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.