Staying in touch

Y'all know of my support for Martin Heinrich in the last election and that he won in the exciting "blue sweep" of New Mexico.

I can't really cheer his campaign and ante up a few hundred dollars for it and not keep in touch, now can I?

So I wrote:

Dear Rep. Heinrich:

First, I wish to congratulate you on your election. I was very happy to meet you the Saturday before the election in the SW ABQ headquarters near my home, and very pleased to have been part of your campaign through my donations. It is a cause of happiness and pride to see a progressive Dem in the NM-01 seat.

I am writing to inquire whether you have considered Rep. Conyers' bill HR104 (Draft Bill To Create Commission To Investigate Bush-Era Crimes 01-06-2008 ). I strongly believe that without some sort of Truth and Reconciliation efforts that we will not be able to move into the future. Like the incomplete responses to the Watergate-era crimes, granting free passes now (whether pardons or simply tossing crime into the memory hole) will only return to bite the American People in a place where we would rather not be bitten.

I realize that as a new member of Congress it would be uncomfortable for you to go where the House leadership is unwilling to go but this is one New Mexican who would like to feel proud of Congress once again, and there is lots of reparative work to be done before I can.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter. I will stay in touch.

Elena Schor writes about Conyer's bill at TPM:

It happens more often than you might think on Capitol Hill: a new bill is announced by a congressional office, with little fanfare and fewer co-sponsors than it deserves but a purpose so abundantly sensible that the plan cries out for more attention.

Such is the case with H.R. 104, a bill introduced on Tuesday by House judiciary committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and nine other lawmakers. The measure would set up a National Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties, with subpoena power and a reported budget of around $3 million, to investigate issues ranging from detainee treatment to waterboarding to extraordinary rendition. The panel's members would hail from outside the government and be appointed by the president and congressional leaders of both parties.

Sounds like a great idea. In fact, it sounds a lot like Senate armed services committee chairman Carl Levin's (D-MI) proposed interrogation-policy commission that has been kicking around since 2005. So why does such a good bill only have 10 co-sponsors?

You can bet that Pelosi and Hoyer aren't going anywhere near this one.

I should hope the American People will rise up and force their representatives to act on this.

And I know that is a fond hope, but I am a foolish fond old man.
--the BB