As Sommer mentioned earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to have been invited to speak on a panel on D.C. voting rights at the YearlyKos Convention, a huge gathering of progressive activists and bloggers in Chicago. This morning I will be sitting alongside D.C. Shadow Rep. Mike Panetta, Danny Rose from DC Vote and Kesh Luddewhetty of DC for Democracy, all of whom will detail the current fight for voting rights, where it stands and what to expect for the future. And since everyone here is live-blogging pretty much everything, I've decided to follow the trend and offer live, as-they-happen updates on the panel.

9 a.m. CDT: It's 15 minutes before the panel kicks off, and we're all sitting around hoping for a crowd. By the end of this, we'll either have preached to the choir or inflamed the passions of enough progressive bloggers to provoke a sudden uprising. So if you see thousands of folks bearing torches and laptops marching on the U.S. Capitol later today, we've done our job.

9:15: Of course, David Brock, founder of Media Matters, and Arianna Huffington are scheduled to speak at the same time as we are. Just our luck. Or maybe it's not luck. Maybe the YearlyKos people hate voting rights.

9:25: I have an idea. To make this a little more nationally interactive, if anyone has an opinion to offer, a question to pose or just wants to pester us while we're here, leave some comments. This is all going to be up on a huge projector, so make your words count. And no, don't just tell us we suck.

9:40: Mike Panetta has kicked everything off, introducing himself and running through what it means to be a Shadow Representative (including a Shadow Secret Service detail). His stressing that there is a real city in Washington -- whose population rivals Vermont and Wyoming -- and that not everyone there is a pundit, lawyer, lobbyist or member of Congress. Now Kesh is speaking, mentioning that regardless of what role she has played in this fight, it has been going on for two centuries and involved thousands of other dedicated activists.

9:50: I have to say -- DC for Democracy has done some great, behind-the-scenes and grassroots work for voting rights. They've helped push the cause among like-minded national organizations, all of which have turned around and lobbied their respective representatives and senators. As much as we can criticize the current legislation, these folks have worked their hearts out because they know that incremental change is better than no change at all.

10:00: Danny is speaking now, asking that attendees be "ambassadors for the cause." It's a good point -- not enough national progressive bloggers have given the cause the credit or attention it deserves. He's talking about the April 16 March for Voting Rights, which saw some 3,000-5,000 people show up despite freezing rain and gale-force winds. And he's detailing the legislation's main compromise -- D.C. gets a seat, Utah gets a seat. To stress the point, he's using an image from "Big Love," an HBO show about a polygamous family in Utah. Brilliant. And to respond to Sommer's question, the key targets in the Senate are Brownback (R-Kan.), Smith (R-N.H.), Warner (R-Va.), Lugar (R-Ind.) and Specter (R-Pa.).

10:10: Crap. My turn. Maybe I should have written something down instead of live-blogging. OMG. BRB.

10:20: Phew. Done. I spoke briefly on the role that blogs can play in pushing the cause, while recognizing that not enough national bloggers have written on the issue. I also mentioned that the digital divide will always limit the impact that blogs can have. After all, if the great majority of bloggers and blog readers are young and white, there is only so far they will get in advocating for voting rights, especially in a city that's historically and demographically African American. And, of course, I introduced everyone to Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.), who we all still remember fondly as our real representative.

10:30: Question time. First one -- what comes after D.C. gets a voting representative? Danny is stressing that the fight will continue, and yes, statehood is ultimately the goal. Second one -- is retrocession to Maryland an option? Mike says no. Maryland already said it doesn't want us, and to be honest, we don't want the Oriole as a baseball team or a state bird.

10:40: Alright. We're done.