Senator Barack Obama
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Senator Obama:
On February 12 of this year you stood up for the rule of law and stood against an outlaw administration that has challenged the Bill of Rights and the Constitution in ways that most Americans agree are serious enough to warrant the President’s and the Vice President’s impeachment. You said,
“I am proud to stand with Senator Dodd, Senator Feingold and a grassroots movement of Americans who are refusing to let President Bush put protections for special interests ahead of our security and our liberty. There is no reason why telephone companies should be given blanket immunity to cover violations of the rights of the American people - we must reaffirm that no one in this country is above the law.
“We can give our intelligence and law enforcement community the powers they need to track down and take out terrorists without undermining our commitment to the rule of law, or our basic rights and liberties. That is why I am proud to cosponsor several amendments that protect our privacy while making sure we have the power to track down and take out terrorists.
“This Administration continues to use a politics of fear to advance a political agenda. It is time for this politics of fear to end. We are trying to protect the American people, not special interests like the telecommunications industry. We are trying to ensure that we don’t sacrifice our liberty in pursuit of security, and it is past time for the Administration to join us in that effort.”
We were so proud of you then.
We, the thousands of us, the hundreds of thousands of us who have been led to believe that you represent a strong and uncompromising chance to make a change in this country’s direction will be watching closely this week to see how effective you can be in rallying your party to the side of Senator Dodd and Senator Feingold. I am merely one of a vast number of people who contrasted your attitude with that of the insiders who were willing to let the President and the industry off the hook. We liked what we saw, Senator. We wanted that man to lead this country.
If you can not send a bill to the President that assures our security through the FISA process, but does not pardon any past lawlessness, then many of us will break ranks in disillusionment. Send the President a strong and uncompromising bill and let him veto it if he dares. This is your chance to show us that you can stick by what you say. I urge you to take that chance, and if that raises the “national security question” early in your campaign against Senator McCain, so be it. You can’t beat McCain by behaving like him. Stand up for yourself. Stand up for us all. Stand with Senators Dodd and Feingold against the forces of lawlessness. Strike down the telecommunications immunity provisions in H.R. 6304.
Sincerely,
Frank Paynter
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
JH 06.25.08 at 10:11
“I urge you to take that chance, and if that raises the “national security question” early in your campaign against Senator McCain, so be it. You can’t beat McCain by behaving like him. Stand up for yourself. Stand up for us all. Stand with Senators Dodd and Feingold against the forces of lawlessness. Strike down the telecommunications immunity provisions in H.R. 6304.”
Indeed .. no better chance to make “Yes, We Can” something real as opposed to just more rhetoric.
Zo 06.28.08 at 6:43
Now, Frank. I wouldn’t be too hasty.
See my recent post, http://www.humorlessbitch.com/2008/06/sweetest-things-turn-sourest.html
He’s just too damn smart. There will be politics (like, There Will Be Blood) and I’m for not second-guessing the guy. I’m also for letting him get himself elected.
I know, I know, the bloggo-sphere is hysterical on this one—and I could be wrong (but how often does that happen) but Intuition Speaks. I listen.
fp 06.29.08 at 10:40
He has this week to prove himself a man of his word, a cut above the average politician. If this bill is passed without amendment and without Obama’s urging change, then he has underscored the “politics as usual” nature of his candidacy and we might as well have Hillary as our candidate. He has the power to make an issue of this, to affect change now, when it counts. If he doesn’t use that power, then he is morally and ethically compromised, his motto chnaged from “Yes we can!!” to “No we won’t.”
zo 07.02.08 at 7:01
Let’s try this again, Frank. It just ain’t that simple.
http://www.humorlessbitch.com/2008/07/power-to-people.html
Frank Paynter 07.03.08 at 9:34
Nothing to argue about in the power of that presentation, Zo. I hope he uses his unifying vision and power to organize support for an amendment to the FISA bill stripping telecom immunity, permitting civil litigation as well as criminal prosecution of those who broke the law and those who put them up to it.
Obama, a student of Saul Alinsky, knows what it means to organize issue by issue. He understands that change can be influenced as much from the outside as from the inside of th epolitical establishment. He’s in awkward spot: at once an insider and an outsider. So it’s up to us to remind him, issue by issue, of what we the people require.
I’ll refer you to Isaiah Chapter 32 for grins, and — unrelated — let you know that I was listening to this when I turned to the Obama promo in your post. I’m glad I did, I was inspired, but now return to my regular programming.