I've been a life long Democrat. I'm horrified at what is happening in both parties in regards to allowing the highest elected office get by and do whatever he wants. We were supposed to be a nation that followed rule of law. I'm watching the Democratic party cave in and sell out our civil liberties at a pretty cheap price and allow whatever the reckless, unethical administration wants. There are a nobel few (Feingold and Dodd) that actually keep me from running out and switching my party affiliation.
I've decided to not volunteer nor make campaign contributions to leaders that will not stand up for my civil liberties. I strongly urge Sen. Obama to continue what he had originally pledged to do, support stripping telecoms of immunity. I'd like to see our Sen. Tim Johnson also take a strong stance for what is right -- and not vote for the bill as it stands.
Senator Obama,
I am a strong supporter and donate money every time I can. I was very disappointed by your response to the House Passing the FISA bill. With the new found Power that you wield in the Democratic Party,I expect more from you. You have given millions of us a glimmer of Hope for our future and the future of our children, please do not turn out to be like the rest of "Them".
As Benjamin Franklin said:
Those who sacrifice Liberty for Security, deserve neither. (Para quote)
When I think of Hoyer or Rockefeller or Reyes I think of senators who would gladly and swiftly trade their political gain for our civil liberties. When I think of Senator Obama, I think the exact opposite. Yet ..... there are far too many of us on hundreds of blogs arguing the merits of this latest FISA bill.
Personally, I think it's poorly worded and poorly constructed, but I'm not an attorney, I just work for one. However, my biggest concern is the immunity issue. I cannot wrap my head around Senator Obama's ok on this crappy bill!
I cannot stress my support for this campaign enough nor can I stress my disagreement with his support of this issue.
Senator Obama: I fervently hope that you will rethink your position on this very important issue and even though FISA will no doubt pass, everybody (Dems, Reps, Indies) needs to know you support the 4th Amendment and that you have not put your millions of core supporters on the back burner while you make nice with Middle America and/or the grand supporters of Keeping Us All Safe.
Thank you, Senator Obama. We are very hopeful you will stand strong and vote "no" when this legislation comes up for a vote. Please make it a priority.
Per a tip from Firedoglake (this blogpost) here’s a campaign that is making “robocalls” to constituents of a Congressman who supported the FISA capitulation—er, “compromise.” Awesome.
Here's the YOUTUBE URL
What I really like about this campaign is that it intelligently identifies the hypocrisy of granting telecom amnesty—Congress is tripping over itself to protect big business against liability for illegal behavior, while doing nothing about serious inequities that cause unfair outcomes for ordinary people. In the criminal justice context, this includes excessive punishment for petty crimes and wrongful conviction of innocent people. In the civil justice context, this means helping corporations avoid the consequences of harmful behavior, while leaving the victims high and dry.
Oh well, at least the only thing at stake here are our Constitutional rights and our ability to protect ourselves against corporate abuse.
For background on FISA and a link to all our previous FISA blogposts, click here.
As our anger grows over this FISA compromise, I wanted to put this in perspective. Have you ever agreed with a presidential candidate on every single issue or position? I suspect not. We are understandably furious over FISA and we should continue to fight. Even after the senate vote we should continue to call and email every senator and congressman and both presidential campaigns. We should continue gathering signatures for petitions. But most importantly, we should continue supporting Barack Obama with vigor.
This election is bigger than you, bigger than me, bigger than FISA. FISA won't be the only legislation that craps all over your rights if we lose this election. Don't sit on the sidelines and let FISA be the nail in all of our coffins. The lives of starving Iraqi orphans, the lives of working American families, and the future trajectory of the entire planet is riding on this election. If you want to sit around and pout about FISA, fine. But there is so much more you can do that is positive. How about volunteering to re-elect Congressman Kucinich who stood up against FISA? Do something. But don't ruin this chance for the rest of us.
So when millions of innocent children are killed in Iran under a McCain administration and millions more are orpaned, you can tell them that you let it happen because you were sour about your privacy being violated. When we kill off a couple hundred more endangered species, at least we'll have our privacy. When your buddy leaves for his 6th tour in Iraq and comes back missing an arm and his GI Bill isn't enough to send him to college, tell him you're sorry but you were just so mad about FISA.
Keep standing up against FISA. Keep standing up for all your rights. But don't do it at the expense of everyone else. Fight hard, fight smart, but win the damn election!
I'm sorry Sen. Obama... but there is NO reason for you to believe that warrantless wire-tapping could be good for America. So please... vote NO AGAINST FISA!!! The bill will probably pass w/o your vote anyway... but at least we Americans will know that you support the US Constitution and our 4th amendment rights. If you are worried about being a 'flip flopper' for saying no... then saying yes... and voting no anyway, use US as your excuse. Prove that your social networking idea works and that you are a politician who actually listens to your constituents/supporters.
Simulated Press Conference...
Reporter: Sen. Obama, why have you changed your mind again and chosen to vote against the FISA bill?
Sen. Obama: Because I listen to the grassroot people who have supported me throughout my campaign. They have overwhelmingly spoke out against FISA on my social networking site. As I've said throughout the primary... that my job is not to cower to the corporations and their paid lobbyists like the Bush Administration has done and what Sen. McCain has shown he will do. I want to CHANGE the way American politics is going. I want to be the President of the people... voted by the people... who works for the people of America.
Thank you Mr. Obama for giving us the hope to believe in you... please don't disappoint us now.
TM Hamiel
