DCCC/Barack Obama: "Misplaced Priorities"

Dear AtomicKitten:

If Senator Bill Frist is curious as to why his party has plummeted so far in the polls or why his Senate candidates are in so much trouble, he need look no further than the agenda he put forth in the United States Senate last week.

At a time where hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops are risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan; a time where millions upon millions of Americans are struggling with the rising costs of health care and child care and gas prices and college tuition; a time where the people of this country are desperate for leadership that speaks to their issues and addresses their concerns, Bill Frist and the Republicans have put forth an agenda designed to divide, distract, and disappoint the American people.

They started with a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage that had no chance of passing the Senate. This is an amendment that would take away states' rights to define marriage on their own, and deny same-sex couples the right to see each other in the hospital.

When that failed, they moved on to a trillion-dollar giveaway I like to call the Paris Hilton Tax Break. That's right - the Republicans were prepared to spend one trillion dollars - an amount more than double what we've spent on Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror combined - on tax breaks for multimillionaires and multibillionaires.

At a time like this - a time where America finds itself deeply in debt, struggling to pay for a war in Iraq, a war in Afghanistan, security for our homeland, armor for our troops, health care for our workers, and education for our children - at a time of all this need, can you imagine opening Forbes magazine, looking at their list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, and realizing that our government gave the people on that list and other billionaires a trillion dollars worth of tax breaks?

Click here to tell Bill Frist that you've had enough with division and distraction and you're ready for leadership that will unite this country and solve real problems.

http://www.democratsenators.org/dia/organizations/dscc/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=17&t=petition_NOcontribute.dwt

Unfortunately, it doesn't end there. Before the July 4th holiday, Frist will come to the Senate floor with a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. Now, I cannot imagine something more abhorrent to a veteran than to see the flag that they fought for, or watched their good friends die for, being burned to make a political point. But if we really want to protect freedom and stand up for those who defend it, Congress should be spending its time coming up with a plan to win the peace in Iraq so our troops could come home.

It's now clear that the Republicans are bereft of ideas and are losing the faith of even their most committed supporters. As a result, Republican Senate seats that were once thought to be safe are now within striking distance for our strong Democratic candidates in states like Arizona, Virginia and Montana. Between now and the November midterm elections, Republicans will do everything in their power to distract from their own failures by pushing their tired agenda of division.

But you and I know that Democrats stand for something more - something better.

You know we won't stand by idly while thousands of children are thrown off the Medicaid rolls. You know we won't tolerate tax policies that deepen inequality and leave the middle class struggling. And you know we're committed to restoring America's leadership in the world. Behind these truths stands the DSCC, whose sole purpose is to ensure that Democrats are able to retake the Senate to implement these progressive ideals.

I am tired of the Senate Republican leadership wasting our time with less pressing issues while the defining challenges of our generation - health care and education, energy independence and our place in the global economy - are ignored. Please sign this petition to tell Bill Frist that you've had enough too.

Sincerely,

Sen. Barack Obama

Obama is the man. Our people need to be talking like this.