Your Constitution Needs You

Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com has posted about the upcoming Senate vote on the FISA/Protect America Act. The last time this came up, Senator Dodd led a "silent filibuster" which delayed it. Now it is time, once again. Harry Reid, no surprise to me any longer, is not fighting for our constitutional rights here. He is making threatening noises to Dodd, Feingold, et al about forcing them to actually filibuster, rather than the "silent filibuster" (if we don't have 60 votes, we just won't vote on it and the GOP doesn't have to really talk about it) that he has granted the GOP since 2006. There is no need to pass this bill this week, or ever. If it is not passed, the FISA law that has held previously, the one that honored the Fourth Amendment and your privacy rights, will continue to allow the government to protect us from terrorists in a lawful manner. However, Reid seems to be bent on giving Bush whatever he wants, despite his 28% popularity and the wishes of the people. This is not what we elected a Democratic majority for.

So, please read the following excerpt from Glenn Greenwald and call your Senators, Harry Reid, and the senators who worked with Dodd last time. Tell them how you feel about this. Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of freedom.

When the FISA/Protect America Act legislative debate resumes, the bill (S.2248) will already be pending on the floor. The cloture vote on the motion to proceed on 12/17/07 was a vote of 76-10. (See here for specifics on votes.) The pending matter, as I read the procedural ins and outs from the close of debate, will be the SJC substitute bill, but I have a call in to the Senate Parliamentarian to clarify on this, and I'll certainly let you know what I hear if different.

For the record, "Not Voting" is just not good enough.

And neither is sitting this one out for any of us. So, let's get to work. Congress is about to take yet another recess -- but I'm hearing there may be a procedural maneuver in the works for tomorrow, whether a 30 day extension of the Protect America Act or something else. It is critical that we let members of Congress know that we are paying attention and that this issue matters to all of us.

The Constitution needs your voice today -- so please, call your Senators and let them know that retroactive immunity and a breach of the 4th Amendment are not acceptable. Tell them to stand up for the rule of law -- because THAT is their job and you expect leaders not rubber stamps. The time for leadership is now.

Senate phone numbers are here; and Sen. Harry Reid's phone number is: (202) 224-3542. And Sen. Mitch McConnell's phone number is: (202) 224-2541 -- tell him national security and the rule of law should never be used as a political football, and that taking political marching orders from Rove is so 2002.

We should focus first on the 14 Senators who promised to help Sens. Dodd and Feingold. Here are their fax and phone numbers:

Name	Fax	Phone
Feingold	(202) 224-2725	(202) 224-5323
Dodd	(202) 224-1083	(202) 224-2823
Obama	(202) 228-4260	(202) 224-2854
Sanders	(202) 228-0776	(202) 224-5141
Menendez	(202) 228-2197	(202) 224-4744
Biden	(202) 224-0139	(202) 224-5042
Brown	(202) 228-6321	(202) 224-2315
Harkin	(202) 224-9369	(202) 224-3254
Cardin	(202) 224-1651	(202) 224-4524
Clinton	(202) 228-0282	(202) 224-4451
Akaka	(202) 224-2126	(202) 224-6361
Webb	(202) 228-6363	(202) 224-4024
Kennedy	(202) 224-2417	(202) 224-4543
Boxer	(415) 956-6701	(202) 224-3553

Even if you have never called a Senator before, take the time to call these. This is a vitally important issue.