Dear Ray,
Democrats in Congress are in a battle for the very soul of our nation with Republicans whose arrogance and abuse of power have made a mockery of the US House of Representatives. As House Democratic Leader, I should know.
We must ask ourselves, do we want to adopt corruption, indifference to suffering, and contempt for democracy as American values? Will we allow the progress America has made over the past five decades under Democratic leadership to be erased in a few short years by an extreme right-wing Congress run amuck?
The Republicans in the House of Representatives, Senate, and White House are awash in scandals involving everything from bribery and intimidation on the House floor to vicious attacks on America's most vulnerable. Are these the "moral values" that the Republicans like to crow about?
They are not my moral values.
The 2006 elections are closer than you think. At this very moment, the stage is being set and it is vital that the DCCC have the funding it needs to fight back against the onslaught of Republican propaganda and funny money. We must be able to put the Republicans on the defensive where they belong.
By contributing to the DCCC today you're sending a message that the American people will not stand by as Republicans try to turn back the clock on all that we have accomplished as a nation.
The Republicans' arrogance and abuse of power has risen to new heights in this 109th Congress. Never before has the institution of the House of Representatives - which is suppose to represent all of the American people - been used so cynically by one party to protect their own power. We need to put them back in their place, and with your help, we will.
For just a few examples of Republicans' abuse of power...
The Assault on Social Security. Social Security is the most popular, most successful government program in history, and now the Republicans are attempting to turn this New Deal program into a raw deal that would reduce benefits by up to 40% while adding trillions to the debt. A new study from President Bush's own Yale University informs us that 71% of recipients would likely lose out through privatization, and yet Republicans charge on without a care.
A Reverse Robin Hood Budget. President Bush and House Republicans are pushing a budget that will shortchange housing, education, and veterans while heaping even more tax cuts on the extremely wealthy and handing out the few sacred preserved lands that belong to all of us as prizes to their political contributors in the oil industry. Nowhere is our government's morality tested more starkly than in the hard numbers of the federal budget, and this year's proposal fails this test miserably.
The Gutting of Medicaid. Bush and House Republicans have targeted the social program providing the most basic health care to struggling Americans, with a staggering $40 billion cut that will have repercussions for virtually every state in the union. The Republicans hope to dismantle our great social contracts, destroy our very moral fabric, and make America into a country that leaves its most vulnerable destitute - even as tax giveaways for the super rich are given the highest priority.
Leading an Unethical Government. Judging by the steady stream of ethical scandals revolving around Republican House Leader Tom DeLay, involving everything from bribes and intimidation on the House floor to junkets paid for with millions in extorted casino money, ethics must somehow be the opposite of moral values. This comes after three separate ethical condemnations last year and the looming threat of indictment for shady corporate fundraising in Texas. But rather than curtail his corruption or humble himself, Tom DeLay along with his loyal rubberstamps in Congress have simply rigged the ethics rules to protect him and purged from the ethics committee the Chairman, Members and staff who held him accountable last year. The American people do not conduct their lives in an ethical vacuum and our Representatives should not either.
These are not representative of my moral values and I am sure they aren't yours. In fact, they're an affront to the values of tens of millions of Americans who believe their government should work for all-not just the well connected and the very wealthy. We are for progress, we are for REAL reform, and we will not tolerate attempts to turn back the clock on our beloved country and our democracy.
In the last Congress, House Republicans became the most arrogant, unethical and corrupt majority in modern Congressional history. Tragically, this profoundly immoral behavior is continuing without a pause in the first few months of this Congress.
Thank you so much, and I look forward to fighting along side you.
Sincerely,
Nancy Pelosi
House Democratic Leader
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