The FISA backlash from his own supporters became too loud for Obama to ignore. The Senator Obama - Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right group on my.barackobama.com has over 16,000 members, making it the largest group on the site. Senator Obama’s response is long and filled with excuses.
I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to those of you who oppose my decision to support the FISA compromise.
This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn’t have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush’s abuse of executive power. It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush Administration’s program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses. That’s why I support striking Title II from the bill, and will work with Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman and others in an effort to remove this provision in the Senate.
But I also believe that the compromise bill is far better than the Protect America Act that I voted against last year. The exclusivity provision makes it clear to any President or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court. In a dangerous world, government must have the authority to collect the intelligence we need to protect the American people. But in a free society, that authority cannot be unlimited. As I’ve said many times, an independent monitor must watch the watchers to prevent abuses and to protect the civil liberties of the American people. This compromise law assures that the FISA court has that responsibility
The Inspectors General report also provides a real mechanism for accountability and should not be discounted. It will allow a close look at past misconduct without hurdles that would exist in federal court because of classification issues. The (PDF)recent investigation uncovering the illegal politicization of Justice Department hiring sets a strong example of the accountability that can come from a tough and thorough IG report.
The ability to monitor and track individuals who want to attack the United States is a vital counter-terrorism tool, and I’m persuaded that it is necessary to keep the American people safe — particularly since certain electronic surveillance orders will begin to expire later this summer. Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I’ve chosen to support the current compromise. I do so with the firm intention — once I’m sworn in as President — to have my Attorney General conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.
Now, I understand why some of you feel differently about the current bill, and I’m happy to take my lumps on this side and elsewhere. For the truth is that your organizing, your activism and your passion is an important reason why this bill is better than previous versions. No tool has been more important in focusing peoples’ attention on the abuses of executive power in this Administration than the active and sustained engagement of American citizens. That holds true — not just on wiretapping, but on a range of issues where Washington has let the American people down.
I learned long ago, when working as an organizer on the South Side of Chicago, that when citizens join their voices together, they can hold their leaders accountable. I’m not exempt from that. I’m certainly not perfect, and expect to be held accountable too. I cannot promise to agree with you on every issue. But I do promise to listen to your concerns, take them seriously, and seek to earn your ongoing support to change the country. That is why we have built the largest grassroots campaign in the history of presidential politics, and that is the kind of White House that I intend to run as President of the United States — a White House that takes the Constitution seriously, conducts the peoples’ business out in the open, welcomes and listens to dissenting views, and asks you to play your part in shaping our country’s destiny.
Democracy cannot exist without strong differences. And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That’s ok. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have. After all, the choice in this election could not be clearer. Whether it is the economy, foreign policy, or the Supreme Court, my opponent has embraced the failed course of the last eight years, while I want to take this country in a new direction. Make no mistake: if John McCain is elected, the fundamental direction of this country that we love will not change. But if we come together, we have an historic opportunity to chart a new course, a better course.
So I appreciate the feedback through my.barackobama.com, and I look forward to continuing the conversation in the months and years to come. Together, we have a lot of work to do.
I was going to give a pretty long winded analysis of his hollow excuses and transparent “after all, the choice in this election could not be clearer” (read: “you have no where else to go”) claim, but the voices of his (ex) supporters are much more poignant. These are just a few of the comments that greeted Senator Obama’s excuses response:
I don’t support politicians easily, much less give them money, and I have to say, this is a big dissapointment. I’ve seen and heard enough politicians tell me the good and bad things about particular bills, and waffle support and fudge the truth.
When i say I want change, I mean I want a leader to take a stand for what is right. I don’t see you doing that here. I see you allowing yourself to be boxed in by the opposition party. A great leader should be able to break out of any box.
You’re the leader of the Democratic Party. You have the opportunity to take a stand, send the bill back and tell them to take the immunity out. I’ve said before, I’d rather lose a thousand elections and be right, than win one and be wrong.
I will not vote or vote elsewhere.There should be some accountability sometime… apparently they got the check and I didn’t.
And as voters we allow ourselves to fall into the same trap if we allow ourselves be be forced into thinking of elections as merely an opportunity to select option D or option R.
Promises of future changes fall flat unless that are grounded on leadership — this has been the essential flaw in the Democratic legislature for years. And it’s sad to see our first real hope of positive change in a generation falling flat in the face of a danger that amount to little more than the threat of a few days of stiffly worded op-eds from the malcontents of our media.
The end of the American experiment will not come from without, but from within — and it cannot come without the cowardly complicity of its people and its leadership.
There should be several Special Prosecutors to investigate and prosecute wrong-doers in this case, the politicization of our Justice Department (Injustice Department), the legal justifications for torture and this whole mess of Constitutional violations, the gaming of Intelligence to lie us into the wrong war, all for Neocons’ wet dreams, the immense violations of no-telling what laws which have been abrogated or violated by Bush’s insistence on signing statements, etc. I could go on to another few, but I would be satisfied with this five (5)Special Prosecutors to restore some sense of Constitutional and Legal Order.
But, I now recognize you do not have the knowledge, experience, willingness, nor desire to correctt these Major System Deficiences.
I should have known you were knowlege-deprived when you sucked rear-end at AIPAC. That organization, along with the Federalist Society which has now captured and made reactionary our Federal Judicial System, the PNAC (Project for a new American Century, the Heritage Foundation, the Americal Enterprise Institute, and all the off-shoots of the Scaife funded and associated oufits, are now the backbone of the Reactionary Milieu now dictating the direction of major war-and-peace issues for Our Country.
Obama, you are ignorant of all of that and I feel like a fool for believing differently..
I was $600 toward my goal of $1,000 to $1200, which is a large amount of money for me. You have just kissed off the last $400-600 from me.
I will now select a few really progressive Senatorial or Congressional cndidates and support them instead. But, I will discontinue wearing my buttons, T-shirts, etc. and I will discontinue my sometime efforts at Saturday Market.
Finally, what disturbs me as much or more than anything is the visual I received when I logged on this evening to see those three young geeks not yet wet behind the ears who are telling me and others about National Security , Wiretaps, the Consitution, etc. If those are your Advisors, there is no wonder you have no clue about the seriousness of our National Situation 28 years after the beginning of the Reagan Reaction. Some weren’t even born by then.
Obama, I am greatly disappointed and angry.
Change is not infringing on civil liberties so one can win office.
I am very disturbed by his changing positions lately. Before anybody accuses me of being a Troll, I have been a firm Obama supporter and contributed several times through this website.
Of course I won’t be voting from McCain, but I also won’t be giving any more money to Obama, unless he goes back to being who we thought he was.
He should remember who brought him to the dance, and stop flirting with those Right-Wing Nuts!
Obama is beginning to scare me! Sorry, but I just had to say it.
The “compromise” that Sen. Obama is supporting is simply an endorsement of the lawbreaking of the current administration. It does NOTHING to make us safer, instead covers up the kind of spying the Nixon could only have dreamed of.
c.
That’s a flim-flam tactic, sir. You should be ashamed of yourself. I will never trust you again. You do not keep your promises, and your word is not your bond. You are no different than John McCain. You reap the benefits, then abandon the position to exploit another, thinking: Oh well, who else are they going to vote for? Well, I won’t be voting for McCain, but I also won’t be voting for you. Con men get no further rewards from me. Once again, shame on you, sir. You squander your reputation for a minor advantage.
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