Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

TygrBright

(20,733 posts)
Mon May 22, 2017, 03:54 PM May 2017

Dear Senator Franken: You are a hero of American democracy.

Dear Senator Franken,

I don't live in Minnesota anymore, but I was born and raised there, and lived there long enough to understand exactly how Minnesota culture affects the expectations on public servants.

Which is not to say all Minnesota elected officials and bureaucrats are paragons of rectitude, transparency, humility, and moderately progressive values. And I would point out that while at least one of your predecessors, the infamous Norm the Weasel, was NOT born and raised in the North Star State, plenty of gormless numpties nurtured in the Land of 10,000 Lakes have been elevated to office by appealing to the stubbornly contrarian 'well, who do you think YOU are, then' streak of Minnesota character.

You, however, are on the roster that includes Paul Wellstone, Eugene McCarthy, Hubert H. Humphrey, Bruce Vento, Alexander Ramsey, Don Fraser, Floyd B. Olson, and so many more. America is lucky to have you, and we owe Minnesota a debt of gratitude for sending you to Washington.

I'm fairly sure you would say that you were "just doing your job" when you called out JeffyBeau Sessions on his Big Fat Lie during his confirmation hearing.

But the thing is, you did it. You put genuine concern for the quality of public service ahead of good-old-boy Senate traditions, and didn't go along with the 'easy ride' to a former colleague.

And the other thing is, you and your staff did the homework. You foster and uphold the standard of conscientious preparation, investigation, and inquiry, and the day of that hearing you were prepared, with the right information and the right questions. You couldn't be dismissed as a mere partisan hack shooting from the hip in an effort to grab the news cycle. (Well, you could, and were, but only by The Usual Suspects, which is a back-handed form of confirmation of the value of your work.)

The result of that seemed like a minor speedbump, at the time- JeffyBeau had to publicly recuse himself from any DOJ activity connected with the relationship between Russia and >Redacted<'s campaign.

There were a lot of us who'd have preferred to have him withdraw from consideration for the post but it has become increasingly clear that this was far too critical to the >Redacted< Administration's policy plans to be possible. Failing that, we'd have loved to see his confirmation denied. But, again, the current configuration of the Senate, combined with the good-old-boy culture of that institution, made it a forlorn hope.

Instead, he had to recuse himself.

And it's now becoming just how clearly that's put a foot in the churn the Administration was trying to use to obfuscate the whole Russia connection.

You played a big role, Senator.

And you did so because you were just doing your job, as you conceived it. A conception based on your own fundamental decency, intelligence, and respect for democracy.

It's a quiet kind of heroism, but it merits acknowledgment.

Thank you.

respectfully,
Bright

2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Dear Senator Franken: You are a hero of American democracy. (Original Post) TygrBright May 2017 OP
I am proud of my Senator Angry Dragon May 2017 #1
KnR sheshe2 May 2017 #2
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Dear Senator Franken: You...