Why is Hillary Clinton the ONLY Democratic candidate to IGNORE the "American Freedom Pledge"?

[Faryn Balyncd]

Senator Obama Signs American Freedom Pledge in Support of the Constitution


Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) signed the American Freedom Pledge yesterday, expressing his commitment to protecting and defending the Constitution. With Senator Obama’s pledge, all of the Democratic presidential candidates except Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) have now either signed the pledge...

http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=118&Itemid=59

John Nichols, The Nation:

CLINTON WON'T COMMIT TO RENEW CONSTITUTION...

Illinois Senator Barack Obama has finally signed the American Freedom Pledge, joining his fellow Democratic presidential candidates in encouraging the restoration of basic Constitutional principles after the battering they have taken during the Bush-Cheney era.

All the Democrats, that is, except New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

The effort to get presidential contenders to sign on the American Freedom Pledge has been promoted by organizations ranging from the Center for Constitutional Rights to Human Rights Watch, MoveOn.org , Amnesty International USA, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and True Majority.

The pledge is anything but radical. It simply asks candidates to affirm a statement that reads: "We are Americans, and in our America we do not torture, we do not imprison people without charge or legal remedy, we do not tap people's phones and emails without a court order, and above all we do not give any President unchecked power. I pledge to fight to protect and defend the Constitution from attack by any President."..........


http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=239574

What is the American Freedom Pledge?

The American Freedom Campaign Agenda



At critical moments in our history, Americans have been called upon to protect our Constitutional guarantees of liberty and justice. We face such a moment today. The American Freedom Campaign is a non-partisan citizens' alliance formed to reverse the abuse of executive power and restore our system of checks and balances with these ten goals:


Fully restore the right to challenge the legality of one's detention, or habeas corpus, and the right of detained suspects to be charged and brought to trial.

Prohibit torture and all cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Prohibit the use of secret evidence.

Prohibit the detention of anyone, including U.S. citizens, as an "enemy combatant" outside the battlefield, and on the President's say-so alone.

Prohibit the government from secretly breaking and entering our homes, tapping our phones or email, or seizing our computers without a court order, on the President's say-so alone.

Prohibit the President from "disappearing" anyone and holding them in secret detention.

Prohibit the executive from claiming "state secrets" to deny justice to victims of government misdeeds, and from claiming "executive privilege" to obstruct Congressional oversight and an open government.

Prohibit the abuse of signing statements, where the President seeks to disregard duly enacted provisions of bills.

Use the federal courts, or courts-martial, to charge and prosecute terrorism suspects, and close Guantanamo down.

Reaffirm that the Espionage Act does not prohibit journalists from reporting on classified national security matters without fear of prosecution.

Who is behind the American Freedom Campaign?

Allies & Supporters


The American Freedom Campaign is being conducted in partnership with…

ACLU of Southern California
Amnesty International USA
Brennan Center for Justice
Campaign to Defend the Constitution
Center for Constitutional Rights
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Human Rights Watch
MoveOn.org
True Majority


(The American Freedom Campaign does not necessarily speak on behalf of its organizational members.)



We applaud the work of other prominent civil liberties and human rights organizations:

American Civil Liberties Union
Human Rights First
People For the American Way

If your organization is interested in joining the American Freedom Campaign, please contact AFC at [email protected].


http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=45

Should Hillary Clinton hear what Americans (and the Democratic base) thinks?



From Senator Clinton's website:

CONTACT
SENATOR CLINTON





"It is very important to me that I hear from my constituents and I hope that you will not hesitate to share your thoughts and concerns with me. Addresses and contact information for my offices located throughout New York State and Washington, DC, are listed below."



Email Senator Clinton

Comment on an Issue
Request Help with Federal Agencies
Request a Flag
Invitations/Meeting/Scheduling Requests




Contact Senator Clinton through her offices:


Albany/Hudson Valley
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Leo W. O'Brien Federal Office Building
1 Clinton Square
Room 821
Albany, NY 12207
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Rochester Region
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Kenneth B. Keating Federal Office Building
100 State Street
Room 3280
Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Buffalo/Western New York
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Larkin at Exchange
726 Exchange Street
Suite 511
Buffalo, NY 14210
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Rockland and Putnam Counties
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
P.O. Box 47
Nyack, NY 10960
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Long Island
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
155 Pinelawn Road
Suite 250 North
Melville, NY 11747
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Syracuse/Central New York
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
James M. Hanley Federal Building
100 South Clinton Street
P.O. Box 7378
Syracuse, NY 13261-7378
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

New York City
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
780 Third Ave
Suite 2601
New York, NY 10017
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Westchester County
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
P.O. Box 617
Hartsdale, NY 10530
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

North Country
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
P.O. Box 273
Lowville, NY 13367
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Washington, D.C.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
United States Senate
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: [phone]
General Fax: [phone]
Scheduling Req Fax: [phone]
TTY/TDD: [phone]

Washington, D.C.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
United States Senate
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: [phone]
General Fax: [phone]
Scheduling Req Fax: [phone]
TTY/TDD: [phone]


http://clinton.senate.gov/contact/

[jgraz]

1. Remind me again how many corporate $$ the American Freedom Pledge is worth?

Want Hillary to do something? Call Aetna and UHC and have them send her a memo.

[truebrit71]

3. Ha!! Maybe if it was the "American Freedom Pledge" brought to you by (insert corp sponsor here)...

...she'd be more receptive?

:rofl:

[MethuenProgressive]

6. Obama signed it? Rookie.

Someone please get the adults to talk to him, will ya?

[mmonk]

2. I'm recommending because I am a member of one of those

organizations. Hillary supporters, I urge you to get your candidate signed on and thanks in advance.

[mod mom]

4. Oh come on ...the constitution so sooo pre-911. We may be faced with new

types of terror that might mean changes to that silly piece of paper

:sarcasm:

[MethuenProgressive]

5. Sign some website's pledge? She took an oath to 'support the Constitution'.

"Senator Obama Signs American Freedom Pledge in Support of the Constitution"
He remembers his oath, doesn't he?
Someone please email him this:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

With more experience, he'll learn not to fall for every pledge that pops up in his email.

[mod mom]

7. so did * and his evil minions yet the degradation continues. Think of it as renewing your vows

in a time of turbulence-unless she isn't comfortable in pledging to support it. Why would a candidate make it an issue by NOT doing it?

[MethuenProgressive]

9. You value some email pledge more than than the oath of office?

That's.... um, interesting.
Enjoy your Yubeckystanian Lottery winnings.

[mmonk]

11. It's not an email pledge. It's a serious question put together

by all the NGO's trying to uphold constitutional rights to get candidates to confirm they will protect and defend it. It's whole inception is in light of all the abuses. I personally won't vote for anyone who won't do it.

[mmonk]

8. People currently in office took the pledge to uphold it

and have gone against it. So there is no reason not to sign it especially since it is being circulated because politicians have broken the oath. That is, unless one doesn't want to be bound with any promise, even the most basic one.

[MethuenProgressive]

10. You value a 'promise' to a website more than the oath of office?

It's a stunt. Experienced politicians avoid stunts.

[mmonk]

14. I'm a member of Amnesty International and this is not a "stunt".

The violations we have undergone are serious. So it's not just a "website". The stunt would be to give excuses to people who ask for a pledge to unhold it.

[Faryn Balyncd]

20. Mil. Comm. Act, denying HABEAS CORPUS, passed with support of 12 Democratic Senators, who swore...

The Military Commissions Act denies habeas corpus anyone arbitrarily designated as an "enemy combatant', including American citizens on American soil.

It passed the Senate with the support of 12 Democratic Senators. http://uspolitics.about.com/od/antiterrorism/a/HR6166.htm The oath these Senators, of both parties, took to uphold the constitution did not prevent them from voting to repeal habeas corpus.

We deserve to know how our candidates interpret their oath to uphold the constitution. We specifically deserve to know how they feel about habeas corpus, and about the many "unitary executive" abuses of presidential power of the Bush/Cheney administration.

If a potential Democratic presidential candidate will not pledge to roll back the Bush/Cheney abuses, we deserve to know why.

Does our presidential candidate support the constitutional separation of powers, or not?

Does a Democratic presidential candidate desire to use signing statements and other Bush/Cheney precedents expanding presidential autocratic power in a Democratic administration?




Why is Hillary Clinton the only Democratic candidate who had not answered this question?

[Tellurian]

15. Obama signs a Pledge, but refuses to Pledge Allegiance to the US Flag..

something's wrong with this picture...Oh, Obama disrespects (his) Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

[mmonk]

17. You're missing the point by being engulfed in the Obama vs. Clinton

saga. This wasn't created for that and serious Americans want serious responses. She can ignore it and still might win. But opposition to her campaign will be larger.

[Tellurian]

24. Your missing the point of Obama being the example!

of saying one thing and doing another..

[rucky]

12. Maybe she wants to waterboard Cheney a bit, first?

If that's the case, I'll let it slide.

[Vickers]

13. Har!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Enrique]

16. Hillary hates us for our freedom!

[quinnox]

18. I'm glad Hillary didn't sign this

I don't agree that the United States should not take "enemy combatants" as prisoners. Its a special designation for terrorists since they don't wear a traditional uniform of a country. There has to be special rules for them and I wouldn't want it changed until there was something else in place to deal with them.

[mmonk]

19. "Enemy combatant" is a made up term not quantified in law

and determined only by the bush administration. It is in direct conflict with the constitution of the United States and international law. If Hillary won't sign it, many of us that know the truth won't vote for her in 08 if she wins the nomination. eom.

[bvar22]

21. he DLC helped BUILD the fucking "Unitary Executive"!

(See: Gang of 14)
They are centainly not going to support Restoring the Constitution while their candidate is next in line for Coronation.

Its much easier to manage the Ownership Society with that quaint old document out of the way.

Fuck the Constitution!
Its time to get PAID!

[Zandor]

22. Hillary bashers don't trust her to keep her word

but are outraged she won't give her word.

Okay.

:eyes:

[againes654]

23. On torture??

you keep getting funnier and funnier, please don't stop.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Faryn Balyncd]

25. The purpose of this post is NOT to bash Hillary, but to inspire a commitment to restore the rule....

....of law, to renounce the perversions of Bush/Cheney/John Yoo "unitary executive" theory, and to restore American democratic processes.

[Zandor]

26. You might want to read all the posts

if you think there's no Hillary bashing going on in this thread.

And it would be foolish to believe it wouldn't result in Hillary bashing.

[Faryn Balyncd]

27. The way to neutralize "bashing" is to call Hillary, and for Hillary to commit to restore the rule...

....of law.

None of the leading Republican candidates have endorsed these principles, even though a campaign by conservative civil libertarians, The American Freedom agenda, has campaigned for these same principles.

Erasing doubts about Hillary's commitment to restoring separation of powers, by Hillary publicly embracing these uniting American civic principles, would make the differences between the 2 parties crystal clear.

Ignoring the fact that some Americans may distrust her is no way to address the issue.

Hillary needs to hear from us that we will only appeal to Americans - Democrats, independents, and even disaffected Republicans - by differentiating ourselves from the authoritarians running the Republican party, NOT by becoming one of them.

I expect Hillary Clinton to make this pledge,

The sooner she does it, the better.

Call her office, and let her know.

[Faryn Balyncd]

28. UPDATE: ABC reports Hillary Clinton is drafting a letter outling her positions........

(Due to elapsed time, it is too late to edit my original post with this UPDATE)



ABC News is now reporting that Hillary Clinton is drafting a letter outlining broad agreement with the principles of the American Freedom Campaign:

Clinton Endorses Anti-Torture Pledge

October 04, 2007 3:19 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports : Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has endorsed the principles of an anti-torture pledge circulated by a liberal organization, after facing criticism as the only Democratic candidate for president to withhold her support for a blanket statement condemning torture.

ABC reported earlier Thursday that Clinton had not yet responded the group's request to sign the pledge. However, the Clinton campaign said its response to the group was being drafted prior to receiving media inquiries.

The anti-torture pledge, initiated by the American Freedom Campaign -- a group founded by a coalition of civil-liberties groups and liberal activists -- commits the candidates to disavowing some of the controversial tactics employed by the Bush administration.

"We are Americans, and in our America we do not torture, we do not imprison people without charge or legal remedy, we do not tap people's phones and emails without a court order, and above all we do not give any President unchecked power," the statement reads. "I pledge to fight to protect and defend the Constitution from assault by any President."

In a letter to the group sent Thursday afternoon, Clinton writes that she agrees with the statement.

"To lead, our country must uphold its most fundamental rules and standards," she writes. "The next president must not only possess a clear-eyed assessment of the terrorist threat, but must demonstrate the moral courage to face that threat without forsaking the values which set our Nation apart."

Technically, Clinton did not sign the pledge. Instead, she sent a letter outlining her principles and broad agreement with the group's stance, in a manner similar to responses sent by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and former senator John Edwards, D-N.C...........

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/10/clinton-wont-si.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3578940&mesg_id=3578940







Bravo! Bravo!

Standing up to the GOP, not co-opting their positions, is the way to appeal to the true American majority.



(ABC over-simplifies the American Freedom Pledge, characterizing it as simply "the anti-torture pledge".

Let us hope that Sen. Clinton signs the full pledge, and affirms her committment to habeas corpus, etc.)

[illinoisprogressive]

29. She has authoritarian tendencies and wants the freedom to ignore the constitution and be like Bush

[robinlynne]

30. cause she's grooving with the right...