To the Editor:

The letter below is my response to a request for monetary contribution from Senator Jeff Merkley.

Senator Jeff Merkley: It doesn’t require money to do what is necessary to get your two Democrat colleagues to fall in line and make a solid 50 person vote that will break the filibuster. 50-50 tie in the Senate then permits Vice President Harris to add her vote, which allows your party to prevail. This should have been done months ago! Pending legislation, which will halt states-wide voter suppression measures and GOP gerrymandering, should have been passed long ago. I hold the Biden Administration, as well as the policy makers of the Democratic Party, accountable for not taking a united front when it has been doable, to break the filibuster and get these vital measures made into law.

I left the GOP in 2008 because I saw its platforms turning anti-democracy, representing the interests of wealth rather than the needs of our citizenry.

I’ve also noticed policy examples during Democrat Administrations (Clinton and Obama) that have fallen short of regulations and structural remedies that would address our national inequities.

I am an 87-year-old, white, middle class female, registered Democrat, who has supported you and other Democrats running for Congressional office. I am asking you and your colleagues to do your job. Get tough! The GOP plays hard ball. You must do the same, to save this Republic!

Polly Brody

Heritage Village, Southbury July 2, 2021

Polly Brody is a former resident of Newtown.