The FISA Burden May Now Be On YOU!

I’ve been asked to write a post on Chris Dodd once a week as part of the MyDD candidate series. I’m not affiliated with the Dodd campaign in any way, but you’ll be seeing a lot more about Dodd from me over the next few weeks. If you don’t like it, well tough.

Today, starting at around 10 am, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be revising and possibly voting on a new FISA law, as Matt Browner Hamlin previously mentioned. The issues at stake, as I’m sure you know, are twofold. First, Chris Dodd (and I) believes that there should be no immunity for lawbreaking telecom companies that spied on American citizens starting before 9/11. Folks, this is not about terrorism. Second, the FISA legislation in its current form allows the government to obtain “umbrella warrants,” which allow it to spy on a wide net of people. Dodd (and I) believe this is unconstitutional, going against 4th amendment rights barring unlawful search and seizure.

Just yesterday, word came out that the latest version of the FISA bill had the government taking responsibility for the telecom’s sins, which means that if the government is sued as a result of illegal wiretaps, the taxpayer will end up bearing the cost. The Dodd campaign has come out against this stupid “compromise,” saying:

The taxpayers of the United States should not have to pick up the tab for corporate telecom giants who broke the law by enabling the government to spy on those very taxpayers. Asking the American people to foot the bill is simply adding insult to injury.

I couldn’t agree more. It would be one thing if we were talking about holding Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, and any others that authorized these programs personally responsible, but that kind of “compromise” is just wishful thinking from the likes of Dianne Feinstein, who plans to vote for telecom immunity.

There is hope, however. Ten votes are needed in the Judiciary Committee to stop this bill from moving forward. As I said above, they are writing and voting on this legislation today at 10 am EST (that would be now). Why don’t you give the committee members a call and ask them how they are voting? If they plan to vote yes, tell them you can’t support any vote that includes telecom immunity or umbrella warrants. Christy at Firedoglake has the numbers to call:

Chris Dodd’s citizen generated whip count is keeping track of the votes. If you get an answer from any of these Senators, make sure you update the Dodd campaign so they can update their numbers. It’ll take 10 no votes to win this fight, let’s get there!

I’m glad Chris Dodd is taking a leadership position on this issue. It’s one that’s important to me, and I know it’s one that resonates deeply with many other Americans. This kind of leadership is one of the main reasons I support Dodd and it’s the kind of strong leadership we need after eight years of Bush’s anti-government.

As you well know, if FISA passes the Judiciary Committee, Chris Dodd has informed Harry Reid that Dodd has placed a hold on the bill and will filibuster it if it gets to the Senate floor. I hope it won’t come to that, but if it does, I’ll be happy to have someone like Chris Dodd on my side to fight the good fight for me.

(cross posted at MyDD)

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