Earlier today,  I said some things about you that I wish I hadn't.  I questioned your commitment and your integrity and your decency.  I apologize.  I have made mistakes in things I've said or believed or not fought for when I should have,  so I should not cast stones at you,  especially now that I'm sure you understand the gravity of the situation.  

But what I've also come to do tonight is to explain something to you.  You say that for years you have agitated in the Senate for proper funding of levee construction and river management projects,  and this is true.  When the White House says that no one could have anticipated the levee breaking,  you can just bring them a highlighted copy of the Congressional Record.  You have worked hard on this,  and you should be commended for it.

We all know that when you are a Democratic Senator serving in office during a Republican presidency and Republican-controlled Congress,  it's very hard to get anything done.  About the best you can hope to do is make some noise,  advance good government policies,  and try to use the access your office gives you to the press to advocate for holding the majority party responsible for their actions.

But here's the thing,  Senator--if you're a Democratic Senator serving with a Republican presidency and a Republican-controlled Congress,  and you consistently vote with the  President and the Republican Congress, allowing the White House  to claim bipartisan  achievements  for even their most onerous legislation,  while at the same time consistently stabbing your  fellow Democrats in the backs when they try to do  something decent for the  country and its citizens, it's not surprising that the White House and the Republican-controlled congress aren't going to listen to you when you say there's something you want.  They probably also figure that when you run re-election ads proudly stating that you "voted with President Bush 74% of the time,"  that they've got you right where they want you.

When you're a Democratic Senator and they think this about you,  you don't get what you want.  You don't even get a portion of what you want.  What you get is screwed.  And so do your consituents.

It's very sad that you have to learn a lesson like this--a lesson you should have learned years ago--in this terribly painful fashion.  I know you believe that the political realities of your state make it necessary for you to be more conservative than most Democrats.  But you've been used,  Senator,  repeatedly,  and you've gotten nothing in return.  When your constituents needed you,  you couldn't advocate for them properly because the White House knew you were a weak reed.

If you choose not to resign as the senior Senator from Louisiana because of this,  I urge you to play a tape-recording of your interview with Mr. Stephanopoulos for yourself every morning when you wake up.  I urge you to remember the person you are today,  not the person you were Thursday,  not the Senator you've been for the past nine years.  The people of Louisiana don't need you to be Republican-lite;  they need you to stand up for them against a presidency and a Congress that has done everything in their power during the past five years to hurt poor people for the benefit of the rich,  to ignore infrastructure spending because there's no profit in it,  to gut environmental laws and regulations (guttings which put no state in the union at greater risk than yours),  and to lie to America again and again,  about matters great and small,  as a matter of policy.

The people of Louisiana need you to return to Washington next week fighting hard and fighting proud.  They don't need you cut any more deals with Republicans.  They need you to hold Republicans accountable.  They need you to shout from the highest rooftops of the city the minute things don't go their way.  They need the Mary Landrieu I saw this morning.

If you can't be that,  from here on out,  please quit and let someone else do the job.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tom More

The MOQUOL--I Can Save You, America!