The high of the DC Voting Rights Act passing in the House has worn off and the reality of the uphill battle looming in the Senate has sunk in amongst the supporters of DC Voting Rights. And the fact that Joe Lieberman may not be in charge of the bill in the Senate is another reason some are nervous about the future.

What do we do now? Simple. We step up our game.

This fight reminds me when I was working on a campaign to stop nuclear waste from being dumped at Yucca Mountain in 2002. Running the standard playbook, we targeted the usual suspects with “the world is going to end” environmental messaging. The results were so-so. However, when we reached out to conservative/right-leaning lists with a “states rights” message (instead of the environment) the action rate was several times higher.

If this bill is going to pass the Senate, we’re going to need to reach out beyond the “latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading” liberal civil-rights crowd that has carried the water on this bill to date, and also reach out to the conservative media and interest groups and dangle the prospects of another Republican House seat (and, yes, electoral vote) for Utah in front of them.

It’s a basic segmentation of audience and message . . . not rocket science.

We are also going to need to:

• Put grassroots and grasstops pressure on Bennett and Hatch from Utah citizens
• Recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in the states of the Senators whose committee(s) have jurisdiction over the bill
• Figure out which Senators are on the fence and what will move them

Yes, it’s going to be fight. But I do think it’s one we can win.

Do you have ideas? Please comment using the links below, I’d love to hear from you.

Today the U.S. House passed the DC Voting Rights Act. It was an historic day as it was the first time since the 70’s that the House has passed anything related to giving the District a full vote in the House. The bill passed 241 to 177, and the companion bill that would fund the new seat passed by a vote of 216 to 203.

I have to give credit to DC Vote, Jake Kemp, Congresswoman Norton, Congressman Tom Davis, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Together they the made sure this bill was re-introduced in this Congress, overcame the numerous hurdles thrown at it, and ensured it passed the necessary committees and the full House chamber.

I echo the statement made by Mayor Fenty:

“This is a great and historic day for the residents of the District of Columbia. I look forward to the continued success of the D.C. Voting Rights Act and urge the Senate to take up this important legislation immediately.”

The next steps are getting it through the Senate and, of course, getting the President to sign it. But for now the victory is the House is something to savor.

The DC Voting Rights Act is going back to the floor tomorrow. There’s going to be a new rule to stop the hijacking with the motion to recommit with instructions. It should pass tomorrow and then we’ll be on to the Senate.

Speaking of the Senate, I ran into Senator Tester (D-MT) at a YearlyKos fundraiser and he said he’s be a supporter of the bill in the Senate. I also got the ear of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)  at the event, and he is going to be a supporter as well….as he always has been.

Here is a article from CQ about tomorrow’s vote:

I’m writing another reminder to get ready to march in support of DC voting rights today.

The march is on rain or shine (or wind). . . so please be sure to dress appropriately. The meeting point is Freedom Plaza at 13th and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW at 2:30 p.m.

The best Metro stops are Metro Center or Federal Triangle.

After some quick speeches by Mayor Fenty, Chairman Gray, and Congresswoman Norton we’ll march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol and rally in support of efforts to give DC a real vote in the House of Representatives.

If you can’t get out of work to make the march, please consider leaving early and meet us at the Capitol reflecting pool at Pennsylvania and 3rd Street NW around 4:00.

In case you haven’t heard by now, last week a few Republican Congressmen temporarily blocked the progress of the DC Voting Rights Act on the House floor using a rarely implemented parliamentary procedure. Representatives Lamar Smith (R-TX), Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) attempted to amend the DC Voting Rights Act by adding a section that would eliminate DC’s gun control laws. It was a pathetic attempt to not only deny over a half million people voting representation in Congress, but to also re-write our local laws to their liking.

This is only a minor setback. The bill will return to the House floor!

Can you please take a minute and make two phone calls to help with this effort? I need you to call both Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Both have been champions on this issue and we need to thank them for their leadership in this fight. They also need to hear from people that this bill needs to brought back to the House floor this week before the upcoming recess.

Their phone numbers are below:

Speaker Pelosi: (202) 225-0100

Majority Leader Hoyer: (202) 225-3130

Please make the following points on your phone call:

* You are calling in regards to the DC Voting Rights Act
* You are very appreciative of their leadership on this issue
* You are urging the House leadership to bring the bill back to a floor vote this week.

Please take a few minutes and make the call today. These offices need to hear from people like you to get this bill back to the House floor. After you make your calls, please forward this email to others who would be supportive of this effort.

Don’t forget to tell your friends and co-workers about http://www.freeandequaldc.com