Guys and Gals:
Many of your responses to my original diary entry have been remarkably insightful. Even the skeptical ones.
I admit that I am going to have to leave it up to the Minority Leader and his team to figure out how to persuade or maneuver the Republicans into putting the Resolution of the Year on the docket for hearings. I think I am correct when I say that once the majority does open hearings, it will not be possible for them to monopolize them. Equal time is the default rule. Any departure should draw a strong objection and public rebuke from the minority.
Some people have asked me privately to send them a copy of my letters to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. I decline. I have my own style of writing. I want the Leader and my representative to understand that the stacks of mail they get (I hope) on the subject of Mr Gaetz’s resolution is not just manufactured by one or a few individuals. I encourage each of you to draft your own letters.
Remember: No one should even suggest that any Democrat should sign on with the sponsors of Mr Gaetz’s resolution. Leave it up to the Republicans to implicate themselves in the aftermath of the assault on the Capitol. So far, they are doing a pretty good job of it, aren’t they?
In fact, if your representative is one of the several dozen supporters, write to them and compliment them. See if you can get a quotable statement from your representative. It may be useful later.
Yesterday, I was reminded of a rhetorical ju-jitsu move allegedly employed by Abraham Lincoln during the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
“If you call a horse’s tail a leg, how many legs does the horse have?”
[pause]
“Four! Calling a horse’s tail a leg does not make it one.”
Go for it, folks!
Call and write* to your representatives and to Representative Hakeem Jeffries.
Let’s make sure the Republicans thoroughly enjoy the attention that their resolution deserves.
If you have no idea what I am talking about, look for hashtag #owngoal. You should find my diary posted on Thursday. Here is a link to the announcement of Representative Gaetz’s proposed resolution from his congressional office. gaetz.house.gov/…
Yours,
Vince S
* Support the U S Postal Service! Send a real letter, not just an email. A letter is a physical object that someone is going to have to deal with. I recommend hand-writing the address and your return address on the envelope.