Please do this today! Every second counts on this one guys-lr
Learn more via Video, Audio, Transcripts and Analysis of the Confirmation Hearings.
I just realized today that we've found our first bi-partisan issue of this administration: opposing Gonzales as US Attorney General.
Republican and Democrats should be able to join together in opposition to Gonzales for many reasons.
(In case you're not familiar with this situation, Gonzales is the legal counsel that wrote the "torture memo" that declared that the geneva convention was "quaint" in the context of the war on terror. And basically said that torture was OK.)
It's just bad politics to place a man who openly condones torture and provides a legal justification for it as head of our Federal Justice system.
As a Republican, one should be concerned about how an extremist such as Gonzales places the entire Republican party in a bad light. Surely not all Republican's condone torture, but if the Republican-appointed Attorney General condones it, it sure looks like that way.
We have enough bad faith across nations without the man who wrote the infamous "Torture Memo" as head of our Justice Department. Plus, it sends a skewered message to the rest of the world that could put our troops at risk, by suggesting that the Geneva convention is somehow outdated.
Now, more than ever, with our troops spreading out all over the world, we need the Geneva convention to help protect them from being mistreated as POWs in other countries. (Let's not get into whether they should be fighting there or not. The point is they're there, and we need to protect them by keeping the Geneva convention in full force.)
I think that most Democrats would agree with the above reasoning as well.
Basically, anyone against torture and in favor of the Geneva Convention should be in agreement with this objective.
That means, for once, we might be all be on the same page.
Let's take advantage of this opportunity to work together to send a strong message to Congress opposing Gonzales as Attorney General.
With Gonzales on hold, there are a few days to get the word out to our Senators.
Here's a little letter that you can cut and paste and modify for your own letter.
Write as many letters to as many Senators as you can. (Time count: 6 minutes to email/fill out forms for everyone below.)
I'll be posting clips from the confirmation hearings over the course of the day to try to clarify some of the more complex issues.
In the subject header, write "Please Oppose Gonzales And Protect Our Troops."
Dear Senator,I'm writing you to request that you vote against the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as US Attorney General. I feel that placing a man with such questionable values as head of our Justice Department will send a very damaging message to the rest of the world and place our troops abroad in unnecessary danger.
We must protect the Geneva convention and our diplomatic credibility abroad by voting against Alberto Gonzales as US Attorney General.
Sincerely,
Lisa Rein
Here's a list of senators to start with. I'm trying to put together a list of particularly relevant senators, like the one's on the panel asking the questions.
Update 1/24/05 - send letters to these senators on the Judiciary committee.
I know that Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy are on it, because I saw them during the hearings, so I'm putting them at the top of the list.
Senator Dick Durbin, (202) 224-2152,
http://durbin.senate.gov/sitepages/contact.htm
Senator Patrick Leahy, (202) 224-4242, senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Senator Barbara Boxer, (202) 224-3553,
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm
Senator Russ Feingold, (202) 224-5323, russ_feingold@feingold.senate.gov
Senator Edward Kennedy, 202/224-4543, senator@kennedy.senate.gov
Senator Tom Harkin, (202) 224-3254, tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov
Senator Jim Jeffords, (202) 224-5141, Vermont@jeffords.senate.gov
Alright, back in a bit with some clips and discussion from the hearings...
