1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Please vote to shut down the government. I know it will require sacrifice and courage, but to save our country, we can - and will - sacrifice, but only if Congress has the courage. Shutting down means no paychecks for Trump's secret police. The same thugs who killed Keith Porter and Renee Good. The same thugs who threw a gas canister into a car carrying a 6-month-old whose heart stopped. The same thugs who shot at a 21-year-old, and a projectile permanently blinded him in one eye. The same thugs who are trying to provoke those of us with less restraint into committing violence so Trump can invoke the Insurrection Act. We know where that will lead. Trump is already terrified that the Democrats will take the House and Senate in November. He's already saying he doesn't see "why we need an election." That sentence alone should be grounds for immediate impeachment. It's coming. He knows it, and so he will do anything to stop it. But we can stop him. We can defund him. We can stop him attacking Iran and Greenland. Did you ever think your constituent would have to type that sentence? That's how far we've fallen. You're probably tired of hearing from me, and frankly, I'm tired of having to write to you. But here we are. I write you and I protest because I need to be able to look myself in the mirror, and I think you do, too. I know voting to shut down the government will probably lead to nothing. The Republicans don't have the courage to stop this madman, but you do. Your vote matters. It may only be symbolic right now, but the day will come when you will be able to look yourself in the mirror and know you're looking at a man who had th e guts to do the right thing. Thank you for what you do. It matters.