Protest at Mary's home in Wash, DC 3/27/06

[AnnInLa]

We speak of Capitol Hill, where as we type this there are around 35 protestors carrying signs and chanting rhymes on the sidewalk in front of Sen. Mary Landrieu's (D) well-appointed rowhouse; a home on a block of E. Capitol St which, to put it mildly, does not see political protests every day.

What, you ask, would such a group be doing on a Monday night outside of the home of a Dem Senator from Katrina-scarred Louisiana? Turns out "Mary," as the group casually chanted her name, is an active supporter of charter schools both here and back home on the bayou.

The disparate coalition of Yuppie moms, longtime DC activists, and youthful hipsters assembled for the dusk rally contend that charter schools take away needed resources from traditional public schools. And, to add insult to injury, Landrieu has backed language included in Senate legislation to directly aid charter schools in the District, they said. Or, as one chant demanded more succinctly, "Meddling Mary, respect home rule!"

But why take their case to Landrieu's private residence (which was dark and assumedly empty)? Because the group wanted to "disturb her peace and privacy just as she has come into our homes and meddled in our private affairs," said one metaphorically-speaking and very on-message local mother.

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http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/