I expect that many readers here, like me, have somehow gotten on right-wing email lists they can’t get off of. In my case, I receive two or three emails every day from Martha McSally’s campaign. They run the gamut of various scare tactics, and I compose snarky replies that I never send, but this one finally garnered a “send”:
William*,
Haven’t you heard Republicans have a sinister plot? Let me lay it out for you:
1. The President of the United States nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
2. My Republican colleagues and I committed to doing our Constitutional duty and hold hearings on this nominee.
3. The Senate will do its job and vote.
Well when Nancy heard about this, her head started spinning! She’s taking nothing off the table – even impeachment – to derail and block this nomination. Will you stand with President Trump and me as we do our jobs and fill this vacancy?
The truth is, there’s no plot or power grab. I’m committed to doing my job, and that includes filling judicial vacancies.
After including the above text to set the context for my reply, this is what I sent in response.
Dear Senator McSally:
Your email would have had more credibility had it not been for the eight years that the Republican Party deliberately did not do their jobs — and tried to block every nominee that the President put forth between 2008 and 2016 — culminating, of course, in the refusal to even give Merrick Garland a hearing.
I was USAFA class of 1984. Like you, I abided by the cadet honor code: “We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does.” But here’s the thing. Honor isn’t something you take on and off, like a change of clothes. Once you surrender your honor, it is gone forever. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that someone I once admired has traded her honor for — what, exactly?
I am happy to receive emails from you in the future as I contemplate my voting choices and which candidates to contribute to. But don’t send me any more email if you are going to lie to me. Don’t ever lie to a fellow veteran.
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(*) not my real name — and I don’t live in Arizona — and I click the unsubscribe every day