If A Blue Dog Won't Fight For Our Freedom, We Will
By Howie Klein Monday May 19, 2008 2:20pmEarlier today Glenn Greenwald, The Seminal and DownWithTyranny did posts on accountability for members of Congress who buckle under to Bush's demands and compromise basic constitutional rights. Part of what makes America great and unique is that no one-- not a president, not a Congress, not a multinational corporation-- has the right to spy on Americans without a court warrant. After seeing the TV ads and newspaper ads Blue America is deploying to remind Chris Carney of his duty to protect the Constitution, we heard from a staffer in the office of one of the top House Democrats asking us to hold off a little because he felt Carney might come around on this issue. OK, we're reasonable; we'll wait-- a day or two.
Meanwhile we heard from Eric Massa, one of the strongest Democratic candidates anywhere when it comes to national security. He's running against Bush rubber stamp Randy Kuhl in western New York. You can rest assured that if he gets into Congress he won't be voting special extra-legal privileges for anyone. "If it were not tragic, it would be ironic that the Republican minority with it's habit of fear and smear politics is willing to grant corporate telecommunications companies immunity when they knowingly throw away the very principles of the Constitution that they are sworn to defend. I wore a uniform for 24 years to defend what makes this country great and anyone who acts to destroy our common values is no patriot." Take a look at the TV ad and if you're so inclined, you can donate to keeping it on the air here-- and to Eric Massa here.
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No politician should feel safe (entitled) to their office.
Seems like a very effective spot.
another nancy boyda clone, eh?
So there is little venue for the free flow of truth...
It seems we are being 'played' 24/7 by one power group or another!
"we heard from a staffer in the office of one of the top House Democrats asking us to hold off a little because he felt Carney might come around on this issue. OK, we’re reasonable; we’ll wait– a day or two. "
Imuninity is unreasonable. Granting it BEFORE we even know what they did is just dumb.
I am against imunity. I would like to know what they did and imunity would prevent that.
Too bad we simply will not impeach that bastard and his minions...
The Presidential pardons will be interesting to see!
Can Bush just grant imunity to whole industries as he backs out of office??
We need to get Bush and his gang behind bars BEFORE he fucks up america for good.
We need to be careful not to engage in a circular firing squad. In those districts where a moderate/Conservative Democrat just barely wins by 3 or 4 percent and a real progressive Democrat doesn't have a chance in hell, we as progressives/liberals need to cut the proper amount of slack. That said I don't know anything about Chris Carney or his district but I do know that my Representative last election cycle had a local left wing smear campaign because she voted for military spending bills. Calling her no better than Bush but when I looked at her real record she has been 99% of what I would like all of congress to vote. I wish the congress was more liberal, I wish the country was more liberal but we need to move the Congress from within and not just take pot shots from outside. Every District is different and most likely has been gerrymandered by what ever party was in charge the last time there was redistricting.
I am so glad that I am giving to Act Blue on a monthly basis. It's working!
Go Blue America, go!
he was a plant from the beginning and why did rahm emmanuel drop the ball. the corporatist wing of the democratic party in congress is the DCCC, Rahm's group. Obama and Dean better keep an eye out for that bloodsucking sabateur, and as well, they need to watch chuck schumer and other AIPAC/corporatist spawn, too.
What happened to all the Republicans who spent the last 50 years complaining that the government was intruding on their private lives? They just sort of vanished all of a sudden. I hope they haven't become bitter, or anything like that.
Atilla the Appeaser, Bitter Despot @ 9:
What they MEANT to say was that the NON-Republican government was intruding in their private lives. Since it has been a Republican government doing it, it is Okey-Dokey! Or to quote Jon Stewart, "That's Otay!"
Why wait???
He is that corrupt so why not show the other "Blue Douchebags" the reaction the ads get???
The right would never hold back on an ad like this.
RayC @ 6:
We put a moderate/conservative Democratic in the WH for 8 years, and the result was total Republican control of the government. Then we took back Congress with moderate/conservative Democrats in 2006, and Bush has continued to get his way on Iraq and almost every other issue. Lesson learned: putting moderate/conservative Democrats in office empowers the GOP.
"Earlier today Glenn Greenwald, The Seminal and DownWithTyranny did posts on accountability for members of Congress who buckle under to Bush’s demands and compromise basic constitutional rights. Part of what makes America great and unique is that no one– not a president, not a Congress, not a multinational corporation– has the right to spy on Americans without a court warrant."
Yeah- but they are doing it- what the hell is gonna be done about it?
Not a damn thing.
Bravissimo, Howie.
Gimme a C
Gimme a O
Gimme a N
Gimme a S
Gimme a T
Gimme a I
Gimme a T
Gimme a U
Gimme a T
Gimme a I
Gimme a O
Gimme a N
And how can we "rest assured" about this? Last time we "rested assured", we got Carney, the same candidate we now have to run the above ads against.
RayC @ 6:
One big problem is that people think they are electing Democrats when they are really electing Repubs in everything but name; candidates who will vote with the Repubs. There is no advantage to replacing a Repub against whom his district is riled up, with a closet Repub whom the district thinks is a Dem, and is therefore complacent about.
Fight fight fight! A representative who votes for his business masters instead of the constitution or the people warrants being targeted, no matter how precarious his district. This issue has more staying power than any of the other Bush transgressions. If this goes unchecked, a future president will ask individuals or companies to commit crimes and there will be precedent to grant immunity for them afterwards. You only need high school civics to smell this one a mile away. If they didn't break the law, they don't need immunity. From what other perceived wrongs can Americans NOT seek redress in court? Donate to ActBlue--whatever you can.
FIRST THEY CAME…
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niemöller
While they're at it, they need to remind Senator Jim Webb that "It's the Constitution, Stupid".
So, they'll say anything to get elected, and once in office, backtrack and triangulate.
But let's remember the "bigger boys" who enabled Bush when it was originally going down, and who enable him even now in the non-investigations:
Tom Daschle
Jay Rockefeller
Harry Reid
Nancy Pelosi
And then imagine, if you can, that ALL of the above support Barak Obama, and if he wins, he will OWE them, big time. You think for one second he'll press for deeper investigations or accountability for any of them?
He certainly didn't make any effort to "clean up" the good ole boys in Chicago, so what makes you think he'll be any different in Washington DC?
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