Marching towards futility

District leaders hung a large red banner outside city hall yesterday advertising a march for D.C. voting rights and said they were working to turn out thousands of residents for the event Monday.

Standing on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and voting rights activists laid out details: Activities will begin with a rally outside the Wilson Building at 2:30 p.m., followed by the march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol at 3 p.m., and then remarks by several local and national politicians outside the Capitol at 4 p.m.

"This is the first march in 10 years for D.C. voting rights," Fenty said. "I think residents have a sense of urgency, and their patience has worn thin." (Washington Post)

Pop quiz: upon seeing the "thousands" of marchers outside the Capitol, members of Congress will have which of the following reactions?

A) "Good lord, look at them. Maybe...maybe they do deserve representation. Scratch that, there's no maybe about it. By God, let's get this done. Someone get the majority leader on the phone!"

or

B) "Could someone please close the blinds? There seems to be a large number of black people gathered outside. Say, does this have anything to do with that Imus thing?"

Mayor Fenty, if you really want to make a statement, forget banners and marches and appeals to common sense. Instead, like any good politician, go for sensationalism. Announce that until the city has voting rights in Congress, you, as a District resident, won't be paying any federal income tax. No representation, no taxation. Simple as that.

Now, you strike me as the kind of Type A guy who sends in his tax return by the end of January at the very latest. Fine. No problem. We'll just shoot for 2008. That actually works better, since now you'll get an entire year of publicity out of this.

Everywhere you go, every speech you give, remind people that the mayor of the nation's capital is refusing to pay taxes until he has the same congressional representation as every other American. Don't worry about going to jail, either. Not only would it be a horrendous PR move for the government to prosecute you, but Marion Barry has pretty much proven that paying your taxes is optional in this city.

So it's up to you. Do you want a one-day story on the front page of the Metro section that will quickly be forgotten and make no impression whatsoever on Congress, or do you want to actually accomplish something?