When I got home from work tonight I had a couple of emails waiting for me. One from
People For the American Way and one from
Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Both said pretty much the same thing, Sen. Ken Salazar (D?-CO) was playing footsies with the Republicans about the "nuclear option." According to Planned Parenthood, Kenny-boy's not alone. Seven other Democratic Senators are doing the same thing: Byrd (D-WV), Conrad (D-ND), Landrieu (D-LA), Lieberman (D-CT) - no surprise there, Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Pryor (D-AR).
This pissed me off no end so I, of course, fired off an email and politely kicked Kenny's ass.
More Below:
Here are the slightly edited emails I got, first Planned Parenthood, and second, People For the American Way.
Senate Republicans and Democrats are bracing themselves for a major showdown next week that could be triggered by two controversial judges: Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers There is an urgent situation at hand, and we need your help now. Republican and Democratic senators are furiously working to strike a deal on what has become know as the "nuclear option," and they could make an agreement at any moment. We have heard that the Democrats may agree to a deal that will be detrimental to our fight to keep extremist judges like Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, and William Pryor off the federal bench. Negotiations are taking place as we write this message and we must act now to encourage Senate Democrats to do the right thing.
Call your senators right now and let them know, "NO DEAL IS BETTER THAN A BAD DEAL."
These 8 senators are key to the negotiation process and must be contacted now. (Click on your Senator's name to go to their email webform.)
Robert Byrd (D-WV)
(202) 224-3954
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
(202)224-2043
Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
(202) 224-3224
Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
(202) 224-4041
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
(202) 224-4843
Ben Nelson (D-NE)
(202) 224-6551
Mark Pryor (D-AR)
(202) 224-2353
Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO)
(202) 224-5852
Talking Points
* I am a concerned constituent who does not want to see our
system of checks and balances lost in a game of politics.
* I understand some senators may be negotiating concerning the
nuclear option.
* I urge the senator to remember that no deal is better than a
bad deal.
* Preserve the filibuster for extremist nominees like Priscilla
Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, and William Pryor.
Here's PFAW's email:
CALL YOUR SENATOR!
Call Sen. Ken Salazar at (202) 224-5852
Tell him that a bad deal is worse than no deal at all!
Your Democratic Senator, Sen. Salazar , is participating in negotiations over Bill Frist's "nuclear option" that could give away the store. We support good faith cooperation, butSen. Salazar must stand by his principles.
A BAD DEAL IS WORSE THAN NO DEAL!
Some deals reportedly being offered to Republicans would allow all blocked nominees a pass on the filibuster and allow Republicans to re-launch the "nuclear option" within the 109th Congress! That's not compromise - that's capitulation.
Call Sen. Ken Salazar ((202) 224-5852) and let him know you didn't fight this battle for a deal like that.
Democrats must not abandon the right to filibuster, either explicitly or by negotiating away its use. It is essential to preserve the principle that extreme nominees can and will be blocked by filibuster. Nor should Democrats abandon principled opposition to the confirmation of the worst judicial nominees.
Call Sen. Ken Salazar ((202) 224-5852) right now. Then get your friends to call. He's got to know that his constituents won't rubber stamp just any deal.
Here's my email to Kenny.
Dear Senator Salazar,
I am outraged that Sen. Frist is plotting to dismantle one of the last checks and balances in our federal system - the filibuster - in a radical power-grab to force far-right Supreme Court nominees on the American people.
The Supreme Court belongs to all Americans, not just the party in power. New appointees will help decide, among many other things, whether Americans have a constitutional right to privacy, whether the federal government will be allowed to protect our air and water, and whether Americans can count on enforcement of laws that protect our civil rights.
With the future of our rights and freedoms at stake, it is unthinkable that Senate leaders would make such an unprecedented, bare knuckles power play to change rules that have historically protected the rights of the minority party to influence the outcome of important votes. The fallout from this so-called "nuclear option" would be destructive to the Senate and to democracy for years to come.
However, I'm hearing that you're planning on negotiating with the Republicans. I'm hearing that you're planning on helping Sen. Frist destroy the filibuster in some lunatic scheme to seem fair and bi-partisan. This is totally unacceptable. You must stand firm. If you help the Republicans destroy the filibuster, you've betrayed your country. You swore to uphold the Constitution.
Last year, you went on and on and on, endlessly it seemed, about how you were a 5th generation Coloradoan. As far as I'm concerned, that and $5 will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. My family has been in this in this country since before it was a country. One of my ever-so-great grandfathers was Lewis Morris. He signed the Declaration of Independence. His younger half brother, Gouverneur Morris, attended the Constitutional Convention, took the notes and actually wrote the Constitution. He then signed it.
When my uncle, Gouverneur, and his peers debated the form of our government, the set out three independent branches. The Legislative of which the Senate is a part, the Executive, and the Judiciary. By negotiating with the Republicans to destroy the filibuster, you're negotiating to destroy the Senate as an independent branch of the U.S. Government. It would become a rubber stamp. By negotiating with the Republicans to destroy the filibuster, you're negotiating to destroy the independence of the Judicial branch of the U.S. Government. By negotiating with the Republicans on this matter you are betraying your country.
If my Uncle Gouverneur and the rest of the attendees to the Constitutional Convention had wanted a United States with a strong Executive and a weak, dependent Congress and Judiciary - IOW, a dictatorship, they would have written the Constitution that way. They did not for the very simple reason - they knew that doing so would result in tyranny. They knew it would result in the massive loss of freedom. They knew it was completely against everything they had pledged their sacred honor to defend. They knew it would despoil everything they had spent their blood, sweat and tears to create.
So don't you dare negotiate with the Republicans to destroy the Senate. Don't you dare negotiate with the Republicans to destroy the independence of the Judiciary. Don't you dare work to plunge this country into tyranny.
Sincerely,
Jake Thomson
Here's Kenny's contact info:
Washington, DC Office
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5852 (Phone)
202-228-5036 (Fax)
Denver, CO
2300 15th St, Suite 450
Denver, CO 80202
303-455-7600 (Phone)
303-455-8851 (Fax)
Colorado Springs
3 South Tejon, Suite 300B
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: (719) 328-1100
Fax:(719) 328-1129
Fort Collins
11 Old Town Square, Suite 260
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Phone: 970-224-2200
Fax: 970-224-2205
Pueblo
129 West B Street
Pueblo, CO 81003
Phone: (719) 542-7550
Fax: (719) 542-7555
Durango
835 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 203
Durango, CO 81301
Phone: (970) 259-1710
Fax: (970) 259-9789
Grand Junction
400 Rood Avenue, Suite 213
Grand Junction, CO 81501
Phone: 970-241-6631
Fax: 970-241-8313
Contact Kenny and bitch slap some sense into him, mm'kay?
Thank you.