Dear Representative Paulsen –
I write that merely to be polite as you certainly are not “dear” to me, and with a frown and a shake of my head as you represent everything I find most troubling about the current political environment. I’ll spell it out, not for your benefit, because I’m quite convinced you don’t care, but for my benefit. I want to be able to say that I, at least, spoke up when our American civil liberties and quality of life were threatened. I cried out as our Democracy died.
If you were deserving of your job, you would not continue supporting a political party more invested in maintaining power than in engaging in good governance. I’ll begin where I begin as there is nearly no end to your party’s objectionable behavior and all are nearly equally abhorant.
Gerrymandering: “Partisan gerrymandering has become a tool for powerful interests to distort the democratic process,” reads a brief filed by Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island. The Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican State Leadership Committee filed briefs lobbying to maintain the right to “partisan gerrymandering.”
Voter suppression: According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “…[s]ince 2008, states across the country have passed measures to make it harder for Americans—particularly black people, the elderly, students, and people with disabilities—to exercise their fundamental right to cast a ballot. These measures include cuts to early voting, voter ID laws, and purges of voter rolls.”
Obstruction of Justice: When special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to investigate possible collusion between the Trump team and Russia, Mueller’s integrity was hailed as inviolable. Now it appears Mueller is more interested in seeing justice done than he is in the Republicans maintaining power and factions within the Republican Party are doing all they can to discredit his investigation. Does that smell fishy to you, Congressman? I suggest you should clean out your tackle box.
MORE Obstruction of Justice: silence instead of support for the constitutionally requisite hearing of Merrick Garland as Supreme Court Justice nearly a year before the President Obama’s end of term. I shouldn’t have to but apparently I need to remind you of the seriousness of your oath of office and the importance of standing squarely behind the United States’ Constitution.
YET MORE Obstruction of Justice: silence instead of support for seating Senator Doug Jones (and don’t give me any song and dance about that being a senatorial decision. You’ve tried handing me that squishy package before in response to other letters I’ve sent you. I’m talking about “good governance” here. You have a responsibility to your constituents. Instead, your unequivocal support of Republican shenanigans is a matter of record.)
You know, I need to close this letter, for now. I have much more to say to you and will continue but I need to give people a chance to digest this tainted meat you call your time as a congressman.
But before I sign-off, I want you and everyone in District 3 to know that that Dean Phillips has been endorsed by Fritz Mondale. Just want you all to know…
So sincerely,
Karen Ackerman
3rd District, Minnesota