I have submitted the following letter to John McHugh, New York State's 23rd District, and to the Watertown (NY)Daily Times. I urge anyone reading this to stop for a few minutes, and write a similar letter to your Congressman / Senators, and submit it in "open letter" form to your home town newspaper. It is time to put flames to the feet of the politicians that might respond to the heat.
An open letter to Congressman John McHugh: As one of the few moderate Republicans left in the US Congress, you can be effective at promoting bipartisan collaboration in the interests of all Americans. I have not read any statement from you on the current appalling situation in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. This is an issue of the greatest concern to your constituents who have friends and family in the region (including many military families at Fort Drum), and indeed to all Americans. Will you be a loyal member of your political party, and perpetuate the lie that this tragedy was unavoidable? Or will you attack the criminal negligence and incompetence of the federal government's response to this disaster, and the negligence and political expediency that set in place the policies that resulted in this catastrophe? While some share of the blame can be assigned to many, it is a profound failure of leadership and administrative ability by President Bush and misdirected priorities by the congressional leadership of both major parties that are the root causes of the neglected state of the water-control infrastructure of New Orleans, and the incompetent relief effort in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Will you tolerate the inevitable obfuscation and cover-up, or will you serve the interests of your constituents and all Americans by actively participating in substantive investigations and reform efforts directed and understanding and correcting the errors that resulted in the ongoing tragedy in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, even if it is detrimental to the careers and reputations of your party's leaders?