Washington, D.C. in 1967 to join the faculty of the Catholic University. In 1970, he was elected to the Neighborhood Planning Council (NPC) in Northwest Washington. Serving his tenure there for many decades, he devoted himself to the concerns of DC’s young residents.

              In 1971, the DC government proposed a curfew law that impacted youth. Individuals aged seven to 16 were prohibited from being on the streets between 11pm and 5am. To address absenteeism and truancy, the bill also prohibited youth on the streets between 9am and 3pm.

              After a warning, offenders were to be fined $300 or given a prison sentence of not more than 10 days.8 Father George Dennis testified before DC City Council against the bill. It ultimately did not pass.

              During his tenure at the NPC, Dennis played a prominent role in organizing the Fort Reno Concert Series. Paul Strauss, DC shadow senator and former chair of the NPC surrounding Fort Reno, called him the “Patron Saint” of the park. He was “always our last card. If we were having trouble with the park police, as a last resort, we sent him in with a collar,” Strauss noted.9 Musicians like Mike Kanin remember him fondly as well. “He encouraged us a lot,” Kanin shared. Carleton Ingram, Kanin’s bandmate in The Better Automatic, provided a similar sentiment. “He would actually be aware of what was going on.” Bands knew Dennis so well that they approached him, as opposed to youth organizers, if they wanted to play at the park.”10

              In 2005, Dennis moved to Los Gatos, CA. He died in 2010.

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              Last updated: March 20, 2025