After a week of rewriting and tweaking and editing, I put my letters to Schumer and Gillibrand in the outgoing mail this morning. I hope they are persuasive. When the assignment is to persuade your senator to oust the present majority leader, but your senator *is* the present majority leader, the assignment shifts to persuading him to read the room and step aside.
For Schumer's letter, I said it would be a pity to mar a long and distinguished career in the final act by hanging on too long, and reminded him of how Biden's waiting too long damaged both the Democrats and Biden's legacy. I emphasized the idea of wanting a respected legacy.
For Gillibrand's letter, I granted that, as NY's junior senator, she was accustomed to following Schumer's lead, but that after this long, she is no longer junior, and ought to be ready to act independently. And also, as Schumer's colleague, she is ideally placed to persuade him. I emphasized the idea of wanting to show independence.
I still feel doubtful about whether I took the best angles in both letters. But I couldn't keep dithering about endlessly, so this morning I just printed and mailed them. I hope they are both receiving so many communications from constituents that sheer volume will do the persuading.
