In D.C., Voting Rights Disappointment

Forgive me if I am less than ecstatic about the prospect of getting one voting representative in the House of Representatives. I remember the point made in 1971 by the late Julius Hobson Sr. at a founding meeting of the D.C. Statehood Party, when the mainstream position was to seek "home rule." If we settle for half a loaf now, he said, it will relieve the pressure to resolve the fundamental issue: that D.C. residents lack the full rights of citizenship.

So here we are, almost 40 years later, and the best we can do is to get a single vote in Congress -- and apparently with strings attached. Will it take another 40 years to get the next meager slice?

DONNA A. FLETCHER

Washington