Around the time of last year’s State of the Union address, we asked whether then-Mayor Anthony Williams should have foregone attending the annual event as a guest of First Lady Laura Bush, to make clear his continuing disappointment with the District’s lack of voting rights. Some commenters thought the idea preposterous, with one going as far as to opine:

Of course the mayor should attend. What the f*ck is boycotting it going to accomplish?

Do you think the news media are going wonder where is the DC mayor? As far as the media is concerned, “Who gives a sh*t?”

Adrian Fenty seems to see some merit in the idea, though. The Post is reporting that Fenty has decided to attend as a guest of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a snub his people attribute to her having invited him first. That excuse notwithstanding, Fenty often stated during the mayoral campaign that he wouldn’t attend as a guest of the White House until they reversed their stance on voting rights. Also, Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) have both spoken out in favor of granting the District voting representation in the House, with Hoyer going as far as to state that he was moving towards giving D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton the power to vote on amendments on the House floor. (Currently she can only vote in committee, though she did gain the right to vote on amendments on the House floor in 1993 and 1994.)

Though merely symbolic, snubbing Bush is the right move. Fenty shouldn’t have to sacrifice his city’s principles in order to sit alongside the First Lady and be recognized by the president during his address. Voting rights isn’t something that we should be compromising on, and Fenty should make sure Bush knows that.