It is always interesting to look back at a particular time in your life or issue that gave you pause, or a passion that ignited a fire in you for one reason or another and made you take action. In the Spring of 2009 when one of the hot political issues was the formation of the Conservadems, it became my hot moment - and not hot in a good way. Like many of us, we were disgusted to learn that we had come so far as a party and with a leader who was clearly qualified to take charge and make a difference in this Country, only to learn that we were being betrayed by the inner workings of a subgroup of Democrats called "Conservadems". Talking about a house being divided against itself! I was furious and felt personally like I had been kicked in the stomach. From that fury I wrote the following letter to Senator Evan Bayh, which I am confident he did not read. However, in light of his recent announcement regarding retirement, I am convinced more than ever before that he truly is an enemy of the party and was (and will probably continue to) work against it. I continue to be grateful that Barack Obama did not select him as his Vice Presidential running mate. Yet another wise decision made on the part of our now President.
March 26, 2009
Via Facsimile to (202) 228-1377 and U.S. Mail
Senator Evan Bayh
131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: Moderate Dems Working Group
Dear Senator Bayh:
I will not fool myself into thinking that you will actually read this letter, but writing it will accomplish a couple of things for me and many others who feel the same as I do: (1) it will make me feel like I took a proactive rather than complaining stance in speaking out against your so-called conservative working group, rather than just personally seething; and (2) in the absence of you reading it, I will do everything that I can to make sure many others read it also through the use of technology.
I just have to ask. Are you looking to fill the void of the non-competing Republican Party? This whole notion that you’re not trying to obstruct the President’s agenda is not at all convincing. The obvious reason is this. Since the President from day one has offered and said that he runs an open door administration and that he will avail himself to meet concerning the current issues and concerns, why would it become necessary to form a separate group within the Democratic party? You have had an all access granted privilege to the President of the United States. We all know that the President is a listener and a participant in democracy. We all know that he would rather iron out in advance any differences among his party, than to be made a fool of in front of the whole world because of his party. It defies all logic and reeks of something greater and more sinister. If I were to guess what the something greater was, I would observe the following facts as starting points: (1) you have waited for an opportunity to seek payback because you were not selected as the President’s Vice Presidential choice; and (2) you are trying to make a name for yourself because you do not feel that being an ordinary Democratic Senator is enough. One way to get the spotlight on yourself is to go against your own party and its President, because clearly the mainstream media would love nothing more than to be able to report this story with you in front of the cameras as its leader. What you are doing is shameful, and I can assure you that there will be a backlash from your constituents. Thank God you are not a Senator from the State of California.
Senator Evan Bayh
131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
March 26, 2009
Page Two
Your actions beg to be questioned. Where were you and your so-called working group and concerns during the eight of the disastrous Bush/Cheney years? Why didn’t you form a working group during that time to block and challenge the following?
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the 8 years of Bush/Cheney wasteful spending
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the illegal Iraq war, rather than focusing on Afghanistan where the true threats resided then and continue to reside
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the fact that our military would be overstretched in Iraq, thereby degrading our military readiness for Afghanistan and other possible issues that would need to be addressed militarily
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the Bush/Cheney administration’s choice to completely ignore the scientifically-proven global warming and decaying environment, which at this point may or may not be reversible
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the issue of warrantless wiretapping
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE immoral rendition of suspected (not proven) terrorists
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the immoral use of torture
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE what the Americans now know as the cooked books of George W. Bush in that the two wars were not even included in the budget, which further through our economy into deficits that this Country has never seen before
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the intentional inaction of Bush/Cheney on the response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, not only initially but days later
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE Bush’s fake No Child Left Behind Program with all of the funding left behind
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the Patriot Act
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the shredding of the Constitution & Habeas Corpus (Bush suspended the writs of Habeas Corpus via the Military Commissions Act of 2006)
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE Bush's defunding the VA
Senator Evan Bayh
131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
March 26, 2009
Page Three
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the issue of compromising the perception of America’s moral and ethical standing in the world
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE the issue of weakening/destroying America’s relationships with her allies, which makes our Country vulnerable to terrorists
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE George W. Bush’s announcement (and obvious lie) on May 1, 2003 of Mission Accomplished in Iraq
• BLOCK and CHALLENGE George W. Bush’s delusions that the United States was not in a recession.
As a courtesy to you, below please find the exact references from the Bush Administration that we were not in a recession:
- "We don’t believe we’re going to have a recession though." [Vice President Dick Cheney, 1/30/08]
- "I think the experts will tell you we’re not in a recession." [President Bush, 2/10/08]
- "The answer is, I don’t think we are in a recession right now." [Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Edward Lazear, 2/11/08]
– "First of all, we’re not in a recession." [President Bush, 4/22/08]
– "The data are pretty clear that we are not in a recession." [Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Edward Lazear, 5/7/08]
- "I don’t think we are" in a recession. [Director of the National Economic Council Keith Hennesy, 6/3/08]
– "I think we have avoided a recession." [White House Budget Director Jim Nussle, 7/31/08]
– "I don’t think anybody could tell you right now if we’re in a recession or not" [Dana Perino, 10/7/08]
Now, all of a sudden, you’re ready to block and challenge a progressive budget to get us out of the financial disaster that you did not speak out against during the Bush/Cheney
Senator Evan Bayh
131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
March 26, 2009
Page Four
years? You now want to block and challenge first against the American people and our interests and what we voted for to happen on our behalf, then block and challenge against your own party? Your actions defy logic and your motivation is absolutely questionable.
As an ordinary citizen who is on the outside looking in, I offer the following suggestion. Rather than waste your time setting up a pesky committee, organizing around it and fine-tuning your obstructionist methodologies, why not simply change your party affiliation, join up with the already existing obstructionist/Party of No and call it a day. I’m thinking that since your heart and beliefs are more in align with a party that already exists, then just keep it simple and switch sides. Just look at how much time, energy and effort you will save by using existing messages and ideologies rather than have to reinvent the wheel.
And finally, during the campaign millions of us who rallied around the candidate, Senator Barack Obama, did so because we were struck by his vision, insight, wisdom and discernment of people, issues, history and knowledge. We now know why he did not
select you as the Vice President of the United States. Somehow he must have known during the campaign that you were not someone he could fully trust and who would have his back. Who knows, perhaps he had found out during that time that you had crossed him or spoken against him in some way. Either way, thank God he made yet another right choice in his selection of Vice President Joseph Biden. Clearly, he knew something that the rest of us did not know.
Sincerely,
Janice G. Washington
Citizen of the United States of America and Supporter of President Barack Hussein Obama