Wouldn't you just know it. Now, only the fact that I just moved out of DC -- and that I still lack the necessary athletic ability -- stands between me and international soccer glory. You see, the members of the self-selected DC Olympic Curling Team have launched an effort, complete with spiffy website, to convince the International Olympic Committee to allow DC to enter its own teams into competition. (via Chris Mooney)
As you may or may not know, the residents of DC, despite being just about equal in number to those of the great state of Wyoming, have no voting representation in Congress. Which means, that while they have an able delegate in Eleanor Holmes Norton, she can't vote on legislation on their behalf. For example, she -- and by extension the residents of DC -- had no say on whether to give the President the authority to go to war in Iraq. A bit frustrating, when you think about the three DC residents who have since been killed in that war. It also means that little boys and girls growing up in the District can't dream about growing up to represent their home state in the United States Senate, which is just sad and un-American.
There's legislation in the works to fix this. The bill with the most promise is the DC Fairness in Representation Act proposed by Tom Davis of Virginia. The problem with any initiative to give DC representation in today's political climate is that the elected representatives of a place that voted for John Kerry at a rate of 90% are very likely to be Democrats, and the Republican Congress is not eager for that to happen. What the DC FAIR Act would do is to make a deal -- giving DC one voting member in the House in exchange for giving Utah the chance to elect another Republican member, to balance each other out. More on that here.
But the members of the DC Olympic Committee aren't waiting for Congress. They're petitioning the International Olympic Committee to grant DC the right to represent its own damn self, like Puerto Rico and Guam do. You can send a letter of support to the IOC here.
You know, one of the very appealing things about moving to New York for me is that I'd finally, for the first time in about 11 years, be able to vote for people who will be my voice in Congress. (Right now, I've got Schumer, Clinton, and Owens.) I've registered to vote and can't wait to do so next November. But I've not forgotten my brethren and sistren still in the District who still suffer along, representativeless. For them, I say, Free DC!
