Dear Lanny Davis

Thanks for the detailed explanation of why I should support Joe Lieberman.

I appreciate your effort. Now you need to listen for a moment, that is, if you want to understand what you are up against.

Being in Congress is about more than showing up and saying "aye" or "nay". (Although it appears JL's record of doing even that on the Iraq war is poor.)

We expect more than that: we expect leadership, especially from the purported party leaders.

You say that JL's cloture vote showed "intellectual honesty". Well bully for him and you! While JL and other disappointing dems showed the Republicans what intellectual honesty looks like, the GOP showed us what it looks like to win the battle to put an extreme right wing idealogue onto the highest court in the land for the rest of his life.

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A lifetime appointment for a man who voted that police do not have to identify themselves or knock before breaking down the doors to someone's house to execute a search warrent. (Sure hope they had the address right on this one! And that a terrified homeowner didn't keep a gun on hand for self protection!)

Joe Lieberman can be intellectually honest in some other profession. We democrats want street fighters who can prevent the slide of our democracy into something other than democracy.

We love our Constitution more than our "intellectual honesty".

We want representatives who use every last tool at their disposal to prevent the disasters GWB spins off nearly daily.

We want an opposition party that opposes, not appeases.

Every time JL reaches across the aisle, the GOP backs up a step. And then Joe and his supporters break their arms patting themselves on the back for how very gentlemanly they are. And the ungentle GOP bags their victory and goes home.

And when there is a good option, or a great option in the case of Lamont, to a snivelling, ineffectual bystander currently in the Senate, we support him.

I hope this answers any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Joan in Seattle