Yesterday was a sad day for the United States Senate.
It is my hope that the courts will undo the damage done to the Constitution.
But let us stand tall, knowing that by working together we were able to make wiretapping and retroactive immunity part of the national discourse these last number of months.
We came together – all of you, Senator Feingold, bloggers like Jane Hamsher and Glenn Greenwald, organizations like the EFF and ACLU, and untold hundreds of thousands of Americans who simply wanted to make sure that this one, last insult did not happen with ease.
I'm sorry we weren't successful.
I just hope I'm lucky enough to have you by my side in the next fight, whatever that may be.
Thanks for all you've done.
Chris Dodd
Thank you, Chris, and all the others who fought so hard. What a mensch!
Shame on Mary Landrieu and Barack Obama.
ReplyDeleteMoveOn is emailing people to ask them to contact Obama and ask him to pursue this as president.
ReplyDeleteHere is their message:
Yesterday, Congress passed a bill that'll make it much harder to hold the Bush administration responsible for its illegal wiretapping program.
Though progressive champions like Senators Dodd and Feingold stood strong, Senator Obama voted for the faulty bill.
But here's the thing: Barack Obama is still our best chance at real accountability: When he's elected, he can launch a full investigation into wiretapping and the Bush administration's other illegal activities, from torture to cooked intelligence.
Given his vote, it's doubly important that Senator Obama come out now and promise to hold the administration accountable if he wins. Will you ask him to commit to a full investigation if he becomes President? Clicking here will bring you directly to his website, where you can send him a message:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/contact2
Ruth, I received that one, too, but I was too dispirited to post it. He can't do anything about it until he's president, if he is elected president. But if he gets in, we'll need to put the pressure on. I won't put much stock in promises he makes now, however, I will sign the petition.
ReplyDeleteRuth, you have a lot more faith in politicians than I do. The problem with MoveOn's theory is that, if he investigated illegal wiretapping, he would be forced to find himself (and Sen. Landrieu) complicit after the vote yesterday. His hands are dirty from this.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jim. There's that. Basically, the vote not only gives the Telecoms immunity, but it gives the whole Bush maladministration immunity, too. That's not from me; that's from Jonathan Turley, a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University. Check this post at The Raw Story on the Countdown interview with Turley.
ReplyDeleteI don't sense the desire, on the public's part or that of officials, that I did in the early Seventies to hold public miscreants accountable. With or without a law, there has to be a will; that, to me, seems to be lacking.
ReplyDeleteSo let these evil people get away with it. Screw the Constitution we thought meant something. Count on being inconspicuous; you should be able to manage, if you aren't of MENA (Middle Eastern North African) origin (and who knows anybody like that, except for the U S Navy Vet in my Yoga group). So long as you don't care and do what you're told, you should be OK, unless there's some kind of a glitch, and I'm sure we're all sorry when that happens.
And be sure to write us from Gitmo.
Johnieb, do those rules count for bloggers, too? You and me, we're OK, right?
ReplyDeleteYou're correct. Not enough people care.
I've met Dodd a couple times. Good guy. He handled the Countrywide scandal poorly, but I do think he was innocent of wrong-doing. He's not very well-rounded in his expertise, but was nonetheless my second choice of the Democrats running for President because of his Constitutional expertise alone.
ReplyDeleteGood for Dodd. It's about time someone had some guts.
ReplyDeleteDodd was ahead of both Obama and Clinton on my list of choices of those who were candidates. Russ Feingold is my dream candidate.
ReplyDeleteI've met Feingold twice (sorry if I always sound like I'm bragging!). I was so shocked when he remembered me the second time, and he was clearly shocked too, and quite pleased with himself. I'm a Biden guy through and through, but was having a tough time choosing between Biden and Feingold before Feingold decided not to run. Today, I'd stick with Biden, but Feingold would be amazing. He's also bipartisan.
ReplyDeleteYou might be interested in this interview and article of mine about Feingold from a couple years ago.
ReplyDeleteNathan, that's a good piece on Feingold. The way you describe him is close to my view of him.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious. Has your opinion of John McCain changed since you wrote the article in 2006?
The article is actually from October '05, not '06. I do still have great respect not just for Senator McCain's military career, but also his political career. That being said, I am no longer consider voting for him. His position on Iraq is no longer characterized by cautious optimism and attacks on Rumsfeld, but by unflagging support. Iran has become a bigger issue than it was in '05, his shift on taxes is more pronounced, and his shift on offshore drilling HAD to be politically motivated (and I think he will come to regret it on a personal level one day, as he did his SC flag pandering). He beats the pants off Ghouliani and Romney, but I'll be voting for Obama.
ReplyDeleteWE, there was a time when I admired John McCain. But when I saw him hug Bush after the terrible sliming in South Carolina by Bush strategists, that was the end. That was the defining moment for me, and it was no misjudgment on my part, because he's gone downhill quickly since that incident.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Juan Cole, who says of McCain compared to Bush, "It isn't a matter of McSame, it is McWorse!"
I'm glad you're voting for Obama.