So, I am such a groupie, but I like to think that I have good taste....
I wrote a letter to Rachel Maddow, and now I feel a bit silly about it. What the hell, I will post it here.
Dear Ms. Maddow,
I'll start with compliments, since that seems to be a fan letter template. I am a moderately liberal Democrat in Austin, Texas, and your thoughtful and insightful coverage of relevant stories has drawn me into the world of political commentary. I watched your show this spring, and I was absolutely taken with the fact that you covered important stories such as infrastructure, federal spending, and the machinations of the US Legislature. I have been inspired by your comprehensive coverage of these issues, especially the background to many of the works that the government is currently pursuing. I can't thank you enough for talking about the substance of issues, rather than the style, and I have learned about ongoing problems as well as ways to find out more information.
Much of what I have seen on your show led me to my participation on Saturday in My First Rally (TM). I went to a healthcare reform rally that was thrown for Congressman Lloyd Doggett, and it was fantastic! (link to local newspaper coverage:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/2009/08/30/0830doggett.html) When I talked to other Doggett supporters, we were all sort of pleasantly surprised to see that we had so many people present. There were a few conservative protestors there, and several of them had come from the secession rally on the capitol grounds earlier that day. Mr. Doggett had around two thousand supporters, with between one and two hundred protestors. This was very heartwarming to see, especially after his astroturfed rally earlier this summer. I think that the national coverage of the opposition has really made us feel that we are more alone than we really are, and everyone was inspired by the good turnout.
However, when I watched your show on Monday, you only covered the secession rally. It is very frustrating to me that your reporters didn't take the time to investigate an opposing viewpoint that was happening almost literally behind them. The capitol is within sight of the church where supporters were gathering for Mr. Doggett.
I completely understand that, to onlookers, Texas seems to be full of kooks. But I think that this episode particularly leads into your ongoing theme that a small minority is creating a huge noise about healthcare and any other sort of liberal reform. I think it's important for you and the rest of the nation to realize that Texas also has a large (and growing) group of people who are trying to move the country forward. To me, this is an indicator that our nation is more complex than just blue states and red states, and that we have idealogical differences that vary from person to person. This is probably more apparent in Austin than anywhere else, since wer are considered a little blue bubble in a sea of red, despite our proximity to Fort Hood and Lackland Airforce Base. Tom DeLay's gerrymandering of our congressional districts aimed to break up any Democratic influence liberals have in this area, and Lloyd Doggett has been exceptional by hanging onto his seat. This speaks volumes about the voting public in Texas, volumes that perhaps Mr. DeLay and his cohorts have not heeded.
Locally, the secessionists are pretty much ignored in politics. We have enough other "interesting" candidates, and the secession idea has been bandied about for decades without gaining any traction. (Kinky Friedman, author and personality is also running for governor:
http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=251212) I know this makes for hilarious news coverage, but it really is lending these people credulity where there shouldn't be any. Governor Perry was pandering to the extreme left, and his actions have led to what promises to be an interesting gubernatorial race in 2010. We do have some solid Democratic candidates, but they tend to drown each other out. Hopefully, you can cover some of the issues that will present themselves.
Thank you so much for your insight, your thoroughness, and your relevance. I hope you keep up the good work, and keep an open mind! I will continue to watch, and if you have made it this far into the letter, I appreciate it!