I don't know if I have time to do this today, but I have composed a letter that I think everybody should copy and send to our fellow Democratic Senators in Congress. They need to know now more than ever that if they won't defend the American people and the programs and policies that made this country great, then we will find those who will.
Dear Senator,
Now that you have convened this 109th Congress, you will reacquaint with old friends, make new friends, and share nice dinners, meetings, and occasions with various folks on both sides of the aisle. But while you enjoy the splendor of being an elected Senator from whatever great state you reside, I'm afraid you must be reminded that democracy, civil liberties, human rights, and even the Constitution (of which you swore an oath to defend upon convening) are in grave danger in becoming obsolete ideas in this new century. You may have heard this statement before, but as this is my first time being this personal to the Senators of this great country, I am being sincere when I and many other Americans say that business as usual in Washington is over.
Your colleagues across the aisle may be your friends or may eventually become your friends, but judging by their actions alone, they're policies are enemies to the very things you and your party have stood for generations. It would be a gross understatement to say that their willingness to turn a blind eye to ethics, to fiscal responsibility, to social and environmental progress, to even torture is cause for concern.
Your "friends" or "future friends" are not only hurting a great amount of people with their policies, not to mention are making a mockery of the rule of law with every corrupt, treasonous scandal that goes uninvestigated, but are also hurting our soldiers and fellow Americans who live abroad, or who work abroad for themselves or their country. The arrogant attitude of our Republican-controlled government has made the lives of these Americans much more dangerous than you may be led to believe. Their only concern for process has been for the Party rather than the country - they may say otherwise to you or publicly, but these days words don't mean like they used to.
I write this to you as a reminder that we are all watching you very closely during this session, not to make you feel intimidated, but to just reassure you that the apathy of the general public towards politics that may have existed before is rapidly eroding, if it hasn't already. With broader means of communication and a faster means of obtaining information, as well as coordination between people, like it or not, we are the ones that control your job, not you. To put it as one famous fictional character said, we have had all we can stand and we can't stand no more.
For a party, whose primary reason for failing to recapture the House, Senate and Presidency apparently was failing to stand on principle and on something the party and the rest of us, including yourself, stood for, it's time for principle to triumph for the good of the country, and the world.
We need a group of Senators who will stand up to the Republican Juggernaut in Congress, those who will not go quietly into the night and who will fight for the very programs and ideals that have made this country so great. If they dare to change the filibuster rule, make life hell for them to do business, because their "mandate" is not to pass laws and justices to benefit the country. Their "mandate" is to ensure two things:
1. That they and their corporate, lobby, special-interest friends have total control over every aspect of this country and our lives, from the Legislative & Executive to the Judicial, economics, the environment, social programs, everything - if they don't have it, they want it.
And 2. that you and the rest of the Democratic Party never achieve power in Congress again for the foreseeable future or indefinitely.
If you stand up and fight them on the principles that your party stands for, we will stand right beside you in unity to tell the GOP that nearly half of America will not stand down and will fight you to the end. You may not get praise from your fellow Republican colleagues, nor from the mainstream press which has more of a right-wing bias than you may believe. Some battles may not be won. But it's the process that counts in the grand scheme of things, and the fact that you fought for us, for America.
The people that should matter more to you, the American public, are sick to death of the political dodgeball that so many Democrats in Congress have played out of the fear of losing popularity and votes. We members of the New Democratic Party are through playing political games, for countless lives are on the line, more now than they have been in over a generation. You may try to play the same games that those before you have played, but know that we are watching you.
You may choose to support a cause or bill that is in direct confliction with the will of the majority of Americans and the New Democratic Party, but we are watching you.
You may put unneeded pork that we cannot afford (much less should even purchase) into a omnibus spending bill to benefit yourself or an associate, but we are watching you.
You may choose to dismantle the last great program of your Democratic Party, Social Security, out of sheer appeasement to your GOP colleagues, or vote out any workable set of policies that could strengthen it out of fear of losing votes, but we are watching you.
You may choose to not join your fellow members of the House of Representatives who wish to voice their heeded concern about voting irregularities, fraud and intimidation (that, regardless of the outcome, threaten the foundation of our great democracy) simply because you don't want to feel the wrath of the GOP on your backs or you don't want to lose your career in the Senate, but we are watching you.
Not only are we watching you now more than ever, but as the saying goes, democratically, we brought you into that chamber and we can take you out.
From databases housing those who support Social Security privatization and media organizations that monitor the mainstream media itself as well as government, to furnishing new potential candidates for the very offices you and your colleagues hold, it should be obvious to you that the New Democratic Party is no longer a bunch of complacent citizens who are too lazy to get involved. We are now funding the very party and letter "D" that resides by your name when you make television appearances. We have seen this nation hijacked by a group of individuals who reward failure and punish success, who discard ethics and morals to increase power, who sacrifice the common good for the common dollar, and we are sick of it. We have long said that we are fed up with politics as usual, but if this past election season is any indication, we really mean it this time.
But to end on a more positive note, we ask for an audience with you, a front-row seat to the problems and crises that exist in America today. We urge you to not give short-shrift to blogs which produce more relevant news at a faster pace than your newspapers and news channels provide. We urge you to not let the glitz and glamour of Washington distort your view of the real problems with real people that need real help from you. If the last four years have shown, this democracy we have is fragile and can be broken easily. Many here and around the world already feel it is broken beyond repair, but we hope, with your help, we can prove them and the world wrong. We wish you the best of luck during this new session of Congress.
Sincerely,
*Enter Name*