Barack, If You Want to Win on Super Tuesday, Lead the Democratic Party in Stopping Warrantless Wiretaps and Telecom Immunity

Democrats in Congress desperately need leadership that will stand up to President Bush. If Barack Obama wants to show Democratic voters that he has what it takes to lead the Democratic Party, nothing could do it more strongly than if he leaves the campaign trail and returns to the Senate floor to lead the fight against retroactive amnesty for the big telephone companies and government wiretaps on Americans without individual FISA warrants.

Despite President Bush's 30% approval ratings and the Congressional Democrats' victories in the 2006 election, Congressional Democrats, under Harry Reid's and Nancy Pelosi's weak leadership, have time and time again caved in to President Bush. They have failed to put any limits on President Bush's war in Iraq. They accepted a weak compromise on an economic stimulus package, which does at least give some aid to Americans who make too little to pay income taxes, but fails to extend unemployment benefits, increase food stamp aid, or rebuild American's infrastructure, and skews tax rebates to better off Americans and corporate tax cuts that are both unjust and will have a weak stimulus effect.

Now the Senate Democrats are about to cave in to President Bush and give giant telephone companies retroactive immunity from lawsuits for unlawfully cooperating with Bush's illegal wiretapping and allow government wiretaps on Americans without individual warrants. This despite the fact that the American people are with the Democrats and against President Bush, his Republican allies, and 11 turncoat Democratic Senators who have voted with the Republicans. 63% of voters favor requiring the government to obtain a warrant from a court before wiretapping the conversations U.S. citizens have with people in other countries. 57% oppose immunity for the phone companies.

Barack: Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold have courageously led the fight against Bush's unconstitutional infringement of our constitutional rights. If you want to claim the mantle as the Democratic Party's rightful leader, go directly from your lunchtime press conference at Washington University with Ted Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy to the Senate Floor and use your oratorical powers and your knowledge as a Constitutional law professor to provide the American people with a teaching moment on the meaning of the 4th Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Tell the American people that if Al Qaeda succeeds in getting America to give up its constitutional liberties, it wins. Denounce Republican efforts to put the interests of big telecom companies over the Constitutional rights of the American people. Talk about the Bush administration's failed war on terrorism, including diverting troops to Iraq where there was no Al Qaeda before the American occupation, abandoning Afghanistan and Pakistan to a resurgent Al Qaeda and Taliban, and losing America's respect in the world community. Tell America that there's a right way and a wrong way to fight terrorism and the Bush administration has done it the wrong way. Use your leverage with Democratic Senators like Claire McCaskill and Bill Nelson, who have endorsed you but have supported the Bush administration on telecom immunity, that they must not vote with the Republicans for cloture, cutting off debate on the amendments to the FISA bill.

Hillary Clinton has indicated that she will not bother to leave the campaign trail to return to Washington for this key vote on the American people's Constitutional rights. You can do far more to advance your chances of victory on Super Tuesday by leading the Democratic Party in the Senate in opposing Bush's and the Republicans' attempt to usurp the Constitution than you can possibly do by holding a couple of more campaign rallies in primary states.

Comments

[calfacon]

Amen!!

[Purple Girl]

OBAMA,
WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF!!!

This is the product of the 'Group Think'We have been marketed. It is a scam.

Bravo for pointing out that AQ wins when we lose our rights and Freedoms- but don't underestimate the enormous benefits that are being gained by This Charade the Corporationist have concocted and have perpetuated. These are the True Terrorist to mankind- not some idiot in a cave (patsy).
Obama want to actually be the agendt for CHANGE it's high time he started telling US what he'll do to bring these TRAITOR to Justice. Impeach, Investigate PROSECUTE & SENTENCE to the fullest extent of the Law.
GETS SOME BALLS OBAMA!!

[scooperss]

Time to stop talking about it and do something about it. That goes for everything they're campaigning on. There is NO excuse for any senator worth a sh!t to miss some of the most important votes the senate has had in years.

Unless said senator wants to be able to say,
*I didn't vote for that and I don't believe in it*.

[Manx]

Great post! We're so distracted by the presidential primary campaigns that we're not paying enough attention to current issues such as immunity for the telecom companies, one of the most important issues of the decade.

We can't trust wimps Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid. Obama, please!!!

[ljsfolly]

It is truly the time for a leader to stand up and stop the excess that the leaders in congress are not doing. I agree also that the candidates are the right ones to say it and then damn it go the hell to the senate and vote!!!

[HearNoWeasel]

This is absolutely correct. I've often read comments to the effect that Barack Obama's speeches are great, but that we don't know whether he will act on them.

This is a golden opportunity for him, to show all of us who are desperately waiting for signs of leadership from our candidates, that he will ACT and do the right thing.

Aside from that, it's his job to be present for such crucial votes. He's still a Senator and we need him in the Senate to help save the Constitution this coming week, not on the road talking about it. I hope he will see that we're counting on him.

[leftbehind2000]

Okay, if you won't do it out of conscience, do it for cynical political reasons.

Regardless of your motive, do it.

[jurnei]

Absolutely. Obama needs to show us what he's made of, otherwise it's more of the same democratic drool we've seen since 2006.

If you want it.....show us you'll fight for it!!!!! It's time to put your money where your mouth is.

[Lemeritus]

From Harry Reid's e-newsletter:

"They [the Republicans] spent the day filibustering on the Senate floor, preventing Democrats from introducing any amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) bill. This means they are blocking an important amendment, which I support, that would make sure phone companies don't receive retroactive immunity.

"At the end of the day, Senator McConnell decided he would try and stop debate entirely by filing for cloture. That means if Republicans get 60 votes on Monday, debate on this vital issue will be shut down.

"Normally I wouldn't go this deep into Senate procedure, but if you care about your civil liberties and our national security, it is vital you tell your Senators to vote no on cloture Monday by visiting:

"http://giveemhellharry.com/fisa"

Whether or not you believe the Dems are going to cave again, it won't hurt to lend your support by visiting this website.

[Willyboy]

We must insist that the press put the following line of questioning to the Presidential candidates and publish the responses.

"Do you repudiate and reject the policy or practice of -

[here insert one from the well known laundry list of Bush/Cheney executive violations of Constitutional limits, law and generally accepted norms of transparency, environmental transgressions and failures the majority of Americans find to be impeachable.]"

After a series of such questions, which must elicit refutations of a number of Bush/Cheney policies and actions, the candidate must then be asked if he/she then recognizes their Constitutional responsibility to call for impeachment as the necessary corrective.

They must support the Constitutional balance of powers and the rule of law and join Dennis Kucinich in calling for impeachment to make the strongest statement available to condemn policies and actions that undermine our system of government.

If Bush/Cheney are not brought before the bar of impeachment now, as examples of the abuse of executive power, following Presidents will inherit all the precedents for the abuse of signing statements, secret violation of FISA statutes, toleration or tacit approval of torture, and extraordinary rendition.
The 2006 elections put a Democratic majority in power to effect change. The people are not seeing the change they voted for. The majority of people of this nation tell pollsters they want impeachment. A simple change of Party, brought about at the polls, will not make the forceful and specific statement that would stand as the citizen"s demand that their elected officials observe their oath of office requiring them to preserve and protect the Constitution.

The Bush/Cheney administration, with all the power of the Pentagon and the secret powers of the CIA and the NSA at their service, do not protect us from totalitarian domination. The Constitution stands as the bulwark of the citizen"s defense! The Constitution establishes a separation of powers to provide the checks and balances that restrain an Executive"s dangerous or inappropriate assumption of powers.

[cynara]

Yes. Thank you so much for this post. This issue is SO important. We are talking about our bill of rights, the decision whether we will be a free or police state. Barack Obama wants to beat the impression that he is all talk. And he, as a former professor of Constitutional Law, should know the importance of this vote better than anyone. So, show us Barack, show us there is real action, real change below that pretty face! You'll get my vote. (And save our fourth ammendment in the process).

[Spookcatcher]

Amen! The Election of a President is now becoming an excuse to let Congress and the Senate out of doing their jobs and give them cover while the public's attention is diverted.
I said this from the day Obama ran and Hillary also , they are a SHAM! This is a fixed election on everyside and angle. There will be no repeal of the laws that have been enacted to make this country a Dictatorship with a subordinates Political Ruling Class., while the Elitists and Supremists do anything they want anywhere they want anyway they want and stand protected by Our Military and Our Children serving them in doing it. Obama the Harvard Law Revue Editor has not stopped or even filibustered one time since he hit Washington. His Career is a shadow operation. WAKE UP America, we are at War! A Clas War! Clean the Slate in 2008! And vote no more Incumbents back in office, ortheir family members. That would be Change.

[ShanghaiGuy]

I vote in California, and I was planning to back Edwards.

But here and now I will make this pledge: if ANY Democratic candidate who goes back to DC to fight against telecom immunity, that candidate GETS MY PRIMARY VOTE.

[DemandTruth]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU YES!

Yes! This is exactly the leadership we need. I'll tell you, I'm an Edwards gal and he's already sent out an email asking his supporters to stand up for the rule of law and email the appropriate people, etc. on this issue (always first out of the gate on every issue, but alas it wasn't meant to be). But THIS would make me feel great about supporting Obama's seemingly-inevitable candidacy! He definitely COULD show he is worthy to be our leader if only he would do this thing.

However, I won't be surprised if he doesn't. For Obama's message so far has been all about compromise. In fact, the very reason I haven't supported him yet is because of the abysmal "compromises" we've seen so far come out of the Congress this year! I don't think I could stand another 4 years of those sorts of compromises.

I don't want to compromise on my civil rights! I don't want to compromise to let lawbreaking criminals off scott free! (Should we change that expression to "scooter free"?)

This is one instance where compromise is NOT an option, and if he does not step up, then when I vote for him, it will not be with pride in my heart, but with my nose held firmly between my fingers.


On a much more personal note: your editing (or whoever does your editing) does a HUGE disservice to your post. Typos catch the eye, interrupt your flow, and detract from your message. Maybe it's just the English student in me, but you should seriously proof-read at least once more before posting. I would be more than happy to edit you for free; you can reply to this comment if interested!

[DeeLuzon]

if he's going to stand between Caroline and Ted Kennedy at a DC rally tomorrow, i'm thinking it's pretty obvious he IS going to stand by Teddy on the Senate floor.