Cenk Uygur at TYT speaks to Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) about Congress's recent caving to the Bush administration on the budget spending bills.
I'm sure that Rep. Israel is a very well-intentioned congressperson, but it's clear that He. Just. Doesn't. Get. It. I can't think of a better recent example demonstrating how the Stockholm Syndrome has infected the majority party in Washington D.C.
Rep. Israel agreed with everything Cenk said--in principle. But he's lacking the spine to do anything more, as are the leadership "above his pay grade." That's where you MUST come in. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz told Ed Schultz weeks ago that she doesn't hear about these things from her constituents. I put in a call to my congresscritter and had much the same thing confirmed. They're asked about local interests like protecting local businesses and expediting government bureaucracy for their constituents, like passport facilitation. They get their share of angry calls, but what they don't get are calls of support for standing up against the Bush administration and their Republican counterparts. No one is telling them "if you play tough, we will have your back."
In a perfect world, they would not need us to do so. I have been guilty of making the angry calls--I told DiFi's office I would do everything I could to oppose any future re-election campaign she would choose to start. And I will. But I realized talking to my congressperson that I had to also say "I need you to represent us better. I will back you up if you do. I will write letters to the editor, whatever is needed to show that you have my support by acting like the majority party."
They are cowering after 25 years of Republican majority. They fear the Republican noise machine within their insulated Beltway Bubble. We have seen just this week how empowering we can be when we make our voices heard in a positive yet forceful way. So during this holiday break in Congress, please make a point of calling your representative's local office and let them know that we have their back, IF they represent us.
It's the only way we'll see any change.
