A letter to the DCCC

I received an e-mail from Nancy Pelosi under the auspices of the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committtee) requesting a financial donation. Instead of giving them money, I wrote them this letter instead:

I received this e-mail asking for my financial support of the DCCC. Before I commit to making any financial contribution to the DCCC, I have a few requests of the Democrat Party.

For the past 4 years I have watched the Democrats in Congress concede to the President's wishes on many issues, not least of which is the war in Iraq. I was heartbroken over the Democrats' lack of willingness to fight harder for the values that they have held for so long. I think many Democrats have moved too far to the right in an attempt to seek middle ground and this has done great damage to the party. Turning our backs on our values sends the message that our values, which I think are valid and worth the fight, are not solid American values and that the Republicans are right. Making the Republicans appear right on the issues does not differentiate us in any way from them and doesn't give the American people a choice. I am convinced that this move to the right was part of the reason that the Democrats were unable to win the presidency in 2004 and lost seats in both the House and Senate. And none of the Democrats capitulating has prevented the Republicans from becoming more extremist or stopped their domination of the issues in this country.

I have been very impressed over the past two weeks as I listened to Democratic Senators harshly question and hold to task Bush's nominees Condoleeza Rice and Alberto Gonzales. They are both responsible for forming the Bush Doctrine and his failed policies in the War on Terror, Iraq and torture and they need to be held accountable. But despite their harsh words and scrutiny, many Democrats still voted to approve Rice's appointment.

We, your constituents, can no longer sit idly by and watch the Congressional Democrats continue to put up half hearted arguements against the extremist Republican policies and vote for them anyway. If our values are good enough for America, they are good enough for you to vote to support them!

I know that we Democrats will not make much progress in getting any of our bills through this Congress. But we still need to stand by our values and fight for every inch. We can no longer give in to this President. His plans for his second term will dismantle Social Security, Education and our tax system. We can not allow these things to happen. And whether we win or not, we cannot have our Congressional leaders going on record supporting policies that will undermine the values we hold so dear.

Thank you very much,