DNC: Get Ready
"Letter to Editor"05/11/2005
Dear DFL Member and Supporters
George Bush, who polls say has become the most unpopular lame-duck president ever, is hard at work with Bill Frist, the Republican Senate leader with presidential ambitions, to take the GOP over the brink of extremism.
They’re trying to seize absolute control over all three branches of government—and they will do anything to get what they want. In one move they will try to simultaneously crush all dissent in the Senate and destroy the bedrock democratic principle of a fair and independent judiciary.
Their carefully-orchestrated power grab will come to a head in the coming days. They have refused compromises, they have refused common sense—they have even refused to follow the Constitution. They want to shut down the government until they get their way.
This show by an out-of-control majority will be in the newspapers, on TV and around the dinner table.
As a Democrat, it will be your responsibility to get the truth out and make the case for Senate Democrats in your community. So here is your briefing:
http://www.democrats.org/nuclear
Polls show that the more people learn about the Republican attack on checks and balances, the more they oppose it. That’s why it’s vital for you to step up, get the full story, and help spread the word.
The Republican propaganda machine will be in high gear on this issue. The lead-up to this crisis has included Republican efforts to divide people by race, gender and religion. They are working on dividing America while Democrats are trying to do the people’s business. We can expect more of the same—it will all be amped up in the coming days.
You are the first line of defense against this onslaught. Use these resources to help you fight:
http://www.democrats.org/nuclear
Ninety-five percent of Bush’s judicial nominees have been confirmed. Only the very bottom of the barrel remains—judges so unqualified, so out of the mainstream, that they simply don’t deserve lifetime appointments.
Republicans know that. They don’t care about these judges—these judges are only a pretext for the power grab. The fringe GOP leadership wants to break the rules and consolidate power now, so that they can ram through expected Supreme Court nominations later this year.
So they’re going to change the rules to take away the filibuster, a 200-year Senate tradition that has protected the voice of the minority and protected our system of checks and balances. (Disgraced Republican leader Trent Lott invented the name for their plan to destroy all this: he called it the “nuclear option.")
Every Democrat has to be part of the fight on this one. The stakes couldn’t be higher. So please be a part of this debate:
http://www.democrats.org/nuclear
Thank you,
Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee