Obama Staff "Literally Reviewing FISA as we speak"

[kpete]

Obama Staff "Literally Reviewing FISA as we speak"
by thereisnospoon
Thu Jun 19, 2008 at 02:42:42 PM PDT
I just called Senator Obama's office. A very courteous staffer answered the phone immediately.

I mentioned that I was a precinct captain for the Obama campaign in California, that I was a caucus captain in Nevada who broke the story about the caucus shenanigans by the Clinton campaign.

I explained that I was extremely concerned about the FISA compromise currently being rammed through the House, and that it was very, very important to me that Senator Obama use his leverage to make a public stand against this capitulation.

The response was somewhat heartening:

"We hear you loud and clear. The staff are literally reviewing the FISA issue as we speak. You'll be hearing from us soon."

more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/19/172928/234/413/538615

[juno jones]

1. K&R! n/t

[Marie26]

2. They better review fast

The vote is tomorrow - if an Obama statement is to have any force at all, it needs to come out today. But, I don't think it's going to happen.

[tbyg52]

3. It worries me that they are *just now* reviewing it, if they mean the issue in general.

Hopefully they mean reviewing the actual bill - I would hope they'd already know that this has been in the works for some time.

Edited to say that I called and the mailbox is full.

[tavalon]

4. I think they mean the bill and how much political capitol Obama may lose

by fighting against it. Unfortunate, if that's what they are doing. We don't need another spineless Democrat running for President, we need a leader!

[Marie26]

8. IMO

Just IMO, Obama wants this to pass. It removes a wedge issue that the Republicans could use against him in the fall.

[Tatiana]

12. The actual bill was just released.

Glenn Greenwald has the details:

I've now just read a copy of the final "compromise" bill. It's even worse than expected. When you read it, it's actually hard to believe that the Congress is about to make this into our law. Then again, this is the same Congress that abolished habeas corpus with the Military Commissions Act, and legalized George Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program with the "Protect America Act," so it shouldn't be hard to believe at all. Seeing the words in print, though, adds a new dimension to appreciating just how corrupt and repugnant this is:

The provision granting amnesty to lawbreaking telecoms, Title VIII, has the exact Orwellian title it should have: "Protection of Persons Assisting the Government." Section 802(a) provides:

{A} civil action may not lie or be maintained in a Federal or State court against any person for providing assistance to an element of the intelligence community, and shall be properly dismissed, if the Attorney General certifies to the district court of the United States in which such action is pending that . . . (4) the assistance alleged to have been provided . . . was --
(A) in connection with intelligence activity involving communications that was (i) authorized by the President during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on January 17, 2007 and (ii) designed to prevent or detect a terrorist attack, or activities in preparation of a terrorist attack, against the United States" and

(B) the subject of a written request or directive . . . indicating that the activity was (i) authorized by the President; and (ii) determined to be lawful.

So all the Attorney General has to do is recite those magic words -- the President requested this eavesdropping and did it in order to save us from the Terrorists -- and the minute he utters those words, the courts are required to dismiss the lawsuits against the telecoms, no matter how illegal their behavior was.

That's the "compromise" Steny Hoyer negotiated and which he is now -- according to very credible reports -- pressuring every member of the Democratic caucus to support. It's full-scale, unconditional amnesty with no inquiry into whether anyone broke the law. In the U.S. now, thanks to the Democratic Congress, we'll have a new law based on the premise that the President has the power to order private actors to break the law, and when he issues such an order, the private actors will be protected from liability of any kind on the ground that the Leader told them to do it -- the very theory that the Nuremberg Trial rejected.

(more depressing info...)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/19/telecom/index.html

[chill_wind]

5. Man! This is a watershed issue. He needs to come out strong! And soon.

Like.... any hour now.

K & R

[EFerrari]

6. Why is he reviewing the issue NOW? It's been around longer than

reruns of I Love Lucy.

[chill_wind]

7. Here was his Statement on FISA in February 2008:

Obama Statement on FISA
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Ortiz, 202 228 5566

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Earlier today, Senator Obama voted in favor of the Dodd-Feingold amendment to repeal retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies (S. Amdt. 3907). He also supported other amendments to improve the bill, including the Feingold-Webb-Tester amendment to protect Americans from unwarranted surveillance (S. Amdt. 3979), and the Feingold amendment to protect Americans from the bulk collection of communications (S. Amdt. 3912).

"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."

http://obama.senate.gov/press/080212-obama_statement_122/

He chose against blanket immunity. He chose us-- the grassroots that he cites. I can't imagine him choosing any differently this time.

[Bluenorthwest]

9. Reviewing?!?!

He is the leader of our Party and our nominee! He should be ahead on this and shouting from the rooftops! Why is he silent?
It is as if he got the nomiation and now does not know how to lead the Party, or now he just wants to 'reach out' to the GOP.
He needs to be there to speak and to vote.

[DCKit]

10. I'm only replying to you because you're at the end.

These bills are fluid until they hit the floor.

Given some recent revelations about bills that made it to the Oval Office with provisions either missing or added AFTER the vote, there is no way you can be sure that the bill you read the night before is the one you're voting on.

Make the calls, write the emails, but there's no point in getting all freaked out. What's going to happen is going to happen.

However, we should put every Congressperson on notice now that we're serious about our Constitutional rights. Anyone who votes for immunity and/or further warrantless spying has no business in the People's Congress.

Time is short, but we can and should be ready and willing to replace every single CC that's up for re-election in November with a non-corporate, independent Democrat.

The sane people who still call themselves Republicans want THEIR party back too.

[Tatiana]

11. Email Obama RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/contact2

Tell him to stand up and take a firm position opposing retroactive telecom immunity.

Keep it short and sweet. Here's my message:

Dear Senator Obama,

As a constitutional law professor, you know the danger to the Fourth Amendment, among other things, this current "compromise" FISA bill poses. Please stand firmly and publicly in opposition to this bill. Hopefully, you can use your skills to persuade some of your colleagues to stop the capitulation and get to the bottom of Bush's illegal warrantless wiretapping program. Your leadership on this issue would truly be change we can believe in.

Thank you,

Name