I've sat down to write my congressman several times. But what do I say?

What I want, and what is right, are not options.

Protect Social Security? Not on the table.
Don't kill jobs with budget cuts? Not on the table.
Do something about wealth inequality? Don't make me laugh.

Apparently, I'm not a very serious person.

I think we're ignoring the best case scenario. Congress presents a bill so terrible that even Obama must veto it. To mitigate the economic crisis this creates, he either invokes the 14th amendment or uses one of the other tools at his disposal.

Passing nothing is the best case scenario. Presented with the consequences of default will force Obama to take Clinton's advice; do the thing that congress should have done. Simply pay for the deficit inherent in their budget. It's housekeeping.

Congress should be completely replaced.

No sale.

Simply raising the debt ceiling is the right thing to do. I don't care if it's done by executive fiat.

That is all.

.

anything less gives them permission to do any fucking thing they please.

...last night:

"This debate over the debt ceiling has become ridiculous. Many of us voted for President Obama make Washington D.C. functional again, after eight years of GW Bush. I think even Republicans who were energized in 2010 voted to get something done. I agree with President Obama...NONE of us voted for such a dysfunctional government as we're seeing now.

I am a Democrat, but you are still MY representative in Congress. PLEASE do your part to stand up for cooperation, consensus and compromise. PLEASE support President Obama and compromise to raise the debt ceiling and FIX our economy so that it is fair for ALL Americans. Restore some sanity to our country...please...and stop taking actions that make us the laughing-stock of the world."

Unequal sharing.

There is much more to say, but I feel that is the crux of it.

They will get it. Even if it's only one sentence. Your voice among the many is what is needed. We crashed their servers yesterday. Now we need to fill the mail bags, jam the faxes and tie up the phone lines. It's how we will get through to them. It's worked before. I agree with you and Jon Stewart who said last night that we need to break up with them. The relationship is not working.

Tell him that the debt ceiling limit needs to be raised now.

Tell him that if it is not, you and everyone you've spoken to about this issue will remember when in the voting booth on November 2012.