STRIP TELECOM IMMUNITY for actions taken before 9/11/01 in the Senate version of the FISA bill

We need to contact every Democratic Senator to get them to STRIP TELECOM IMMUNITY for actions taken before 9/11/01 in the Senate version of the FISA bill. And if that move is to be taken, having Barack Obama introduce it would immediately bring the unity the party desires.

THIS ACTION REPRESENTS OUR ONLY HOPE AS A NATION to retain the rule of law and our Constitutional rights. My hope is that when Democrats do this, some or all of the pending lawsuits against the telecoms can retain their standing. This would allow the discovery portion of these lawsuits to provide the testimony to unearth President Bush’s willing violations of the Constitution prior to his presumed powers in the aftermath of 9/11.

The Senate has the power to undo a tremendously unpopular betrayal by House Democrats in caving in to Bush, the GOP, and the telecoms which are throwing money around left and right to insure their desired result. But by stripping pre-9/11 telecom immunity Democrats can turn the tables on the GOP brain trust. This simple change CANNOT BE FOUGHT without forcing opponents to directly side with corporations and against the Constitution. ANY OPPOSITION TO THIS CHANGE CAN AND SHOULD BE USED TO DEFEAT any vulnerable Senators this fall.

This act CAN AND SHOULD BE THE TRUMP CARD THAT caring Democrats should play after the July 4th recess when they bring their version of the House FISA bill up for a vote. With it they will expose the corporate shills and those willing to tap-dance on the Constitution, and put Democrats on the offensive for once. If the FISA bill passes the Senate with the above amendment in place, then Congress will finally receive the list of who Bush spied on, abuse of wiretapping can be capped, and telecoms may finally get what they deserve. And from there a Bush veto will be broadly seen for its true intentions which have nothing to do with homeland security. A simple filibuster would not expose the chinks in the Republican armor the way this would.

Imagine if Barack Obama were to say this on the Senate floor July 7th:

"Whether telecoms are granted some immunity in the FISA bill before us can be debated, and voted on separately as Senator Reid suggests. What we CANNOT allow, however, is any debate on allowing telecom immunity for actions taken before 9/11/01. Only after 9/11 could the Bush administration have shown justification to telecoms to grant their information requests. Asking for personal communication data before that is outside the bounds of the Fourth Amendment and the Patriot Act.

If Bush wants to claim Executive Privilege, it's time we reclaim our Citizen Privilege which is the foundation of this country: the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The Senate will not consider granting telecom immunity for actions before September 11, 2001. There can be no legal grounds to support that. Any bill that clears committee cannot provide telecom immunity for actions taken before 9/11/01."

That's the world that I want to live in; a world where a strong leader takes the opportunity to force change for the better. An act like this would insure him the presidency because teetering progressives would return to the fold. In terms of sheer numbers, those who call themselves Democrats already outnumber self-described Republicans by 15% or more. A week from now the cornerstones of change can be laid.

Todd Telford
founder, Miniprotests.com
Portland, Ore.