Dear Editor:
The first week of April was eventful in Washington, D.C. The president bombed Syria without seeking congressional approval, then sent out a fundraising appeal based on his (ahem) show of strength. The web that binds the administration to Russia grows more elaborate with almost daily revelations. The Emoluments Clause has been put through the shredder as the president, his adult children, and his buddies concoct schemes to rip off the taxpayers and enrich themselves. Republican power grabbers changed the Senate rules so they could seat an extremist with a horrifying track record on the Supreme Court.
Both Sen. Roy Blunt and U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer voted with their party to undo a Federal Communications Commission internet privacy rule. Your internet browsing history, your online medical and financial details, even information about you gleaned from the content of your emails and chats can now be sold by your internet provider without your consent; to marketers, insurance companies, predatory lenders, governments, law enforcement.
This legislation is so unpopular with consumers that you won't find either Blunt or Luetkemeyer boasting about it to voters. They don't want you to know! They don't want you to associate them with the nefarious things that can happen to you when your personal data is sold. Neither do they have the character or the patriotism to challenge the president, the speaker of the House, or the Senate majority leader on the other matters.
That's why Luetkemeyer's newsletter "Blaine's Bulletin" arrived in constituents' mail boxes on Friday devoted entirely to "The History Behind Washington's Cherry Blossom Trees."
Don't be fooled. Remember their public silence and their votes during the first week of April 2017 when you next take your turn at voting for who will represent you in Washington.
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