Could This Be the Year?

As the D.C. vote takes on new levels of meaning, opposition remains strong. The White House has made it clear that aides will recommend that the president veto any expansion of D.C. voting rights. Supporters in the Senate expect Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to lead a filibuster against it. Ostensibly, McConnell and the Bush administration base their opposition on constitutional objections to a D.C. seat, but Davis says the real reason "is purely political. They see it as one more seat for the other side." Some Republicans figure their party will get the extra seat in Utah anyway in the redistricting after the next census.

But with Republican Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and independent Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut sponsoring the Senate version of the bill, voting rights advocates say they can fend off a filibuster. "We don't need Republicans to vote for the bill," Davis says. "We just need nine to stop a filibuster, and we think we have them."

For the many Republicans who still believe that the Constitution poses an impassable barrier, Davis has one plea: Let the courts decide. And he has a delicious tool of persuasion, a strongly argued brief in favor of the constitutionality of a D.C. vote written by former special prosecutor Kenneth W. Starr and law professor Viet D. Dinh, who helped write the USA Patriot Act. Both are conservative scholars who draw deep respect from Republicans.

"I talk to members of Congress about this and they literally walk away, saying the bill is unconstitutional. Unconstitutional? They voted for the Patriot Act!" Kemp says. "A presidential veto on this would consign the Republican Party in perpetuity to 8 to 10 percent of the black vote."

If this is finally the year when District residents get their voice in the House, it won't be because of any novel constitutional interpretation or any newfound love of the city. It will be for the most traditional of political reasons: A bunch of politicians needed an issue -- a way to show that even in this dark hour, they could strike a blow for democracy and the validity of the American ideal.

marcfisher@washpost.com

Marc Fisher is a Metro columnist for The Washington Post.