Sen. Patty Murray's response to my e-mail re the Super Committee caving too much:

[gateley]

This says absolutely nothing (of course, it's an auto-response) but my hope is if we keep hammering them with calls, faxes, emails, they'll know we're looking over their shoulders and breathing down their necks.



Dear Ms. Gateley:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the recently created Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, of which I am a co-chair. I appreciate hearing from you about your priorities for this process.

As you may know, on August 2, 2011, President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 into law after its bipartisan passage through Congress. Following an initial down payment of almost $1 trillion in deficit reduction through cuts to discretionary spending, this legislation created a Joint Select Committee tasked with identifying further deficit reduction of approximately $1.5 trillion. In the event the Committee is unable to produce a plan to meet that amount, immediate across-the-board cuts will be enacted that will come from both defense and non-defense spending. In accordance with the legislation, Committee members were to be appointed by Majority and Minority Leaders in each chamber of Congress.

On August 10, 2011, I was asked by Senate Majority Leader Reid to co-chair the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. I agreed to accept this role because I take the goals of this Committee seriously and because I believe that it is time for members of both parties to work together to improve our nation's financial future. Currently, I am working with my House and Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle to address our national debt and deficit in a balanced and bipartisan manner. I know we need to make the tough choices that put our country on a more sustainable fiscal track but I also know that we must protect the middle class, seniors, and the most vulnerable who are struggling mightily in today's economy. I do not want to pass an unsustainable debt along to my own grandchildren and will be working tirelessly toward a bipartisan plan that reduces our deficit without neglecting the need for investment in areas that help to spur economic growth, create jobs, and promote our country's long-term competitiveness.

I appreciate hearing from you about your priorities for the Joint Select Committee and I will certainly keep the suggestions of Washingtonians in mind as I work with my colleagues to address our fiscal situation. Please continue to pass on your thoughts, as they will help me and my fellow Committee members as we take on this challenge. You can also visit http://deficitreduction.gov for further information about the work of the Joint Select Committee, and if you would like to know more about my work in the Senate, please sign up for my weekly updates at http://murray.senate.gov/updates.

Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States Senator

[Liberal Veteran]

1. I love Patty Murray, but I've never gotten an email from her that wasn't fluff.

[gateley]

2. The only elected official I've ever actually corresponded with

was Dow Constantine, and that wasn't even about governing.

I was living in NC and read an article about his leading the charge to save a historic church in Seattle. I dropped him a line that even though I wasn't living in Seattle at the time, it was my home and I appreciated his efforts to preserve it. I mentioned something about missing Frederick & Nelson and we went back and forth a few times reminiscing about the Paul Bunyan room and the milkshakes that could be had.

Nothing much, but just nice that he took the time and effort and it was clear he loves Seattle, too. When I moved back to , he got my vote for City Council and that's where he is now. Hope he stays around.

And Cantwell's the same -- I suppose all of them are. I understand they're too busy to actually sit down and respond but as I said, It's my hope that if we just bury them with our "input", they'll get the hint and take it seriously. :shrug:

[msongs]

3. it's called Obama Syndrome lol nt