Letter to Senator Durbin

Date: June 22, 2005

Dear Senator Durbin,

Kudos to you! If only we had a Senator in Arizona with the nerve to stand up and tell it like it is on the Senate floor it would make me proud. When you described the treatment of the prisoners at Guantanamo, I think it was completely appropriate to talk about oppressive regimes and the path that we are taking by ignoring these indiscretions. I'm not sure how anyone could compare your statements with the ones by the honorable Mister Santorum when he compared Democrats to Hitler because of their opposition to the "nuclear option" and the hypocrisy of denouncing another Senator for the same hyperbolic contempt only a few weeks earlier.

What bothers me now is the apology that you have been pressured to give by the crazy right-wing radicals. You have to know that there are many of us in this country that are depending upon you to be our shield, but that we don't have the time or the megaphone to make our position heard the way the organized propaganda GOP machine can. In my opinion, this apology makes you and the rest of the Democrats look weak because you've backed down from a position where you were perfectly right. You appear to be cowed.

I'm sure that you don't need any political advice, but if you were absolutely forced to make this apology, it would have been the perfect opportunity to deflect and get one of the hundreds of other messages out that Democrats need for the people to hear. An example of an apology that would have filled the requirements for apologizing, but would attract Democratic support and Republican respect (or contempt) would
have been something like this:

Fellow Honorable Senators, I come before you humbled and would like to ask your forgiveness. Last week I fell into a trap that looms near for all of us in this era of heightened tensions. I took a gravely important situation where American soldiers and citizens both are being forced to perform despicable acts of torture and humiliation through policy decisions by corrupt or inept leaders, and I minimized it by comparing it to other similar situations in other corrupt administrations merely for the shock value of the association. Please forgive me because what this does is take the focus off the real issue of torture and puts it on me. I believe that we have to address this issue especially in light of the President's lack of willingness to acknowledge the existance of any problems. There is no reason for me to resort to the hyperbolic tactics of my fellow Senators (Santorum and Frist) to make my point here and from now on I will remain focused strictly on the facts. As you know, I do not blame the men and women who were given these foul orders, but would like only to investigate the policies that enable or condone these acts because to fight terrorism, we don't have to become terrorists. Thank you for your time.

Unfortunately, all the reports I have seen make your apology sound as if you really believe that you did something wrong and that you insulted our troops in some way. I hope that you will continue to be outspoken because the only way to get any air time on this right-wing controlled media is by saying something that ruffles feathers. You have my support. Keep fighting!