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This is not the first time I've used a copy of the letter to follow in responding to a GG piece. As the letter relates, my concerns preceded the recent electoral turn of events but, with a little jiggering, could just as easily be sent now.
I fear that brother Glenn has it right. We are in the thrall of a political class, itself in the thrall of a corporatist/ media class. The self-absorbed venality among these legions is absolutely breathtaking. The idea that those elected to office, gurgling in perks and salaries with no equivalence for most of us, would be able to legitimately empathize with their constituents is laughable.
But, for the moment, we are also elated to have ostensibly repudiated as much, so grotesque was its most recent manifestation. It was such a wonderful set-up for the Change sound bite. There is some giddiness as a result in all this. But it seems like the kind of giddiness embodied in our commodified dissent as typified by Bill Maher's HBO show. I tend to enjoy the show, but it is a shitty substitute for action.
I remember writing another letter a while back, the gist of which was that I hoped Obama had a chance to try a different way. That was my form of wishful-not-pragmatic thinking, I fear. Any way, here's yesterday's letter, could be today's and tomorrow's, I fear.
"Senator/Congressman - I have increasingly heard & seen references to the state of readiness within the military establishment and the intentions of the administration to attack Iran. Is it reasonable to imagine that this possibility concerns you & your office? I certainly hope that such an outrageous but utterly unsurprising act by the claque in and around the upper reaches of the administration is a matter of utmost concern to you. The prospect of such a war is horrifying. What is your stance in the matter?
As for impeachment of the President & Vice-President, all the parsing, nuancing & equivocating in the world serves to confirm the invertebrate nature of the Democratic Congress, as has been suggested. If, for no other reason, impeachment is not taken up with these two who have committed impeachable acts, then you and yours are establishing precedent for even more egregious misdeeds with future incumbents. The aversion to impeachment, when considered in the context of recent history, is ever more inexcusable.
As a registered democrat, I am weary of the onslaught of fund raising surveys sent in my direction. I don't need to be surveyed; I need to be persuaded that the party holds values by which it will act to counteract the relentless lying of the two-term oligarchy. Anything less than this suggests to me that you are members of the loyal opposition more interested in remaining in office and symbolically jousting than representing my concerns."
As each day's travesties unfold, I am convinced that the letter is all the more pointed in defining the reality of our trashed political process. This gives me no particular comfort, though. There seem to be no easy answers to the depth of corruption in Washington D.C., and I still see no organized efforts to undo the entrenchment.
