It probably speaks volumes about my lack of faith in our leaders’ commitment to serving their actual constituency that I preface this by saying, “for what it's worth.” Anyway, I sent this by email to Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado.
Dear Sen. Gardner,
I appreciate that the announcement on your website, mentioning Justice Scalia's death and expressing condolences to his family, stops short of the demagoguery that started up within minutes of his death announcement. Mitch McConnell's declaration that he won't even allow President Obama's SCOTUS nomination to come to a vote is just offensive, and something I guarantee Justice Scalia, a constitutionalist, would never approve.
The people of this nation did not elect our senators to refuse to work with the president we also elected. We expected you to do your job. Find common ground. Compromise. Cobble something together that works, even if nobody is getting all their own way. If President Obama nominates a person who is qualified for the job, it is the Senate's job to consider the nominee, not reject him or her out of hand just because they don't like the president. This childish belligerence is absolutely not in the interest of this country or your constituents, and it just reinforces my commitment never to vote red again. I realize the Democrats have been as guilty of obstructionism in the past. I'm asking you to rise above. Maybe if you do, you'll win some voters over in the upcoming election.
I ask you to pass this word to other Republicans in the Senate. Tell them how it looks to the average citizen, the voter. It looks like you guys hate Obama more than you care about serving the people who elected you. It looks like you hate Obama more than you care about a functional government. Frankly, it looks a lot like treason to me, working against your country just because you don't like the way the democratic process turned out in 2012, when we RE-elected President Obama to do a job that, among other things, includes nominating justices to SCOTUS when vacancies occur, right up to the date a new president is inaugurated.
If the Senate carries through on Sen. McConnell's threat, I will do everything in my power, publish blogs, editorials, tweets, and Facebook messages to see that nobody within reach of my influence ever votes Republican again. If the extremists in your party are so inflexible that they insist on tearing the government down unless they have their way, it's time for the GOP to die, anyway. Time for a new Conservative party, one that actually wants a functioning Democracy, where congress works together for the public good. I'll be publishing this on The Daily Kos as an open letter, asking you to work for us and convince others to do the same, so that when President Obama offers a nominee, he or she is vetted and considered and the nomination taken to a vote, up or down.
I really hope you hear me, and I'm sorry if this sounds disrespectful, but I find it hard to respect leaders who are taking pay and openly refusing to do their job. I don't say you are among these leaders--in fact I'm hoping that the lack of political rhetoric in your comments about Justice Scalia means you care too much about this country to let your disagreements with the president keep you from doing the job you were elected to do. I'm hoping you will encourage other Republicans to do the same.
Thank you for your time.