i'm mad as hell

And definitely not gonna take it any more.  All the reading I've been doing here and elsewhere about the "nuclear option," concerning both the rules change itself and the conservative attempts to recast the label as a Democrat invention, have really got me going.  I posted a long entry about this mess in my LiveJournal (cobbling together multiple Daily Kos diaries and a few other things), and just a few minutes ago sent the following email (located below the fold) to Senator Frist via the nifty contact page at Congress.org.

[me]
[address]

The Honorable Bill Frist
United States Senate
509 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4205

Senator Frist:

If you're going to lie about something, next time make sure it won't be something contradicted by pesky things like easily-researched facts.

The use of the filibuster to block judicial nominees is not "unpredecented," as you unashamedly claim on your US Senate homepage. In fact, Senator Smith of NH made the following statement on March 7, 2000:

"But don't pontificate on the floor of the Senate and tell me that somehow I am violating the Constitution of the United States of America by blocking a judge or filibustering a judge that I don't think deserves to be on the circuit court because I am going to continue to do it at every opportunity I believe a judge should not be on that court. That is my responsibility. That is my advise and consent role, and I intend to exercise it. I don't appreciate being told that somehow I am violating the Constitution of the United States. I swore to uphold that Constitution, and I am doing it now by standing up and saying what I am saying."

And you are on record as voting in support of his filibuster.

I call you Liar.

Never mind the fact that it's disingenuous of you to claim that Democrats coined the phrase "nuclear option" when it's you and your conservative extremist friends who came up with it in the first place, only to drop it when it proved unpopular.

You and those like you exemplify everything that's wrong with this country and its political system, and as far as I'm concerned you can't get voted out of office fast enough so that your poisonous approach to democracy can be eliminated.

Have a nice day,

Sincerely,

A citizen who's fed up with the right-wing extremist agenda of lies and deceit

It really irks me the way the Wrong Wing extremists think they can just make up the rules as they go along and never, ever have to face accountability for their lies and manipulations.

The utter, utter bastards.

( grrrr! )

•  Reid speaking about filibuster NOW

  on Senate floor, C-SPAN 2.

  by bumblebums on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 12:34:29 PM PDT

  •  hope it's going well

    Can't watch it from work :\

    by grrtigger on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 12:38:00 PM PDT

    •  You have a great signature line LOL! n/t

      by boran2 on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 12:56:24 PM PDT

      •  why, thank you!

        I focus-group tested it myself ;)

        by grrtigger on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 12:57:38 PM PDT

•  Good luck.

  Did you send the Secret Service a cc with your return address on it?

  by november3rd on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 12:35:16 PM PDT

  •  even if there were a danger

    in expressing my honest opinion, which I guess we can't completely rule out the way things are these days, I'm tired of living under a blanket of malicious apathy.

    From now on if I have something to say, I'm going to damn well say it.  As long as I don't make a threat of physical violence (which I wouldn't anyway), they can't legitimately do anything.

    And maybe by adding my voice to the chorus of others, it can, eventually, in some small way, make a difference.  I'm tired of watching from the sidelines and just hoping that things magically turn out right.

    by grrtigger on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 12:40:30 PM PDT

•  Nice letter! But

  why would it bother Frist that you know that he's a liar? One reason only: if others (and not just us lefties on dKos, who were never his fans to begin with) know too. So - how to make this an effective open letter?

  by brainwave on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 12:49:08 PM PDT

  •  i doubt that it does

    I just want him to know that he's not operating without oversight.

    Not that I expect he'll actually, personally see my letter.

    I'm not sure how to turn this into something more effective, but believe me when I say I'm just getting started.  One positive effect of the Bush Administration will be (I'm convinced) greater public awareness of and involvement in what our "representatives" are really doing in DC.

    They've gotten away with resting on our laurels for far too long.

    ( grrrr! )

    by grrtigger on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 12:53:35 PM PDT