Isilion

…but this is the text of a letter than will be in tomorrow’s mail:

The Honorable Congressman Chris Van Hollen
1419 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Honorable Congressman Van Hollen,

I would first like to take a moment to congratulate you and the rest of the Democrats in the House of Representatives for your resounding victory over the Republicans in the recent elections. The voters in this country are obviously dissatisfied with the polices and performance of the former majority party and believe the Democrats will govern in a manner more in tune with the electorate’s wishes.

It is my fervent hope that you and your colleagues will quickly address the most critical issues facing our great nation:

1) The most immediate crisis facing us is the war in Iraq. We were lead into this conflict on the basis of lies and the craven manipulation of the people’s shock, fear and outrage at the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Every justification used to railroad the legislative branch into complicity in this crime has been shown to be false. Whatever moral standing the United States once had in the international community has been squandered. Our friends loathe us and our enemies have been emboldened. Nothing good has come from this and things are only going to get worse. The only solution, the least of all evils, is an immediate end to all funding for any military operations in Iraq which are not specifically allocated to the logistical and security functions necessary for an immediate and complete withdrawal of all armed forces personnel from that country. Anything short of that would be a betrayal of the mandate handed to the Democratic party by the voters and of every principle that once made the United States a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.

2) There are two pieces of legislation that have done more to damage the character of our nation than anything that I am aware of in our history. The USA PATRIOT Act and the Military Commissions Act have stripped us of the protections against tyranny that our founders enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, and they allow the President to rule by executive fiat. No amount of dissimulation, prevarication or legal hair-splitting can disguise the fact that the President of the United States is now above the law and can act with virtual impunity against the checks and balances our founders knew would be necessary if our republic were to survive. Consequently, the repeal of these two laws should be among the highest priorities when the 110th Congress convenes. They cannot be “fixed” or “reformed.” They must be eliminated or our liberties will be.

3) Stemming from these points, but by no means only because of them, President George W. Bush must be impeached. His wanton flaunting of international law and the laws of the United States, and his callous disregard of the sovereignty and the lives of the people of the nations of Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrate he is not fit for public office. Any crimes committed Bill Clinton or even Richard Nixon pale in comparison. Allowing him to continue in office, however chastened by the recent elections, without holding him to legal account for his actions, would set a precedent for future presidents which would have to be ranked with the appointment of Julius Caesar as Dictator by the Roman Senate. Regardless of whatever political consequences impeachment may engender it must be done because it is the right thing to do. History will judge our generation based on how we respond to the usurpations and crimes of George W. Bush.

I must be honest and say I have not followed your legislative career. For the most part, other than having very strong opinions, I am not much involved in politics at all. Like most Americans the concerns of day-to-day life are more important than to me than what appears to be the endless wrangling and petty squabbles of the political class in the Washington, D.C. For all I know you are in complete agreement with me on the issues I just presented and have fought hard to resist the regime of lawlessness instituted by the current administration over the course of the past five years. If so I must applaud your actions. Rest assured, though, whatever your positions in the past, I will be following your actions in the upcoming session very closely. I am only one person and my political influence is practically, if not actually, nil, but the recent elections demonstrate there are millions of other people just like me, and we are watching. You and your colleagues face a choice between political expediency and acting as representatives of the people who put you in the position you hold. How you decide will earn either our admiration or our fury.

Special thanks to Helenadendritis for her uber-grammarian skills and to a fellow named endymion for helping me realize that Congress would more likely fear the voter’s fury than their furry.