Though Republicans managed to sink legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the chamber last week, voting rights activists haven’t given up. In fact, they’re going straight to the top. According to the Post, Mayor Adrian Fenty is slated to meet today with Joshua Bolten, Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush.

We’re not sure what the meeting will accomplish, though. The White House officially expressed its intention to veto the legislation last week, and the Bush administration isn’t exactly known for changing its mind. Moreover, though Bolten is thought to see the issue sympathetically — his mother taught at George Washington University, he attended St. Albans School and has reportedly admitted his sympathies for the District’s plight — the White House’s decision is sure to go through Karl Rove, who would never stand for giving the Democrats another seat in the House. (Rove both lives in the District and was caught exploiting a tax break for District voters in 2005.)

But advocacy for voting rights demands that we push every lever of power we can, and Fenty’s meeting may give him a better idea of how strongly Bush would fight the legislation if it passed the House and squeaked by the Senate. If things go really badly, Fenty will just end up sitting in Bolten’s office trying to act impressed as Bolten plays demos of his band’s totally rad cover of “Freebird.” (Bolten plays bass in a band known as The Compassionates.)

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