To: Senators Thune and Rounds
I am writing to express by unhappiness and disappointment with the current government shutdown, and more particularly, the circumstances that have lead to it.
Despite assurances from the President on his widely televised “Look, Michael Wolff, I am TOO in charge!” meeting with Congressional leaders on Tuesday, January 15, a meeting wherein he stated, repeatedly and on camera that he would accept a bipartisan deal regarding immigration (whether it include funding for his Wall, or protections for a subset of DREAMers, or both), he has since reneged and acted in bad faith.
Worse, on Friday January 19, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted out what was effectively a ransom note, daring Democrats to choose between 8.9 million CHIP recipients (mostly sick kids) and 700 thousand DACA Dreamers (people who are hardworking patriotic Americans in all but legal status), all but declaring that he was willing to shut down the government in order to ensure that one of those groups was left unprotected.
While Trump and McConnell have presented this government shut-down as choice to illustrate the moral shortcomings of Democratics in Congress, it instead highlights only their moral bankruptcy, and be extension, the moral bankruptcy of those who choose to follow them.
Let me explain by way of an analogy. Think back to in Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man movie. (I know, I know, that was three whole Peter Parkers ago, but bear with me.) At one point in the movie, the Green Goblin forces Spider-Man to choose between saving his crush Mary Jane or saving a tram car full of New Yorkers:
Who is the villain in this scenario?
Is it the guy who has to choose which set of people to save…
Or is it THE TAUNTING SOCIOPATH GLEEFULLY AND PURPOSEFULLY ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF ALL OF THEM?
You are my representatives in Congress. You are supposed to stand up for the people who live here, not lock ’em in a metaphorical tram car and threaten to drown them unless Spider-Schumer (or Spider-Pelosi) bows down before you.
Your bosses are being the Green Damn Goblin.
Start being Spider-Man.
Sincerely,
Travis