Open Letter to Democrats in Congress

I was going to write my own, but Bloggers Against Torture actually said it all much better and more succinctly and frankly with a lot less swearing than I would have. As of this reposting, not the original one, it's a week late and a dollar short, but that's hardly BAT's fault. No, it's the Democrats, and pretty much everyone else, who are late, and short. And still don't get it.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the letter that the minority of D's who voted to support "Torture, yay! Constitution -and- 800-year Rule of Law, boo! (or, at best, 'huh?')" AND all of the Republicans (as in, all but one and a half, pretty much) who voted for it and still call themselves "Americans," AND the Democrats who did not vote for it but have promptly gone right back into, "gee, that sucks, well, nothing more we can do right now, send money! did we mention send money? we can't beat them unless you send us money! And as you know BEATING THEM is the number one priority! we can do it! we're almost there! we really really mean it this time! ooh, look, shiny Republican sex scandal!" AND the media that's going, "journalistic responsibility? what's that? look, shiny sex scandal! look, shiny celebrity 'scandal!'" AND the high-profile bloggers who are doing a fine job of recreating the "sellout, Republican Lite" milieu they claim to have set themselves up in opposition to, AND the vast majority of people who simply have no idea that any of this is going on: THIS IS WHAT YOU NEEDED TO HAVE READ, OKAY, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW:

Open Letter

Dear Democrats,

This is going to be the most important week of your careers. You, and you alone carry the burden of determining whether or not our country retains its moral authority. The Republicans have already cast their lot with legislation that will allow several methods of torture that, although they violate Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, will be permitted by the current administration.

Our nation was founded on the premise that there's "liberty and justice for all." The United States I grew up in stands for the protection of human rights. This legislation will not only allow torture, but in the future could put our armed forces at risk. How would you feel if a country that held our troops as prisoners of war used our new guidelines as a basis to use torture methods against them? I hope you think about that because that is what you're also voting for this week.

It is not enough for you to vote no on this legislation. Now is the time to take a public stance on this issue. Your constituents will judge you by what you do this week. If you choose to filibuster this measure and/or tell the American public that the Bush administration is steering the country away from its moral compass, we will see that Barbara Boxer isn't the only Democrat with a backbone. If you continue to hide behind John McCain's pant leg like a timid four-year-old and allow him to speak for you, then you will be seen as weak, incompetent and complicit in the war crimes the Bush administration and its subordinates have already committed in our country's name in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay.

So before cat killer Bill Frist or another high-ranking member of the GOP drags you down a Capitol Hill stairwell by your hair, throws you into a darkened meeting room and waterboards you until you either drown or give them your vote, do the right thing and say no to torture.

Sincerely,
El Mas Chingón


******

Well, all still true except for the grammar tense. It's now not "going to be;" it's "already happened."

And all week, what have I been getting in my email in-box from you lot? Outrage about this, what many are calling the effective end of our democracy as we know it? Much less god forbid some intimation that something might possibly be DONE to even BEGIN to address this gross violation of everything we supposedly stand for, this possible introduction to the END OF THE WHOLE SORRY POLITICAL PROCESS AS WE KNOW IT, INCLUDING YOU AND YOUR CRAPTASTIC CAMPAIGN EFFORTS? Hell no. "Send more money." "Sign the petition" about this isolated issue or that. Many having to do with Foley and the intern, ooh, goodie goodie, now we can REALLY let them have it. HELLO. Yes, that's really gross and in another time I'd be all over your being all over their ass for that, trumped up outrage and all, I'm as cynical as the next political junkie, but HELLO, can we focus here for just a minute? Do you understand what you just let happen? Yeah, I said LET HAPPEN. YOU. Goddamit. What the fuck is WRONG with you? Jesus Hannah Christ on a jumped-up pogo stick, what does it TAKE??

...oh, right. MORE MONEY. MORE SUPPORT. MORE ACTIVISM on behalf of the PARTY. MORE just grinning and bearing it and doing our best to pretend that "we" (what do you mean "we," white man? as Tonto said to the Lone Ranger) have a mandate or even can organize "our" way out of a grease-proof paper bag. There's nothing you can do until you're back in the majority. And the election's less than four weeks away: eyes on the prize, people! Eyes on the prize!! It'll be different this time, we swear!

O.K. Well, I sure hope so. I'll be over here, okay.

Because you know what, I bought it, more or less, back in '00 and '02 and '04. And all the times in between: the Ashcroft nomination, which you didn't stop. The war in Iraq, which you didn't stop. The Patriot Act, which passed through your chambers like a handful of Olestra potato chips. But particularly '04. I'm still kind of recovering from that one, tell you the truth.

But yeah, you've got us over a barrel, pretty much. You're the lesser of two fucking evils; you've got your style down and by God you're working it. "Vote for us; we're marginally less likely to fuck you over, at least of our own volition. And sometimes we're sorry about it after we do fuck you over."

Terrific.

I mean, I simply can't understand why some of your base is responding with tepidness and cynicism. Can you?

and oh, yeah, the "third party" options, such as they are, are sort of like you only magnified to the 50th power, in terms of ineffectuality and corruption and infighting and overall lameness. Thank God.

Well, here's the deal. I'll probably still be voting for your sorry asses come November. Sure. But if I were you?
I wouldn't count on it. And I certainly wouldn't count on as many people as y'all seem to be taking for granted.

Because we can't count on you, see.

And by God, if i get ONE more solicitation for money...

You know what: I can't help you. I just can't. I'm a bit concerned about my own dwindling resources, see, and I can't say I'm exactly bursting with confidence over the economy any more than, well, any goddam thing else.

and besides, honestly? I can't buy you a spine. Not if I had Bill Gates' money. You kind of have to grow that yourself.

and if you're one of the ones who sold your soul: guess what, sugar, if all you got for it was a mess of pottage, well, don't look at ME to make up the difference; it's not MY fault you didn't get market value.

Or maybe you did, at that.

Eh. I'm tired.