Finding a voice, at last!

Atrios at Eschaton prints the full text of Rep. Silvetre Reyes's (D-TX) letter to W. Go read it: it's a doozy!

My favorite paragraph:

If our nation is left vulnerable in the coming months, it will not be because we don't have enough domestic spying powers. It will be because your Administration has not done enough to defeat terrorist organizations - including al Qaeda -- that have gained strength since 9/11. We do not have nearly enough linguists to translate the reams of information we currently collect. We do not have enough intelligence officers who can penetrate the hardest targets, such as al Qaeda. We have surged so many intelligence resources into Iraq that we have taken our eye off the ball in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As a result, you have allowed al Qaeda to reconstitute itself on your watch.

In the paragraphs preceding this, Rep. Reyes identifies three (3) existing mechanisms that provide NSA with "... strong capability to monitor the communications of possible terrorists."

The second paragraph establishes the tone:

Because I care so deeply about protecting our country, I take strong offense to your suggestion in recent days that the country will be vulnerable to terrorist attack unless Congress immediately enacts legislation giving you broader powers to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans' communications and provides legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the Administration's warrantless surveillance program.

I almost forgot: both opening & closing paragraphs reference U.S. Constitution:

The Preamble to our Constitution states that one of our highest duties as public officials is to "provide for the common defence." As an elected Member of Congress, a senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I work everyday to ensure that our defense and intelligence capabilities remain strong in the face of serious threats to our national security.
...
We are a strong nation. We cannot allow ourselves to be scared into suspending the Constitution. If we do that, we might as well call the terrorists and tell them that they have won.

I'm going to send this guy's campaign committee $ today!

Please, read the entire letter!
[It might have been easier for me to copy/paste it here... but visiting Atrios at Eschaton is a good idea!]

... and please, Democratic candidates, take Rep. Reyes as a model: here's how to confront W! - with angry, deliberative, fact-laden argument.

Thank you, Rep. Silvestre Reyes!