Dear Mr. Trump,

You say that you’re willing to keep the government shut down for years.

The man who’s helping you do this is your puppet in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, because he stands in the way of the Senate’s consideration of the House bill that would reopen the government. Until you told him otherwise, McConnell was willing to keep the government open. He and all other senators voted unanimously to do that.

You’re using McConnell in a way that hurts Kentuckians as well as the rest of the citizens in our great country. The harmful effects of this shutdown that you’ve created pervade every state.

The government shutdown prevents Kentuckians – and all other Americans – from getting their tax refunds. That’s right: by shutting down the government, you’re stealing from Americans their right to get their own money back for overpayment of taxes.

The government shutdown prevents Kentuckians – and all other Americans – from receiving SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) from the Department of Agriculture. That’s right: by shutting down the government, you’re taking food out of the mouths of hungry children.

This is the shutdown you are “proud of” and, apparently, McConnell is proud too, as long as he listens to you and not to his constituents, as long as he serves you and not the country.

Tell McConnell to do his job and bring the House bill – which reopens the government – to the Senate floor. Or, if you won’t do that, perhaps my Kentucky readers will have something to say to McConnell. If he’s not more responsible to the country he’s supposed to serve, he will go down to defeat in 2020 when you do as well.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger