Senator Merkley,
When you take a limp wrist to a street fight, you lose!
Senator Reid apparently was a boxer, maybe in his dreams, he certainly doesn't know how to win a fight.
When you go to a street fight thinking you will abide by the Marquess of Queensbury rules and your opponent shows up with a baseball bat, you don't just take off your gloves, because he'll pull out a broken bottle, your opponent will ALWAYS AND ALWAYS escalate, no compromise!!!
This is why the greedy old party, for all their sybaritic lifestyle, know how to win a street fight.
I am convinced that the only way to have a progressive government is to vote the 'tea party' in so that their incompetence will force a major realignment.
After all, I contributed money to Democratic candidates including our current president, I EVEN worked for them, but you know what, we still ended up with a "greedy league college graduate" republican in charge of the government.
Your colleague Senator Wyden is the example of how you 'kowtow' to republicans just so he can pass a law and get re-elected.
WAKE UP PLEASE! NO BOXING GLOVES, LEARN THE ART OF SAMURAI SWORD FIGHTING, or bring a Gatling gun!
Otherwise you will continue to suffer the fine art of Chinese 'Ling Chi', (death by a thousand cuts).
I figure the GOP has you about at 235 cuts.
Sincerely
I am an immigrant, a 'Nam Vet and a Citizen