After reading a disturbing post from David Atkins (thereisnospoon) over at Digby's on the shape of the debt ceiling deal looming in the darkness, I thought it would be the least I could do to contact my Congressional representatives in the House and the Senate.
I happen to have the good fortune to live in a state and in a district where they are not totally crazy - which puts them in a super minority, to twist the phrase. Voice mail boxes are full at this point, so I'm resorting to email.
It's like whistling in the dark. You know there's scary stuff out there, there's not a lot you can do about it by yourself - but at least you can put on a show of defiance against the gathering dark. FWIW, I thought I'd put up the text of my message over the jump. (more)
Dear -
First, let me begin by thanking you for your efforts to resist the fiscal insanity holding the country hostage. We have a jobs crisis, not a debt crisis - but doing anything about that seems to be off the table.
I'm hearing reports about a deal on raising the debt ceiling that are extremely disturbing. More spending cuts now, and even bigger ones in the future. Spending caps. A 'super Congress' in which a handful of people working behind closed doors will decree cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Entitlement 'reform' that will leave millions destitute. A balanced budget amendment scam that will magically fix our budget problems. No new revenues - or worse, tax 'reform' that will cut taxes even farther for the rich and corporations while eliminating tax breaks that help ordinary people.
This isn't compromise. This is total surrender to political extremists. It will wreck our economy for years to come and finally pull the plug on the American Dream which has been on life support. The most infuriating thing about this self-inflicted disaster is that it won't be possible without the active capitulation of the Democratic Party - and too many seem ready to make it happen.
This is insanity - the vast majority of Americans know it. They want the social safety net strengthened, not slashed, and they want the wealthy to pay their share to rebuild the country that made them rich in the first place. They want a government that works, not one busy demolishing itself while people need help.
I would rather see the government default than see this travesty enacted. A bad deal is worse than no deal. Give blackmailers what they want, and they'll keep coming back for more. It's time to tell the "Party of No" No Deal! No compromise, no surrender!
Thank you for all you've done, and all you have yet to do on this. And if you'd care to pass this message on to the White House, I'd appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Now maybe the debt ceiling deal Atkins has sketched out is, as he says, just a trial balloon. If so, the sooner it gets shot down, the better. The crazy in DC is probably drowning out voices of reason at this point - but it can't hurt to chime in. If you're sitting here reading this on a Sunday, odds are you have time to dash off emails of your own. The one I've written above is pretty general. If you can throw in specific examples of how the idiocy being proposed to 'solve' the debt 'crisis' will make things worse, do that.
Is your employer sitting on a ton of money right now, but isn't hiring or ramping up production because there's no customers? Does your town depend on a Federal facility to keep the economy going, like a national park, an agency, a program? Are you afraid your children aren't going to be able to get a college degree because there's no financial help any more? Got a family member in the military who'd already having a hard time keeping their head above water financially? Got an older family member living from check to Social Security check, and already having trouble getting medical care even with Medicare? There are 300+ million stories to be told - tell one if you can.
The White House wants a deal. Wall Street wants a deal. Democrats want a deal - especially if they can kick this can past the 2012 elections. The tea party extremists know the longer they hold out, the bigger the concessions they'll get. But, given what's leaking out about the deal proposed so far, I'm coming around to the view that default would be better than anything I'm hearing so far.
It's coming down to the wire. Will an email or two make a difference? I don't know. The lies, mis-statements and villager wisdom are flying thick and fast. But, I have to try.