Feeling impassioned, my letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Senator Murkowski, I know you have publicly expressed your intention to vote in favor of Sam Alito's appointment to the Supreme Court, but I also know that you have reservations. I admire you for listening and voting your conscience on renewal of the PATRIOT Act. Please listen carefully to your conscience again on Judge Alito.

This is not just any vote -- this vote conceivably determines the direction we as a nation will take for at least the next generation. Do you really think that with Judge Roberts and Judge Alito sitting on the Supreme Court that it won't take a hard right turn, wiping out decades of social progress?

And what about this "unitary executive" thing? Doesn't that scare you at all? Hasn't the Bush administration shown us time and time again that it will push its power to the limit, lying to get us into war, outing CIA agents, eavesdropping on private citizens without a warrant --everything they do is so contrary to law and yet they get away with it time and time again. Can't you see that putting Samuel Alito, a man who is squarely in the administration's corner, on the Supreme Court will ensure that the neoconservatives can tighten their hold on the government?

I'm a Democrat, but I admire you for being a moderate and reasonable person. Please, Lisa, think about this long and hard, and don't be afraid to change your mind.

Blue_in_AK


How'd I do?

Lets hope she listened!

I'm sure she got hammered by her fellow Republicans for taking a stand against the Patriot Act, but hopefully she got a lot of strokes, too, from our side. I'm not normally a praying woman, but I'm praying hard tonight.

Yours is terrific and gave me some good ideas. I don't think Lisa is horrible, but I will if she votes for Alito!

I think it was a press conference or something I was watching on TV where she was expressing her concerns about Alito not giving a straight answer on Roe. We all know she's pro-choice, so this has got to bother her. But she has to be reminded that it's much bigger than just Roe. You know, Ted's pro-choice, too, but I just don't know quite how to approach him with a letter like this. He's not quite as accessible.

But I fear this may be a lost cause...we are going to need a miracle of the highest magnitude.

I thought for sure my Repuke Senator (Dewine) could be swayed, BOY was I wrong.

even up to the time of the cloture vote. Show them what WE THE PEOPLE means. We can be depressed afterwards if it's warranted.

in laying out the case in a nice orderly manner. I don't think she is dumb but her statement the other day in support of Alito showed me just what to expect from this junior senator: nothing. She will vote with her fathers party it seems despite the unjustness we see exhibited by those running that criminal enterprise.
No, I don't think any thinking long and hard will change her mind. It was already sold out to the Grand Old Pirates when her father gave her the seat; no amount of common sense will change that.

It'll make you feel better. Remind her that she represents ALL Alaskans, and, in fact, all Americans. Get eloquent on her ass.

would be "Dear Senator Murkowski." I'm not big on referring to her by her first name, either, but maybe that's just me.

She wants us to call her that. Conventions are a little different up here.

P.S. I know about the formality -- I was a legal secretary for 25 years. But we really are a lot more informal up here, and I'm trying to appeal to her as a person, not as a senator.

One more P.S. - Her last letter to me was addressed "Dear Linda."

The convention down here in NC is for students to call us Mr. or Ms. (insert first name, not surname), thereby combining formality and informality at the same time.

A lot has changed in Alaska in the past 30 years, but the sense of community still persists. It seems like everybody calls everybody by their first name up here. We're one big crazy family.