Sure, the D.C. voting rights movement has seen its fair share of defeats, but no one has thrown in the towel yet. And by the looks of it, no one will.

According to The Hill, the movement for District voting rights is slowly but surely picking up weighty supporters, ranging from powerful labor unions to prominent lobbying firms. Combined with an election year that is expected to see further gains for Democrats in Congress and a good chance for a changing of the guard at the White House, voting rights activists are seeing good fortunes in the coming year:

Money is being raised, powerful lobbyists are offering their time free of charge and supporters are traveling the country to spread the message that the city that houses the Capitol deserves a vote inside. Advocates for D.C. voting rights sense that education can help them bridge the gap in votes needed…That could set the stage for a successful vote on D.C. voting rights in 2009.

Basically, voting rights activists have played their cards just right. Beyond the luck of having a Democratic House of Representatives from 2007 on, organizations like D.C. Vote have taken to the states to apply pressure to members of Congress that in late 2007 voted against legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House. Officials from D.C. Vote have traveled to Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon, and are currently in Mississippi, where they have connected with local activists to promote D.C. voting rights. The likely lifting of a restriction on the use of District funds for lobbying for voting rights has also helped, steering $500,000 in city money to D.C. Vote for education and lobbying.

We know better than to start celebrating, as Washington has a strange way of doing nothing about historic injustices even when everyone seems to agree that something needs to be done. But given how close we came in 2007, those last couple of votes will hopefully materialize in 2009. Of course, should Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) become president, it’s doubtful that he’d be any more friendly to D.C. voting rights than President Bush has been. (McCain was one of the key votes against the legislation in the Senate last year.) But with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) now officially the Democratic nominee, Mayor Adrian Fenty’s close relationship with his campaign and the friendly words Obama has had for our situation gives us hope that the impetus for resolving the District’s situation could come from the White House.

Photo by billadler