The DCist wrote:
It's not often that two hippos chase down a presidential candidate. But today two did and survived to tell the story.
Voting rights activists protested outside the Washington Hilton this morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of John McCain and express their displeasure at his recent vote against cloture on voting rights legislation that would have moved legislation forward to grant the District a voting seat in the House. Among the activists were two dressed as hippos, part of D.C. Vote's new "Hippos Follow Hypocrites" campaign. And as they did with McCain, the hippos plan on hounding other senators that voted to uphold the filibuster, with an eye towards re-introducing the legislation early next year. The hippos may even follow certain senators to their home states and key primary states, as well as present themselves at their Washington offices to press the voting rights cause.
And though today's protest was small, it was animated. The hippos never made it into the Hilton proper, but they did get within shouting distance of McCain as his he got in his car. The most he could do was give them a feeble thumbs up, after which he quickly left.
Voting rights activists protested outside the Washington Hilton this morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of John McCain and express their displeasure at his recent vote against cloture on voting rights legislation that would have moved legislation forward to grant the District a voting seat in the House. Among the activists were two dressed as hippos, part of D.C. Vote's new "Hippos Follow Hypocrites" campaign. And as they did with McCain, the hippos plan on hounding other senators that voted to uphold the filibuster, with an eye towards re-introducing the legislation early next year. The hippos may even follow certain senators to their home states and key primary states, as well as present themselves at their Washington offices to press the voting rights cause.
And though today's protest was small, it was animated. The hippos never made it into the Hilton proper, but they did get within shouting distance of McCain as his he got in his car. The most he could do was give them a feeble thumbs up, after which he quickly left.
I post this because it happened just up the street, but I'm really curious how much play this debate is getting in other parts of the country and the world at large.
Framing the issue briefly: The District of Columbia, not being a state, has no voting representation in the Federal Government (except for two delegates to the Electoral College). It raises a lot of important constitutional issues, since the nearly 600,000 people who live here are subject to all Federal taxes and laws, despite having to say in the passage of those laws. There are other, more pragmatic issues at play as well. The District has its own municipal government, but they're subordinate to the U.S. Congress, so residents here have almost no say in the laws that govern us.
Personally, I favor a Constitutional amendment granting congressional representation to the District as a de facto state. Most efforts so far have been legislative only, and even if such a measure were to pass, it could easily (and rightfully) be struck down by the court (since the Constitution is pretty clear on who gets a vote and who doesn't).
