I was gonna try to ride this out. Surely, I thought, they have their reasons for keeping quiet on this. They're just giving the Repugs enough rope.
Then I walked in the next room and my 10 year old daughter hugged me, and I realized I couldn't just sit by and hope somebody eventually did the right thing.
I live in Texas and was gerrymandered out of Lloyd Doggett's district by Tom DeLay's buddies. So I don't have a Democrat of my own on in Washington. I decided the best place to start was with someone who's always been good at getting me to kick in a few extra bucks, Russ Feingold. This is what I submitted to his site:
Dear Senator,
I have always admired your candor and willingness to take on issues deemed too politically risky for Democrats. That said, I find the silence of Democrats in Conrgress on the "torture bill" horrifying and demoralizing.
I realize full well that this bill was no doubt another calculated Rovian attempt to paint Democrats as weak on terrorism. But in an apparent attempt to avoid that label Congressional Democrats are looking weak, period. How can the American people trust this party to hold King George accountable when they remain silent at a time like this?
Senator, you know as well as I do that this bill represents an executive power grab that is almost unprecedented in the history of our nation. It is deeply dangerous to put such power in the hands of any U.S. President, let alone this one. This bill is immoral and last but not least it puts our own brave men and women in uniform at greater risk.
Those of us in the ranks of Democratic supporters are not so naive as to believe we can prevent passage of this bill. But that does not mean we should not try. In the name of common decency, sir, I implore you, say SOMETHING.