Ms. Herseth,

Today was the last straw! Your complete lack of response to my earlier emails was frustrating enough. But today you have gone too far. And I doubt your comments that this is what the people who sent you to DC wanted. This is a lie! I have talked to lot of people in the Black Hills and not one I spoke with wanted this from you. May be I am wrong but not likely. You’re lack of response to my other emails is a track record and proof to my point. I as a veteran of the first gulf war and all the veterans of previous wars whom I know and have talked with, along with those in the field of combat right now consider Congress's action's and your personal action today to be a betrayal of trust. This is the first step toward surrender to the terrorists who caused this war in the first place.

It is a shame that your hunger for power has turned you into the person you are today. Were you that afraid to stand up for what you know what is right. Does the speaker have that much power over you? You may think that you are just one vote and that would not have made any difference but you were wrong. My heart is sad today not just for me but for the future of my children. Those who would and will serve this country because of there love of FREEDOM and the need and desire to repay those who have gone before them for this country. No we all have to wonder if they serve will the congress pull the rug again and leave them in the cross hairs of the enemy? I only hope that what is left of you soul will not let you go along with the other plans to cut funding or use bogus benchmarks to stop the Commander in Chief form doing his job.

All of your comments about the voters demand for a change due to the November Elections is false. The desire was for DC to clean up their act and do the job of taking care of the country with HONOR, not cutting the troops. Now we see that the back door deals are going even stronger than before. You know what is happening and you may like to say I am wrong but when you listen to the committee hearings and the things that they are saying in public about what the are doing in private is scary. And that makes me correct.

When the next 911 happens here in the United States and you see all the death and destruction again maybe then it will be enough for you to see the mistake of this day. Tell me how we are losing this war and we have not lost a battle? 3,000 plus dead is sad but this is what it takes in war. Ike said before D-Day that the blood that would be lost on that day would be great but, to not take the actions that needed to be taken the loss of blood and lives would be far greater, if they did not take action he was proposing. Same today as it was then. Think about it.

Their is time for you to prove yourself. I am not one who likes to say I will never vote for someone again. But I am getting close with you. Maybe you will realize that most people here in The Hills are not happy right now. Your job in DC is not just farming and the science lab. It is not that simple.

We must never forget September 11, 2001. They attacked us just like December 7, 1941. What is different today is the congress of the United States taking the action they did today. Giving comfort and aid to the enemy.