Dear Senator Manchin: Pass the COVID Bill!

Dear Sen. Manchin,

I am not your direct constituent, but since you have taken it upon yourself to hold up the COVID bill on behalf of all Americans, I feel entitled to write you.

People in this country are SUFFERING. Working across the aisle with people who lied openly about the election, causing trauma in the country resulting in the attempted coup on 1/6/21, and who refuse to denounce the Q-Anon Congressperson–who has threatened her colleagues, stalked minors with a gun and more–is simply foolhardy.

Republicans who participated either directly or indirectly in 1/6/21 must come clean to the public. Until then, they are not fit to be partners of the Democratic party. They have no moral compass, and they have no political instincts, as many of them lied about the election as a gag to gain voters, but didn’t understand that you cannot switch off violence and hatred like tap water. They are too dumb for the intricacies of what the American people need right now, so pass the bill without them; drop them.

What is your angle? Your own governor wants/needs funds for his/your constituents.

Do you read/remember history? President Obama was made a fool of by Republicans who never intended to vote in his favor for ACA. He made some 200 revisions to the bill for naught. The GOP similarly reduced the recovery bill. Are you going for a repeat?

In the middle of the pandemic I risked my life to vote in person for the presidential election. I risked my life handing in my elderly father’s ballot at the crowded board of elections. It was all for nothing. I voted for change, but because of you, I am still a prisoner of 45. I wake up afraid every day. I am constantly checking the news to see what has transpired. I am constantly looking over my shoulder. I worry about the effects of a watered down bill on my neighbors, their school-age children and the community.

The events of January 6 have ripped the bandaid off the white supremacist violence that Black people have always known existed in this country. What does this say about you that white supremacists and their apologists are who you want to compromise with on the backs of the nation?

And lastly, since there’s obviously no one to tell you this, the optics of you publicly reprimanding the first woman and person of color VP, who outranks you, are bad.

With extreme disappointment and exhaustion,

Cheryl McCourtie

Note: A few hours after I sent Sen. Manchin this letter, he caved to his caucus’s demands to sign on to the COVID bill. He is still “both-sidesing” it, advocating for working with his Republican “friends and colleagues.”