We’re Going After Hoyer

by Jason Rosenbaum :: Filed Under U.S. Domestic Issues :: June 26th, 2008 @ 10:24 am EST

This ad, designed by The Seminal, is running in today’s Washington Post as well as other DC-area newspapers:

Blue America and Color Of Change are targeting Steny Hoyer, the architect of the FISA “compromise,” calling him out for legalizing wiretapping American citizens.

We should never forget that one of the abuses that originally forced Congressional and Judicial oversight of government wiretaps were the illegal eavesdropping on civil rights era leaders like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and a myriad of protest organizations.Â

When the original FISA law was created in 1978, Congress stood up and said the U.S. government could not spy on its citizens without a warrant. Over the next 30 years, FISA has proved up to the job of aiding law enforcement in carrying out their sworn duty to uphold the law while safeguarding our rights under the Constitution.

When Bush went around the FISC courts and approved a warrantless wiretapping program before September 11th, 2001, he destroyed the Constitution and made a mockery of FISA law. Now he wants immunity for telecom companies who played along with him - in clear violation of the law - just because he said it all was legal. And it looks like he’s going to get it.

As the ad says:

Millions of everyday Americans sit in prison, serving mandatory minimum sentences even for petty crimes. Why is Steny Hoyer working so hard to pardon big, rich corporations while so many ordinary Americans have the system crashing down on them?

As of 2002, 1 million Americans were in jail for non-violent drug crimes. Victims of three strikes laws and mandatory minimums ensure millions of others serve long sentences with no hope of parole or rehabilitation. And yet, when telecom corporations break the law, they can pay Congressmen off for a “get out of jail free” card.

This isn’t the way America is supposed to work and some people are angry. So angry that they’ve donated over $300,000 to fight this bill and hold those accountable who make it possible. We’ve launched the first effort of that campaign today. More will come. Please donate!