That's a good boy -- now, here's a treat!

The following comes from MoveOn.org PAC:

As you've probably heard, last night the attempt to filibuster Samuel Alito's nomination was defeated. This morning, the full Senate voted confirmed him to the Supreme Court.

Twenty-four Democrats and one independent voted for a filibuster--doing everything in their power to prevent Samuel Alito from replacing Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.

We should encourage more senators to show this kind of courage by thanking those who stand up for our values. I just took 5 minutes to write a quick note of appreciation to the senators who supported the filibuster. You can do the same at:

http://political.moveon.org/alitothanks/

MoveOn will pass on the note to the 25 senators who did all they could to stop Alito from being confirmed as the next Supreme Court justice.

Here's what I wrote. As you'll see, I leavened my expressions of gratitude with a little tough love:

Dear senator,

I appreciate your willingness to support a filibuster. I must also, however, express my frustration at the "last minute" nature of this move, which, I'm convinced, doomed it from get-go.

Please fight back harder against these anti-American, borderline-fascist thugs. We're dying out here. The country we love is disintegrating before our eyes, and despite the fact that both the president's and the Republican-led Congress's approval numbers are at historic lows, it too often feels as if our Democratic representatives in Congress are afraid to fight back.

We need a true opposition party in place until the day we can take back at least one house of Congress. If we don't fight back, it will soon be too late.

So, again I say, thanks for what you did, but please -- I'm begging you -- do more. Risk something. What's the point of preserving your place in the Senate if you can no longer recognize the country you're serving?

Sincerely,

S. Brett Leveridge New York, NY

It's too bad we have to pat our representatives on the head every time they exhibit a little backbone, but it's worth doing. They seem to need the encouragement. So consider dropping them a line at the above link.