As Always with The GOP, Every Accusation Is A Confession
QUICK READ: The acceleration of attacks on the legitimacy of federal institutions over the past decade should alarm anyone concerned with the health of our democracy. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and authority.
CONTENTS:
BACKGROUND
A reliable truism of the Trump era, according to Josh Marshall, is that “[a]ny power center outside of Trump and the right wing is a threat that needs to be neutralized. Media. Universities. Corporations. Law enforcement.”
A relentless drumbeat about “deep state” boogeymen, once central only to the discourse of MAGA Republicans, QAnoners, and rightwing extremists, has been fully mainstreamed by today’s increasingly authoritarian GOP.
We cannot lose sight of just how important institutions, like the FBI, the free press, and the Center for Disease Control, are to our democracy’s continued health, and the acceleration of the attacks on their legitimacy over the past decade must alarm us all.
In the latest chaos theater, MAGA Republicans are clambering over one another to totally discredit the FBI and take ownership over its demise. At a certain point, however, their false narratives “take on a life of their own,” completely undermining its crucial work on public corruption, civil rights, white-collar and violent crime, domestic terrorism, and espionage.
And yet, politicizing the FBI like this is precisely what their very complaint is all about in the first place.
Oh irony.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
*SEN. WYDEN:* Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
Script for Val Hoyle (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
The corruption and ethical lapses of the Supreme Court’s MAGA Judges, It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
Script for Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05)
Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
Script for Andrea Salinas (OR-06)
Salem office: 503-385-0906 | DC office: 202-225-5643
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is critical to retain and empower the institution that has the authority to protect the Constitution and investigate crime at the federal level in a manner largely independent of political parties. We need to defend and uphold the FBI’s legitimacy and autonomy.
