By now, probably everyone reading DK knows that the House Rethuglicans are obstructing justice by slow-rolling appointment of their members to Rep. Schiff’s Intelligence committee.
I have written to Representative Schiff and to Speaker Pelosi regarding this newest anti-democratic maneuver by the subverters of our democracy (such as it weakly stands).
Interestingly, although I’m not a constituent of either Rep. Schiff or Madam Speaker, I was able to use the email forms on their congressional webpages to reach out to them. I guess it’s no surprise, that when I tried to contact Kevin McCarthy via his House webpage’s contact function, I wasn’t able to because I’m not in a zip code he represents. So I wrote my rep urging him to urge House republican leadership to fill any outstanding committee assignments.
Nunes blocked investigation, and now McCarthy is doing the same by refusing to assign Rethugs to the committee
Peaceful transfer of power is what characterizes a strong democracy. It is clear to all who would see, that from the election of 2016 which was undermined with ‘rigging’ fearmongering, to a tactic such as McCarthy’s leaving seats on Intel open thus blocking the voice of the electorate, McCarthy is refusing to transfer power. This tactic is anti-democratic, and undermines our democracy.
Please reach out, let your representative know you are watching, and urge him or her (especially if Republican as my rep is) to demand that committee assignments be made immediately.
If you reach out to Madam Speaker, please include a request for a rule change, and/or implementing a requirement that committee assignments be completed within one week of a Congress being seated.
I’m not suggesting everyone needs to write exactly what I did, but if you care to copy and paste to save time, here’s what I wrote to Diaz-Balart (I know, I know!): Please note that midway through I make mention of Diaz Balart’s Cuban heritage, which you will want to remove for your own representative.
Text of my email follows:
As your constituent, I am reaching out due to my concern that Republican members have not been named to the House Intelligence Committee.
The American People spoke with a resounding voice in the elections of 2018. They and I voted in an overwhelmingly Democratic House of Representatives.
Regardless of one's political perspective, it is clear that actors internal and external have obstructed justice and subverted our democracy. As your constituent, I demand that you urge House leadership to immediately seat members to the Intelligence committee, and to fill any other committee memberships which may yet remain vacant. Failure to staff the Intelligence committee disregards the voice of the American people made clear through the last election. It prevents a good-will effort to properly investigate and identify those who may be seeking to destroy our democracy.
As the child of immigrants who arrived in America precisely to make a home in a democracy, I'm sure it is of particular concern to you that our democracy remain strong and vibrant. The only way to do that is to respect the will of We, The People, and to peacefully exchange power in accordance with our voices. This is no less true of congressional representatives, than it is of the Executive.
Please urge Rep McCarthy to immediately complete remaining open committee assignments, so that the work of The People may begin.
Our system of government demands it.
Here's a link to find the contact page of your representative.
Please take a few moments to let your representative know you know what is going on.
Thank you.
