Dear Senator Herb Kohl...

Dear Senator Kohl,

As I made an attempt to watch the State of the Union speech last night, I happened to notice a new face sitting with the other justices of the Supreme Court. Samuel Alito. Now please understand that I like you...I really do like you. BUT...you greatly disappointed me in that you did not support the attempt to filibuster this nomination.

Now I'm assuming that since you voted twice against Alito's confirmation, that you realize that we are dealing with a very ideologically extreme person. There is his belief in the "unitary executive" theory which would bestow king-like powers to the president. It would also weaken the other branches of government. He almost always has dissented from the majority opinion, even disagreeing with clearly conservative justices. That means that he is extreme. He also seems to always rule against the average citizen in favor of the big corporations or the big government. Then again, I don't think that I have to tell you any of this information. Obviously you agree, he would be bad for the court and bad for the country.

This leads me to a big question. Why not support other Dems and vote to support the filibuster? I hope that this was not some cynically political calculation. You don't even have a legitimate candidate opposing you yet (with less than a year before the election). You have much more money than any of those that have been mentioned as possible challengers. You can't be accused of being an obstructionist because you did vote for Chief Justice Roberts. So what's the problem? Waiting for a more serious situation to filibuster? Sorry this was THAT situation.

Many Democrats are really upset with you right now. Many are talking about voting for someone else. Some suggest finding a primary opponent for you. I personally think that you are unbeatable at this point and such an action might be a valid symbol of protest.

I think that Bush and the neo-cons are big insecure bullies. Did you ever get bullied when you were young Senator? I did. The best way to deal with a bully is to stand up to him. Neither you nor your party will ever garner the respect that you deserve if you don't stand up for what you purport to believe. You and some of your colleagues had a chance this week. A chance that was wasted in a moment of weakness. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but citizens have their responsibilities also. Thanks for your time Senator.

Sincerly,
Cory Liebmann