Thurston County Democrats

Thank you Senators Cantwell and Murray for standing firm when you voted yesterday to uphold the Constitution and rule of law and reject retroactive immunity for the Bush administration and those telecommunications companies who have illegally spied on United States citizens.  We only regret you and your 26 colleagues were in the minority and HR 6304 was passed to the delight of President Bush who gleefully signed this egregious unconstitutional legislation today.

Like you, we are disheartened to see headlines such as the AP's "Senate bows to Bush, approves surveillance bill".   We need to change this headline!  To do so, we will support those of you who stood firm, elect a Democratic president along with Darcy Burner and other new Democratic members of Congress who will uphold the Constitution and rule of law, and continue to encourage and support all their efforts to undo the provisions of this legislation and eliminate the abuse of executive power.

Meanwhile, we will turn our attention to the judicial system, where judges have ruled consistently to reject Bush's contention that Article II provides the President unprecedented power to override the law.   Both the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation are filing multiple suits related to FISA and provisions of HR 6304.  I encourage all of us to add our names to the ACLU's full page national newspaper ad by signing here.

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Cantwell: Intelligence Surveillance Must Protect National Security and Americans' Rights

Wednesday, July 09,2008

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement regarding the FISA Act.

"We all want to protect our country's national security interests and Americans from those who would do us harm, but to do so without accountability or without checks and balances is contrary to our country's very foundations.

"I have serious concerns about this legislation including whether innocent Americans' privacy rights will be respected.

"I am also troubled that this bill would effectively dismiss 40 pending cases regarding telecom companies' participation in the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program. Congress should not be providing blanket immunity for telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Administration's warrantless wiretapping programs. We don't know precisely what those companies did or the full extent of their actions. Congress should respect judicial review and not take away the only opportunity for redress available to American citizens for potential overreaching by this Administration." 

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Senator Murray's Statement on FISA

Wednesday, July 09,2008

(Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement on her vote opposing final passage of H.R. 6304, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 69-28.

"I am committed to giving our intelligence professionals the legitimate tools they need to make America more secure, while at the same time protecting the constitutional liberties of all Americans. 

"For that reason, I oppose granting blanket retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have illegally allowed the government to spy on innocent Americans' phone calls, email, and Internet activity.  Granting immunity would not make America safer, but would only serve to prevent Americans from asserting their constitutional rights and legitimize the president's warrantless wiretapping program. 

"I voted for three amendments that would have improved this bill by increasing accountability and protecting the liberties of Americans.  Unfortunately, each of these amendments failed.  At that time, it became clear that I could not support the surveillance bill in its current form.

 "I remain committed to ensuring that the government is able to collect vital intelligence information in order to protect America, while respecting the civil liberties we so strongly fight to defend."