Since its inception as a Federal District, Washington, D.C. has been the home to our national government but the people who live there have no real representation as do the states in our union. Eleanor Holmes Norton has been a delegate to the House of Represenatives for quite sometime now but cannot vote in the legislative body. With Obama coming to town and a much more Democratic Senate in place, she might just get the Colbert bump she's been looking for.
From The Washington Post:
Voting rights in Congress for the District of Columbia is another example. Legislation to expand the House of Representatives from 435 to 437 seats by giving the District and Utah an additional vote each were three votes shy of the 60 needed to end a filibuster in September 2007. Eight Republicans voted with the Democratic majority, which is 51 to 49 and includes two independents.Come January, seven Republicans who voted against the compromise plan to allow Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) to become a full-fledged member of the House will be replaced by Democrats. Aides said they are not clear when the legislation will be reconsidered, but some District voting-rights activists are so confident of passage that they are advocating a push for two District seats in the Senate. Norton, however, favors seeking just the House seats.
Well, incremental change is better than none at all. Adding two Senate seats is virtually impossible, because there is no room for compromise with the filibuster-happy Republicans. Unless Utah, Wyoming or Idaho is willing to split itself to create two "red" seats, there's no way Joe Lieberman and the GOP will vote for that. Tis' much better to stick with obtaining representation in the House.
DC Vote has been hard at work to get Congress to recognize the half-million or so that live in the District for a long time now, but Congress has been unwilling to budge. Now is the time for a change and a large push from the community might just be able to make it happen. The big question is, what will they put on their license plates once Norton becomes a full-fledged Congresswoman?
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