I'm typically the last person who will care that a politician votes in lockstep with my beliefs. This rant is not about that.
2006 was a renewal of hope for so many of us. I spent, for me, an astonishing amount of money on Dem candidates last cycle. This does not give me ownership over any candidate that I contributed to. I recognize that.
But what those contribs do for all of us is give us a stake in their decision making - and an obligation to those political figures to be accountable on some basic level.
This is why the decisions of these so-recent Netroots condidates to ratify Bush's bullying on the FISA amendment is so disappointing.
Follow me below the fold for a highly specific chewing-out.
***UPDATE*** Webb volunteers have come forward to corroborate: Webb and his staff ignore communications from his constituents, let alone those from myself. Nice.
To Senator Webb:
How could you, Sir? How can such a vote possibly be justified? I swear. Is it something in the water there in DC? You literally ran on a platform of standing up to Bush's assumed prerogatives.
How could you capitulate to this worm, this rapidly aging schoolyard bully whose approval ratings are at American historical lows?
You've been given a prominent role from the beginning of your term. You've been all over the Sunday talk shows. You've been the Democratic spokesman.
Then, on the FISA Amendment, you voted against the majority of your colleagues. On the most meaningful vote since you've taken office, you fumbled. Badly. You gave Bush cover for past lawbreaking. Bush has systematically broken the law for the last four years. This Amendment ratifies his lawbreaking and effectively holds him harmless from any previous actions.
Not that anyone in your organization cares, Sir, or that anyone really SHOULD care, but I contributed five successive times to your campaign and took time out of a busy schedule to call dozens of Virginian households asking them to vote for you. I stayed almost overnight in my office watching the election returns come in and I will never forget it. I did so because I was invested in this election to a higher degree than I have ever been in my life.
This is a craven vote that I most sincerely hope will not be repeated when future opportunities arise to reject Bush's Ukases of the Unitary.
The Netroots considered you a flagship Senator. We did not expect you to become a sansculotte-wearing man-the-barricades leftie. We supported you and sustained you because we expected you to stand up to Bush.
Speaking strictly for myself, no more support is ever coming from this quarter.
Congressman Walz:
I know that sending a letter will get absolutely nowhere. So, here's your tongue-lashing.
You were all over ActBlue during the course of the entire election. You were elected almost entirely due to Netroots support. I also contributed to you through ActBlue, sir. Not that it really matters much, but I now consider my contrib wasted. It will not be repeated.
You were not even halfway through your first term before you decided to cave in to Bush's bullying. NOT just speaking for myself this time, I suspect, I am deeply disappointed in you.
Congressman Rodriguez:
I am especially astounded at your vote. Like Walz, you ran on a progressive platform. Lke Walz, you have been supported by the Netroots consistently. The Netroots breathed life into your political career during your final primary run against Henry Cuellar. You were the first candidate I ever contributed to, when your political career was circling the drain during your last primary run against Cuellar in the district you once held. The Netroots literally rescued you from oblivion!
Then, in the 2006 special election for the seat you now hold, you were the final Dem victory, and a most welcome one.
The last thing I expected was to see you join that Bush sycophant Cuellar.
Never again. Make no mistake: the ATM is closed. I have better places to spend my money.
It is all too obvious that some political figures see us only as another uncritical source of funds to build THEIR career. People will forget about these stupid votes, they think. They think we don't care. After all, we're just little guys. They don't even need to send digitally signed form letters back when they receive a polite printed letter or a political contribution from us. (Thanks, Senator Webb.) We're just supposed to open our wallets. After all, they're still a major upgrade from the right-wing lunatics peopling the Republican Party. At some point, we just need to shut the Hell up, because Bush is blackmailing us with threats to recall Congress from the August recess if we don't give him what he wants.
Jeebus H. Keerist on a Bicycle, I sure wish I had an August recess. I'm happy if I can take a day off to go camping with my family.
"Recall us from recess, will you? OK, fine. We'll just push through those Contempt of Congress charges. Oh, and how about all those investigation hearings we've been having, Mr. 26%?"
This goes beyond Liberal vs. Conservative. This is not about specific issues. This is about defending the Constitution and defeating the illegitimate Unitary Executive theory, and asserting the legitimate checks and balances defined by the Framers.
This is why we backed you. Not because we expected you to be pro-choice martyrs or liberal firebrands. We want you to be firebrands in defense of what America is supposed to be.
All three of you failed miserably.
These three Netroots figures have fundamentally lost my support. For the sake of a few precious weeks off, these three Netroots figures, who largely owe us their presence in office, just mortared another huge brick in the wall for our self-made prison of police-state surveillance, manipulation by fear, secret prisons and political blackmail.
I hope more of us will give these guys an earful. Just because these three "idols" have feet of clay does not mean we should turn away from the system and throw our hands up. We must redouble our efforts and fight even harder. Three men are insignificant. Our movement, and our country, our Republic, the things we stand for, are far more significant.