HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN TO YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE?

Woid knows just how to do it. May it serve as an apt example for one and all:

Dear Rep. Berman,

I've written to you several times in the past months. Each time, I've received the same unresponsive reply: a form letter about your position on Iraq war issues-- which wasn't the topic about which I
wrote to you!

In fact, I don't expect a personal reply, because I hope your staff is too busy reading hundreds of letters to reply to each one.

And I hope that those letters reflect the sentiment of the overwhelming majority of your constituents: that THE DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS MUST STEP UP AND CONFRONT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION.

By now, it's beyond obvious that the Bush Administration has bent and even broken the law, and that they're actively assaulting the Constitution. In fact, they've bragged about some of these very activities! We KNOW they've contravened the FISA court. We KNOW they've been complicit in torture and rendition. We KNOW they've bent the legal system to their politics. We KNOW they've ignored subpoenas from Congress. We KNOW they've seized power from Congress and the Judiciary, by defining the law as they see fit, and ignoring the laws that you pass.

That's a lot of really irrefutable evidence that they've been breaking the law. And then, there's the massive amount of persuasive evidence that there's a lot more going on than we've heard about, maybe a lot worse.

How are we going to get at the truth of these issues? How should we punish whoever's responsible?

Isn't this where the House Judiciary Committee comes in?

I urge you, as my representative in Congress, to do what I and a huge majority of your contituents want: INVESTIGATE.

It seems like you and others are not willing to use the word that the Constitution uses for this moment: impeachment. I'm very sorry about that. And I don't understand your hesitation. Even if you're scared of the consequences of impeaching Dick Cheney, how about Alberto Gonzales? I may be wrong, but I believe he's still impeachable. Since he left office, more evidence of his complicity in corruption of the DOJ has appeared. Why isn't he back in Washington testifying?

Now, like the Writers' Guild, I'm going to back off on my demands (to which the corporations countered with NOTHING, but I digress). Let's not call it impeachment-- if it's that word that makes you and your colleagues uncomfortable. Let's just call it investigating, shall we?

There are so many areas to be investigated in the conduct of the Bush/Cheney administration. I wonder why I'm not seeing more aggressive investigations, no hearings, no forthright statements. Chairman Conyers promised investigations, but the Judiciary Committee, along with other key committees in both Houses, has been awfully quiet.

Many people have noticed that if you read the Bill of Rights today, you'll notice that a lot of words have been crossed out by this administration. They've attacked and even reversed key parts of every one of the ten amendments.

That is what Congress should be investigating, in the same depth that we've seen in other investigations of the past. The Watergate hearings didn't start with an impeachment resolution, they were investigative hearings that culminated in impeachment. It's the same thing now. There are plenty of grounds for investigation. If that leads to impeachable offenses (including, if they stonewall, refusing to respond to subpoenas) -- fine. Is this political? Of course it is, to counter the political maneuvering of the Executive branch. Is it partisan? It shouldn't be-- both parties should be standing up for the Constitution. If the Republicans oppose investigations, they're the partisan ones. If the Democrats use their majority power, the majority of Americans will support them.

Getting to the bottom of what's going on is the right thing for Congress to do, NOW. What's more, it's your constitutionally defined duty.

Please use your power as our representative to speak out on behalf of your constituents, and to do what has to be done to restore the rule of law.

Thank you!

Woid