Here is the e-mail I sent today to Senator Schumer calling upon him to support the filibuster.
Dear Senator:
Back in 1989, you were my Congressman when I lived in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. I remember going to a meeting of the Brooklyn Democrats where you spoke. You were young and enthusiastic (so was I, then) and you were so idealistic. With your stance against taking money from PACs and other special interests, I was profoundly impressed and thrilled to have such an ethical man as my representative.
I hope you haven't completely lost sight of that man in the intervening years. Now is the time to call upon him and to be a leader in the Senate in filibustering Samuel Alito. It is the ethical thing to do. Samuel Alito's views on government power would wreak havoc upon the traditional limited government of this great country. Any man who believes strip-searching 10 year old girls and shooting unarmed 15 year old boys in the back of head is a justified use of government power does not belong on our Supreme Court.
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Choosing to be a patriot, to place the welfare of this nation and ethics above fear of failure, is the essence of courage. I hope you have it on Monday when Senator Frist calls for the cloture vote.
In short, Senator Schumer, I call upon you to support the Alito filibuster, and to announce as quickly and publicly as possible that you will do so in order to motivate as many other senators as possible to join you.
If my appeal to your ethics doesn't work, consider this as well. I have donated approximately $30,000 to various Democratic candidates and causes in the last 5 years. If you expect people like me to give or continue giving to the DSCC, then you'd better ante up as well. In short, not only is a filibuster the right thing to do, but Senator, YOUR DONOR BASE DEMANDS IT.
Sincerely yours,
[name withheld]