Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington - DC Vote Says, "Don't Count Us Out"

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DC Vote Says, "Don't Count Us Out"

Written by Malcolm Furgol, on May 11, 2010

Guest Blogger: Ilir Zherka
Executive Director, DC Vote

A City Paper article recently published, “Muzzle Burned: Why Ceding the Moral High Ground on D.C. Voting Rights Didn't Work,” questioned DC Vote's effectiveness over the past few years because we have not secured passage of the DC Voting Rights Act. They got it wrong. We successfully shifted the debate to a focus on rights -- to representation and democracy -- for DC residents.

As a result, we have garnered more bi-partisan support than any other effort in a generation. We have built the largest and most enduring national coalition ever around this issue. That coalition has engaged tens of thousands of people in the fight. We have educated over 100 million people world-wide through the news coverage of our activities. We have secured bi-partisan majority votes in Congress for the first time in 30 years. With others, we have also secured the complete elimination of riders on reproductive rights, needle-exchange and medical marijuana.

Most importantly, we have institutionalized the movement for the first time in the history of the District.

Advocacy campaigns are marathons, not sprints. No legislation is ever "dead" while the movement promoting it is still strong. Despite this set back, we remain strong. Our campaign of steps toward statehood is the only viable strategy. Don't count us out. Within the remaining months of this year, we will fight against attacks to our gun laws, improve Home Rule and work to create an opportunity for passage of the DC Voting Rights Act.

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