take19 - TAKEN!!!

Over the past six weeks, there's been a dramatic change in the way people perceive the war in Iraq. Last week, for example, Rep. John Murtha dramatically called for the U.S. to withdraw, despite the fact that he's long been a hawk. And, of course, the number of dead American soldiers reached the 2,000 mark. One would think, or at least hope, that Sue, or at least one of her minions, might pick up on this. But two letters from Sue that were kindly forwarded to Take19 prove otherwise.

Letter #1 was received via email on Oct. 3 and was in response to a constituents' concerns over the handling of the Iraq war:

From: "Rep. Sue Kelly" ny19ima.pub@mail.house.gov
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 10:26:23 -0400
To: xxx@abc.com
Subject: Responding to your message

October 3, 2005

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns for U.S.
military action in Iraq. I appreciate having the benefit of your
views on this matter.

I appreciate your concerns on this critically important issue. As
you well know, there are many aspects of Operation Iraqi Freedom
that merit continued examination and debate. As a legislator, I
believe that a top priority must be ensuring that American soldiers
and citizens working in Iraq right now are given all necessary
support for completing their job successfully. It has been and will
continue to be a tough job for our forces and for Iraqis who are
committed to achieving a democratic, secure Iraq, but their
courageous efforts have resulted in progress: Iraq is now a
sovereign nation with the first democratically elected government
in over fifty years. That said, there remain significant challenges
ahead, and it's essential that we approach them properly. Please
know that I am committed to supporting our efforts in a way that
best protects our forces on the ground and our national security.

Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to
contact me again if I can be of any assistance in the future.

Sincerely,
Sue Kelly
Member of Congress

Letter #2 was received via email on Nov. 18, the very same day that Rep. Murtha made his views known:

From: "Rep. Sue Kelly" ny19ima.pub@mail.house.gov
To: abc@xyz.com
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 5:51 PM
Subject: Responding to your message

November 18, 2005

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns for U.S.
military action in Iraq. I appreciate having the benefit of your
views on this matter.

I appreciate your concerns on this critically important issue. As
you well know, there are many aspects of Operation Iraqi Freedom
that merit continued examination and debate. As a legislator, I
believe that a top priority must be ensuring that American soldiers
and citizens working in Iraq right now are given all necessary
support for completing their job successfully. It has been and will
continue to be a tough job for our forces and for Iraqis who are
committed to achieving a democratic, secure Iraq, but their
courageous efforts have resulted in progress: Iraq is now a
sovereign nation with the first democratically elected government
in over fifty years. That said, there remain significant challenges
ahead, and it's essential that we approach them properly. Please
know that I am committed to supporting our efforts in a way that
best protects our forces on the ground and our national security.

Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to
contact me again if I can be of any assistance in the future.

Sincerely,
Sue Kelly
Member of Congress

We'll save you the trouble of printing this out and comparing the text of the two letters side by side. Other than the addresses, which we've deleted, and the dates, they're exactly identical.

While we certainly don't expect Sue to get out a pen and write long-hand, it's more than fair to expect her to change the text of her ready-made letters when events change as dramatically as they have over the past six weeks. We'll be charitable here and ignore the fact that the letters provide no indication on Sue's position. But we'll consider this as more evidence that Sue's heart just isn't in it anymore.