January 8, 2008
Something Big is Happening in New Hampshire...
...and it's not today's primaries.
Tomorrow New Hampshire state Representative Cindy Rosenwald will introduce legislation expressing regret that the Granite State's two senators -- Judd Gregg and John Sununu, both Republicans -- last year voted against legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives. And to testify in favor of the legislation, a number of D.C. pols and voting rights activists will be on hand, including Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray, D.C. Vote Executive Director Ilir Zherka, eight members of the council and the city's Shadow Delegation.
The legislation, first floated last September, is simple and to the point, expressing the state's regret that Gregg and Sununu voted against the measure and formally declaring New Hampshire's support for "full representative democracy for all United States citizens, including the residents of the District of Columbia."
Though a small gesture, the legislation marks the first state-level reaction to the Senate's failure to move the voting rights bill forward. Voting rights activists have indicated that they're looking to target a number of senators, including Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.).
This should be a lesson -- D.C. doesn't get mad, it gets even. You take our votes, we take yours.
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The ghost of the Old Man of the Mountain is so wise.
How much are we paying for this junket? Why do 8 of the council members need to go? Fenty and Gray would be sufficient to represent DC’s interests to NH. Next there will be a trip in March to lobby Hawaii for support….
This non-binding resolution accomplishes nothing. I mean, thanks NH, but how does this further our cause?
DCist20009,
From what I know, most of the people going up there paid their own way. Fenty, specifically, used leftover funds from his election campaign.
TW,
This absolutely furthers the cause. State legislatures make local news, and local news can make people think twice about their elected officials. Polls have found that when informed of the District's circumstances, a great majority of Americans sided with doing something to change it. Sure, a New Hampshire voter might not decide whether to vote for Judd or Gregg based on this issue, but it might provoke them to ask a question as a public forum. And that's important to getting the word out and letting Congress know that this isn't an issue they can simply hope will go away. So yes, this is absolutely helping the cause.
spreading the word, TW. people who don't know about the district's voting plight don't support us. those who do know, do support us. that's how this furthers our cause. advocacy is good.
I'm glad I pay a 10% food tax at every restaurant so our "elected" officials get to fly off to one of the smallest U.S. states and testify in front of their esteemed state legislature. Exciting! Perhaps NH and DC should secede and form our own landlocked nation.
I'm glad I pay a 10% food tax at every restaurant so our "elected" officials get to fly off to one of the smallest U.S. states and testify in front of their esteemed state legislature. Exciting! Perhaps NH and DC should secede and form our own landlocked nation.
These cute little state and municipal resolutions always warm my hackles a bit.
Nevertheless, I hope you'll all forgive me when I cynically suggest that the voters of New Hampshire, Montana, Kentucky, Arizona, Mississippi, and Oregon will likely have other things on their minds when they enter the voting booths this year.
Altruism is not a reliable motivating factor in a democracy.
So....the day after the NH primaries, when all the focus will be on whether Hillary and Romney's campaigns are still alive and when all the attention will be on who drops out of the campaign, there will be a non-binding resolution in the statehouse. And this furthers DC voting rights....how exactly? Sure it will get some notice in the local press - the conservative NH paper will say it's an unconstitutional idea; the liberal NH paper will say it's a great idea. And that'll be about it.
And do we really need to send 8 council members up to NH? Aren't Fenty and Gray sufficient to represent the DC gov't? I'd be interested in knowing how many councilmembers won't just stick around for a few days in NH to enjoy some outdoors fun, all the while, no doubt, letting the New Hampshirites they meet at the ski left know all about the plight of DC residents.
I'm going as well...and paying my own way...so I'm not calling it a junket. And we're all flying Southwest so hardly a luxurious trip!
If you want to come along for the ride, I'll be updating freeandequaldc.com from the road, or you can follow me on Twitter (name: MikePanetta).
I think this *is* a good use of our time, we need to take the fight outside of the District, and just getting some attention on the ground in New Hampshire and other key states doesn't hurt.
(FYI, that man on the mountain collapsed a few years ago...so maybe we should use another photo)
live free or die!
Perhaps NH and DC should secede and form our own landlocked nation.
That'd be awkward, since New Hampshire isn't landlocked now. Perhaps you've confused New Hampshire with Kentucky, or Saskatchewan, or Tajikistan?
cminus: They're landlocked from each other, which is maybe what funfriends meant.
Also, I support the Mitch McConnell pile-on -- the more the merrier.
As much as I admire Mr. Panetta's dedication to the issue, I think a much more pragmatic and effective measure would be setting up a DC voting rights PAC, raise money, and then selectively go after anti-DC voting rights members of Congress.
i emailed NH state representative rosenwald to thank her for her support--what else can the average dc voting-rights supporter do?
They're landlocked from each other, which is maybe what funfriends meant.
Well, by that measure if Virginia seceded it would be considered landlocked (since the Eastern Shore doesn't connect via land with the rest of the state), which is clearly insane. No, I think it's more likely funfriends confused New Hampshire with Wyoming, or Worcestershire, or former U.S. president Chester A. Arthur.
To OldPosterKnownAsCranky:
Done and Done:
I started the PAC called the "Free and Equal DC Fund" (FEC ID# C00441279) last month and will rolling out plans and fundraising events shortly to effect the 2008 elections - take a guess at who some of the targets will be.
At least they are doing something. The rest of us just bitch and do nothing. Me included.
I'd set myself on fire on the Capitol steps as voting rights protest, but I just got this really good new haircut and I'd hate to see that wasted.....
Targeting anti-DC politicians is good but I question whether it does any good. Unless some billionaires start contributing to our cause, our wee dollars will surely get lost in the shuffle.
Perhaps directly embarrassing them.... we need a really good DC voting rights mascot to show up at campaign events.... maybe a Washington Monument in shackles with a gag .... both emphatic and phallic with a bit of kinky sex vibe.... if it was spectacular enough maybe it'd get some TV coverage, then popular recognition, etc...
I've got the perfect slogan for our new voting rights mascot.....
"White people live here now so maybe it's time for the vote".......
Or "Marion Barry is just a councilmember now.... no really, it's true"
Or "DC.... proving that expensive education can suck ass for decades now"
Or "DC.... waiting for the new Fugazi for quite some time now"
Or "DC... what happens in DC happens very slowly and inefficiently, with a twist of class and race warfare, plus a heaping helping of graft and lethargy".
Or "DC..... we don't suck ass as bad as we did the last time you were here..."
It'd play well in the South.
I guess NH is almost landlocked if you don't count Hampton Beach.
Mike, Thanks for naming your PAC as you did (free and equal). The goal should not stop at mere "voting rights", which typically means House voting rights. That would be a partial victory and would slow the march to full equality/first-class citizenship for DC residents.