To the Honorable Senator Donnelly

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GOP Elephant and Dem Donkey fighting in a boxing ring
Image via TotalBuzz.OCRegister.com

Do you remember this ad, Mr. Senator?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugfGcQJWZRA

I do. I’m pretty sure my fellow Hoosiers do, too. You promised you would be different. You promised you would work with your colleagues on the other side of the aisle. You have a history of that. That’s good.

Now portions of the Federal government have shut down. Several thousand of your fellow Hoosiers, including some friends and family members of mine, have been furloughed. They are not getting paid. That’s not good.

I get it. There’s a lot of finger pointing going on. There’s a lot of blame that’s been cast. All I hear from Republicans and Democrats right now is “It’s my way or the highway.” The House has been painted as a bunch of meanies who hate healthcare, women, children, and national parks. They’ve probably been accused of kicking three-legged puppies they happen to pass along the street, too.

It’s easy to point fingers. It’s easy to vilify. It’s easy to paint yourself as #TeamGoodGuysWithRainbowsAndLollipops while your political opponents make up #TeamReallyBadGuysWhoHateAllThatIsGoodAndTheyProbablyHateCuteKittens.

And that doesn’t help anything. At all.

But I think you know that, Senator Donnelly. You know what it’s like to get things done. And I hope you’re doing that. I hope you’re not only reaching across the aisle to your colleagues in the Senate, but that you’re also trying to bridge the gap with the House. Surely you’ve been able to maintain some kind of relationship with some of your former fellow Congressmen.

I believe you can help lead the way. I believe you can be instrumental in helping to fix what is obviously a broken legislature. I’m not asking you to convince your colleagues to cave in. That isn’t working together. That isn’t governing. I’m also not asking you to refuse to listen to anything that is suggested from the House. That isn’t leading. It’s bullying. You’re no bully. And the fine people of the State of Indiana didn’t send you to Washington to be a bully.

I don’t care who started it. I don’t care if the other side is being pig-headed. I would like for you to help end it. I believe this is your time to step in and provide real leadership where the Majority Leader and the Speaker have failed. I believe you can help blaze a trail of unity in a climate where partisanship reigns supreme. I know. This isn’t going to be easy. But you can do it.

That is, after all, what you promised to do if you were sent to Washington as the Honorable Senator from the State of Indiana.

I hope you haven’t forgotten.

Sincerely,
Matt
A concerned Hoosier

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Matt Todd

Howdy. I'm Matt. My wife, Christy, and I have four kids and two dogs, I'm passionate about orphan care. I'm a die-hard fan of the Evansville Aces, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Star Wars. I'm trying to live life by the Todd family motto: "It behooves us to live!"
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