Greenwald's FISA PAC takes out full page ad in The Washington Post

[motivez]

An online campaign to scuttle a deal giving retroactive amnesty to telecoms that helped the government warrantlessly wiretap Americans is growing in strength, catching Senator Barack Obama between the Netroots that helped vaunt him to the nomination and a presidential campaign desire to seem strong on national security.

Last year, Obama won accolades from the netroots by vowing to fight against any bill that granted retroactive amnesty to the telecoms that helped the government warrantlessly spy on Americans.

But last week, portions of the netroots revolted when Obama changed his stance regarding the current version of the bill, saying that while he would fight against amnesty, he would vote for the final bill regardless because exanding the spying powers of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was necessary for national security.

Obama credied the netroots for improving the bill.

"By demanding oversight and accountability, a grassroots movement of Americans has helped yield a bill that is far better than the Protect America Act," Obama said in a written statement last week.

Those changes and words weren't enough for some his supporters, who created an action group on my.barackobama.com called "Senator Obama - Please Vote No on Telecom Immunity."

That's the senator's own site to motivate supporters to create groups that can take action on their own.

Though just created on June 25, it has quickly grown to quickly grown to being the fifth largest out of more than 7,000 groups, with more than 4,700 members as of Monday morning. That's just one place short of the Women for Obama group.

Len in Indy summed up the groups sentiment in an open letter to Obama on the group's blog, writing:

I have worked for your nomination and voted for you, as I did when I lived in Illinois. This has been the election I have been waiting for - one about hope and about change. I do hope I am right about change.

I understand politics and the need to compromise,[...]
However, there must be some point, there must be some principles, there must be some line that you do not cross. In my view, the new FISA bill is that. It is a simple attempt to camouflage the spineless response of a Democratic congress that is afraid to stand up to the President on civil liberties and is happy to allow any corporation to be blameless for violating our basic rights.

So, I ask myself, why would Senator Obama and the other Democrats cave in to the President. The answer that comes to mind most quickly is the "politics of fear". Are you afraid of being labeled "soft on terrorism"?

A quick survey of the members shows that many of them are new to the Obama site, and were likely motivated to create a profile due to posts at prominent left-leaning blogs Talking Points Memo, Open Left and Daily Kos. But the list of members also includes some of the most influential Netroots bloggers including Matt Stoller and Jerome Armstrong.

Meanwhile prominent lefty blogger Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake, along with other lefty bloggers and libertarian-leaning fellow anti-immunity travelers, have raised more than $325,000 to fight the FISA bill.

Their Blue America PAC is already targeting House Democrats who voted for the bill, including placing a full-page ad in The Washington Post slamming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who claimed credit for creating the so-called compromise bill. The coalition plans to follow-up with a Ron Paul-style money bomb, which will be used to target key senators, according to Greenwald.

The Senate is set to take up the bill, along with a few amendments to limit or strike the amnesty clause, on July 8. The bill is widely expected to pass, and in February, similar amendments to strip or limit the immunity failed to pass.

That leaves a little more than a week to see how Obama, now one of the leaders of his party, responds to the new technological revolution in politics that he has championed.

As OpenLeft contributor Mike Stark writes:

The really cool thing about all of this technology? It is exactly what Barack Obama wants to see happen; it comports perfectly with his vision of an engaged electorate. Over and over again on the campaign trail, Obama has talked about what YOU have done. He aspires to represent "we, the people" and consistently disparages the old system of lobbyist-fueled special interest politics. So...

If you want to be the change you desire, take a few seconds, visit this group and sign up. It'll provide Barack Obama with an unprecedented opportunity to lead by listening to the people.

The Obama campaign did not return a call seeking comment.

Telecom Amnesty Foes Lobby Obama Using Obama Tech | Threat Level from Wired.com

Here's the ad:




A link to the group: ActBlue — Blue America PAC vs Retroactive Immunity

About them:

Accountability is one of the most important foundations of democracy. It is time we start holding our elected representatives responsible for rubber stamping the most grievous aspects of the Bush Regime’s agenda. Surely the plans for retroactive immunity for Bush cronies inside his regime and for cronies in the telecom corporations who broke the law by spying on American citizens without warrants, is outrageous and needs to be brought before the bar of Justice. All the money raised on this page will go to fund accountability for congressmembers supporting retroactive immunity and warrantless wiretaps. You can read more about the campaign here, here and here.

After Dick Gephardt betrayed the majority of House Democrats and plotted with Bush, Cheney and some Blue Dogs to thwart the will of the majority and rubber stamp Bush’s decision to attack and occupy Iraq, he was forced out of his role as Democratic Leader. Steny Hoyer deserves the exact same fate.

This is awesome, I think it's amazing to see how technology has let people come together to not just discuss issues, but take action on them.

I personally plan to donate some money to this campaign because this FISA issue is one I care a lot about because I routinely talk with people otuside of the US, including middle eastern countries like Lebanon and Egypt. I don't think the government should have the power to read my conversations on a whim with no judicial oversight to prove why it's vital that they do.

I also don't think that the companies who were complicit in this Administration's illegal wiretapping should get a free pass just because they broke the law at the President's behest. Not all companies violated their customers privacy this way (such as Qwest, who refused to be complicit), and the one's who did should have to answer for it in court.

Obama has really disappointed me with his stance on this, reversing his position and pledge to vote no against it, and not doing as much as he could to strip the immunity provision from the bill

He could place a hold on the bill or, as the leader of the party as the presumptive nominee, rally Democrats around the idea that it's not a good idea to capitulate on something like this, because regardless of what they do or how they vote, the Republicans will attempt to paint them as weak and soft on terrorism..

Hopefully with the pressure from the group on his own website growing to be one of the largest in a scant few weeks, and this campaign generating money and taking out ads will put pressure not just on Obama, but other Democrats who think it's okay to give away our civil liberties to an Administration that's routinely shat on the Constitution and the rule of law

I'm not sure it's possible to stop the bill, and although I'm sure that it's unconstitutional and would not stand up in the courts, we shouldn't have to wait for that lengthy process to play out when there's a chance to stop it here and now.

[thewise1]

I have to say, regardless of the message, I absolutely hate the word 'netroots'. It annoys me to no end.

I will comment on the rest of this momentarily.

[thewise1]

Ok, I read the rest.

I like the ad. I love the statement: There's only one kind of justice: Equal justice.

[lew]

Nice ad.


But why do the Democrats ignore it when their own leaders do the same thing?

Clinton was illegally wiretapping long before Bush.

[lew]

nm, Hoyer is a Democrat

[thewise1]

Originally Posted by lew

Nice ad.


But why do the Democrats ignore it when their own leaders do the same thing?

Clinton was illegally wiretapping long before Bush.

I would be willing to forgive (probably not forget, though) if they would knock it off going forward

[motivez]

Originally Posted by lew

Nice ad.


But why do the Democrats ignore it when their own leaders do the same thing?

Clinton was illegally wiretapping long before Bush.

Hoyer is a Democrat, and we can't go back in time to change what happened back then. It's the whole thing, you know.

Moving forward I certainly feel it's important to hold them accountable, that includes putting pressure on democratic congresspeople to vote the right way, and raising money to challenge them in primaries for the ones who don't.

Obama doesn't get a pass on this because he's the nominee, quite the opposite IMO.. he should be leading on this issue instead of being the in the lead to capitulate

Props to Feingold who's consistently on the right side of issues like this.

[motivez]

Originally Posted by thewise1

I have to say, regardless of the message, I absolutely hate the word 'netroots'. It annoys me to no end.

I will comment on the rest of this momentarily.

How come?

I dunno what else it could be called, it's grassroots online

[thewise1]

Originally Posted by motivez

How come?

I dunno what else it could be called, it's grassroots online

Internet buzzwords always annoy me at first

[lew]

Originally Posted by motivez

Props to Feingold who's consistently on the right side of issues like this.

I'd like to know just how consistent he was on issues like this when Clinton was President.