Bernie Sanders Group: my email to my congressional rep, Chellie Pingree

Dear Chellie, as a Superdelegate you came out very early in support of Hillary Clinton. I hope that you will re-consider your position in light of the following:

1. The people of Maine overwhelmingly favor Bernie Sanders, based on his integrity, his trustworthiness and his stand on key issues.

2. Polls show that Sanders is far more electable in the general election than Clinton:

> He is not at the center of an FBI investigation for failing to protect national security information. Note that 18 U.S. Code § 793 does not refer to whether or not information is classified (or marked classified) and that "intent" is irrelevant, specifically under paragraph f. Note also that continuing to use an unsecured blackberry in sensitive regions such as southeast Asia after acknowledging in writing that one understands the risks involved could be construed as "willful" under paragraph e. Furthermore, putting "personal convenience" ahead of national security is not an acceptable excuse, yet that is the only reason Clinton offers for keeping all government emails on a private server, failing to timely turn them over to State, and unilaterally deciding to destroy half of them without oversight.

>Sanders does not have a history of "pay-to-play," using the power of the government to approve arms sales to rogue dictatorships in exchange for high speaking fees for a spouse and donations to a "Foundation."

>Sanders is not at the center of nearly 40 FOIA lawsuits against State or any other government agency or department.

I appreciate all that you have done for Maine and would like for you to be able to continue in that role. I hope that you will reconsider your support for Clinton; it would go a long way toward erasing misgivings I currently have given your family's prominent position in the Panama Papers.

Sincerely,
MT

Note: I also plan to submit this as an "open letter" to our local weekly papers.