A Groundswell of Activism

On Friday, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said in an interview on Washington Post Radio that he expected the House to pass the bill "this coming week."

But what happens after that remains in question. Democrats don't appear to have enough votes in the Senate to avoid a filibuster. And if the bill somehow makes it through that chamber, White House aides want President Bush to veto it.

"Demonstrations don't change the constitutionality, or lack thereof, of a bill in Congress," said Brian Kennedy, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).

House Republicans, the White House and a number of legal experts say the D.C. vote bill violates the constitutional requirement that representatives come from states. Other scholars disagree, calling that an overly literal interpretation. Some Republicans also accuse Democrats of using the bill as a lever to eventually get two senators for the District.

Organizers have estimated in their permit application that 5,000 people will gather for the march, which will begin at 3 p.m. at Freedom Plaza and end with a rally near the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The city government and D.C. Vote say they have handed out about 50,000 fliers promoting the event at schools, offices, baseball games and Metro stations. The city has advertised it on billboards and banners and in newspapers. It even printed an appeal for marchers on District employees' paychecks.

Those efforts come on top of phone banks, happy hours and other activities organized by local and national groups in an effort to enlist marchers. Blogs including the liberal Daily Kos have publicized the demonstration.

"There's a new energy in the city, with the mayor and D.C. Vote," said Bob Johnsen, 66, a retired Unitarian Universalist church worker who volunteered one recent evening at a phone bank.

Some organizations are taking the issue farther afield. Last summer, the League of Women Voters launched a program to educate citizens across the country about the District's lack of representation. Among its upcoming events: a mock "tea party" in downtown Seattle on Monday, featuring protest songs by the Raging Grannies.

Closer to home, four local indie rock groups launched a D.C. Voting Rights Tour this week with stops along the East Coast.

The idea was the brainchild of Rob Getzschman, 29, a resident of 16th Street Heights who runs a multimedia company. He read an article last year about many Americans' ignorance of the D.C. vote issue, and a light bulb went on.

"It occurred to me . . . this is why the issue hasn't been resolved," he said. "Because people don't know."

On Tuesday night, the tour opened in a dimly lit bar tucked between a KFC, some dilapidated rowhouses and a Chinese takeout place in northern Philadelphia.

"None of us have a vote in Congress," Getzschman, in a T-shirt and jeans, explained to the audience. "Twelve or 13 of us are actually going to turn the tide of American history by making some music."

His band, Analog Jetpack, belted out its new D.C. vote song:

It's been two centuries, you have to think eventually

We'd bid this legal peasantry farewell . . .

The Philadelphia audience applauded -- all four of them. They were friends of the musicians'.

It was a disappointing start, Getzschman acknowledged. But, like many longtime D.C. vote activists, he was undaunted by an initial setback.

"This is the first show ever of this concept," he said. "We're going to learn and evolve."