[cross-posted at Daily Kos]
The Netroots community has been all over of the story of California state Senator Leland Yee, who began receiving death threats after he demanded an apology from Rush Limbaugh, who delivered a rant on his show ridiculing individuals of Chinese descent.
Media Matters and diarists at Daily Kos deserve thanks for their coverage; our own recap of those events is available here.
Sadly, this story is growing uglier by the day – but now there’s a new way you can help.
Senator Yee’s office has reported receiving a new set of threatening letters, some of which bear crosshair graphics. Meanwhile, Limbaugh’s supporters are flooding Senator Yee’s office with hundreds of phone calls actually supporting Limbaugh’s hateful remarks!
That means it’s more important than ever to show Senator Yee and his staff that they’re not alone – that we stand with Senator Yee as he stands against hate.
So the DLCC is calling on our supporters and progressives everywhere to sign our petition thanking Senator Yee for his effort, and we’re encouraging everyone who signs to add their own personal message we can deliver to Senator Yee along with our letter.
We’ve seen this kind of ugliness before.
Last year, a Democratic candidate in Kansas received similar threats against his life – but they weren’t mailed to his office; they were left on the doorstep of his home.
We responded then by speaking out, and by adding his district to our list of Essential Races for 2010. Our candidate proved that he wouldn’t be intimidated, and Democrats everywhere stood with him.
Now another Democrat is being threatened, and we’re asking you to join the DLCC once again in standing with him.
Many of you have already joined Senator Yee’s campaign calling on advertisers to stop supporting Limbaugh’s brand of hate radio – and if you haven’t already, we urge you to do so. There’s still plenty of time to add your support.
But we wanted to do something more personal. These threats have been directed against Senator Yee personally, so he deserves to hear a personal message of support. Angry phone calls from Limbaugh supporters shouldn’t be the only thing Senator Yee and his staff hear.
Please visit www.dlcc.org/petition/Yee to thank Senator Yee for doing what’s right.
For more background on this story, watch Senator Yee’s interview on MSNBC’s The Ed Show, explaining why it’s so important to stand against hate, and then please add your name to our petition: