Dear Mr. President,
You're going to be speaking at my school on the 21st. I basically haven't stopped freaking out since I learned of this event a few days ago. To make the week even more exciting, Former Presidents Clinton and Carter, as well as the First Lady will all have events in Seattle that week. Unfortunately, I'll probably only make it to see you and President Carter, but having so many important Democrats visit my city in such a short time is still very exciting. I suppose this is the small upside of having an unnervingly close senate race.
At the risk of making you change your mind about visiting, I don't think you have to worry about Washington Democrats showing up this year. Patty Murray is well-liked and accomplished, and Dino Rossi has basically made a career out of losing the gubernatorial race and cheating on his taxes. I really never get tired of mocking him for his general sliminess, but I do wish he'd stop running for office and fade happily back into obscurity.
I've got several friends planning on attending with me; I'm not sure how many will join me in linning up at 5 am, but I'm counting on the later arrivals to bring me coffee. I keep trying to talk myself out of getting my hopes up; I'll probably be too far away to see much, you'll probably give the same old stump speech with that long-past-tired metaphor about the Republicans and the ditch and the car keys. I probably won't get to shake your hand or get you to sign something. I'm ok with that. I'd rather be a fan of your policies than a fan of you as a person. (Plus, not to make it a competition or anything, but I'm sure President Carter will sign his book for me.) It's still going to be a once in a lifetime experience to hear my country's president speak in person. Just because I've sent you 285 letters already this year doesn't make me any more deserving of your notice than the thousands of other screaming, devoted UW Democrats who will also be there. Still, I feel like it's important for me to go, even if it means missing class and annoying the heck out of my friends and coworkers in the meantime.
I'm glad you're coming back to Seattle, Mr. President. I'll do whatever I can to make sure my fellow progressive Washington voters and I don't let you (or Senator Murray) down. See you in a few weeks!
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Showing posts with label President Clinton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Clinton. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Day 251- Leadership
Dear Mr. President,
I generally do not hold you accountable for the actions and beliefs of those who support you. Martin Peretz, for example, may be a prominent member of the media and a self-described democratic loyalist, but when he expresses his view that Muslims have no claim to first Amendment rights, I don't blame you for that. I do, however, expect you to speak out. I do expect you to show the rest of the world that America cannot accurately be represented by cult leaders in Florida or racists in The New Republic. I expect you to speak out because the world is watching these people and it is watching you.
I don't expect that you act alone. I think that you should get every prominent and influential politician in this country, Republican and Democrat, to collectively issue a condemnation for these hateful acts and words. To challenge Americans to rise above this, to be better than these small-minded men and women would represent us to be. I can imagine the power of you, both former Presidents Bush, President and Secretary Clinton standing together to make this request. I may not have agreed with President Bush, but he has an obligation to speak to the parts of the country still irrationally enraged at Muslims over 9/11. A tangible demonstration from current and former GOP leaders might go a long way toward calming down the violent Islamophobia on the right, just as you, Bill and Hillary Clinton might do for the left. I believe that silence in the face of these dangerous swells of anger is tantamount to complicity.
We expect our leaders to stand up in moments like these. I'm not asking that you outlaw the perfectly legal actions of these groups (no matter how reprehensible or dangerous they might be.) This isn't a legal issue but a moral one and you still wield enough influence over any audience you speak to that a few words from you might yet summon the humanity in these people to make them reconsider their actions. At the very least, it will demonstrate clearly that they do not act in the name of all Americans. This morning all I could think about were the young boys and old men in Palestine who asked me over and over again to tell my country they were not terrorists. Their own helplessness in the face of a media narrative that could not be stopped was deeply moving. I think I finally understand what they felt like. I want to write a letter to the world and say, please, believe me, American's aren't racists, we're not bigots, we're not violent and hateful and irrational. Please don't judge us by the actions of a few crazy people who act in our name.
So I hope that before Saturday you and every other influential American with access to a microphone has taken to the airwaves or written in the papers or published on the internet an unequivocal denunciation of the Qur'an burning and the rallying cries against Islam as a religion and Muslims as people. We must show the world that this is not who we are, and that has to start with our leaders. I think that few days in recent memory have as much power to transform as this year's eleventh of September has; I don't want to wake up Sunday morning and wonder what country I'm living in.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
I generally do not hold you accountable for the actions and beliefs of those who support you. Martin Peretz, for example, may be a prominent member of the media and a self-described democratic loyalist, but when he expresses his view that Muslims have no claim to first Amendment rights, I don't blame you for that. I do, however, expect you to speak out. I do expect you to show the rest of the world that America cannot accurately be represented by cult leaders in Florida or racists in The New Republic. I expect you to speak out because the world is watching these people and it is watching you.
I don't expect that you act alone. I think that you should get every prominent and influential politician in this country, Republican and Democrat, to collectively issue a condemnation for these hateful acts and words. To challenge Americans to rise above this, to be better than these small-minded men and women would represent us to be. I can imagine the power of you, both former Presidents Bush, President and Secretary Clinton standing together to make this request. I may not have agreed with President Bush, but he has an obligation to speak to the parts of the country still irrationally enraged at Muslims over 9/11. A tangible demonstration from current and former GOP leaders might go a long way toward calming down the violent Islamophobia on the right, just as you, Bill and Hillary Clinton might do for the left. I believe that silence in the face of these dangerous swells of anger is tantamount to complicity.
We expect our leaders to stand up in moments like these. I'm not asking that you outlaw the perfectly legal actions of these groups (no matter how reprehensible or dangerous they might be.) This isn't a legal issue but a moral one and you still wield enough influence over any audience you speak to that a few words from you might yet summon the humanity in these people to make them reconsider their actions. At the very least, it will demonstrate clearly that they do not act in the name of all Americans. This morning all I could think about were the young boys and old men in Palestine who asked me over and over again to tell my country they were not terrorists. Their own helplessness in the face of a media narrative that could not be stopped was deeply moving. I think I finally understand what they felt like. I want to write a letter to the world and say, please, believe me, American's aren't racists, we're not bigots, we're not violent and hateful and irrational. Please don't judge us by the actions of a few crazy people who act in our name.
So I hope that before Saturday you and every other influential American with access to a microphone has taken to the airwaves or written in the papers or published on the internet an unequivocal denunciation of the Qur'an burning and the rallying cries against Islam as a religion and Muslims as people. We must show the world that this is not who we are, and that has to start with our leaders. I think that few days in recent memory have as much power to transform as this year's eleventh of September has; I don't want to wake up Sunday morning and wonder what country I'm living in.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Day 51- Filibusted
Dear Mr. President,
Senator Evan Bayh's op-ed this morning makes several excellent points. Many of his complaints about the frustration process of getting anything done in the Senate echo sentiments from The Audacity of Hope, which, to me, indicates strongly that the Senate is a dysfunctional institution, as you and Senator Bayh wrote from positions the minority and majority, while reaching the same conclusions.
Especially with regards to re-thinking the rules surrounding the filibuster, I think Senator Bayh's ideas have a lot of merit and should be implemented. It is sad, really, that he had to retire, to go out without worrying about re-election and to cause enough of a media uproar to be heard. He seems like an honorable, well-intentioned individual, and the Senate would be better off with more like him.
As a former Senator, you understand the frustration of the institution first hand. You did not spare the Senate any of your disapproval during the State of The Union, and I would have liked to believe that might have generated more progress than it has. I don't think it is unreasonably partisan of me to say that the right benefits most from this. On principle, be they in the minority or the majority, the GOP wins elections by campaigning against the federal government, against "big" government. Holding up the progress in the Senate supports their narrative that federal powers are slow, clumsy and ineffective.
In his 1996 State of the Union address, President Clinton famously declared "the era of big government is over." I think this may have pleased a number of people, but it helped few. Perhaps if the era of the self-serving government, the ego-boosting, money-raising, hyper-partisan government, if the era of bad government could be drawn to a close, real progress could finally be made.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Senator Evan Bayh's op-ed this morning makes several excellent points. Many of his complaints about the frustration process of getting anything done in the Senate echo sentiments from The Audacity of Hope, which, to me, indicates strongly that the Senate is a dysfunctional institution, as you and Senator Bayh wrote from positions the minority and majority, while reaching the same conclusions.
Especially with regards to re-thinking the rules surrounding the filibuster, I think Senator Bayh's ideas have a lot of merit and should be implemented. It is sad, really, that he had to retire, to go out without worrying about re-election and to cause enough of a media uproar to be heard. He seems like an honorable, well-intentioned individual, and the Senate would be better off with more like him.
As a former Senator, you understand the frustration of the institution first hand. You did not spare the Senate any of your disapproval during the State of The Union, and I would have liked to believe that might have generated more progress than it has. I don't think it is unreasonably partisan of me to say that the right benefits most from this. On principle, be they in the minority or the majority, the GOP wins elections by campaigning against the federal government, against "big" government. Holding up the progress in the Senate supports their narrative that federal powers are slow, clumsy and ineffective.
In his 1996 State of the Union address, President Clinton famously declared "the era of big government is over." I think this may have pleased a number of people, but it helped few. Perhaps if the era of the self-serving government, the ego-boosting, money-raising, hyper-partisan government, if the era of bad government could be drawn to a close, real progress could finally be made.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
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