MoveOn to Obama: Keep Your Word, Filibuster Telecom Immunity

[thepurpose]

MoveOn, who supported Obama during the primary fight has just issued a letter asking Obama to keep his word:

On Friday, House Democrats caved to the Bush administration and passed a bill giving a get-out-of-jail-free card to phone companies that helped Bush illegally spy on innocent Americans.1

This Monday, the fight moves to the Senate. Senator Russ Feingold says the “deal is not a compromise; it is a capitulation.”2 Barack Obama announced his partial support for the bill, but said, “It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses.”3

Last year, after phone calls from MoveOn members and others, Obama went so far as to vow to “support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.”4 We need him to honor that promise.

Can you call Senator Obama today and tell him you’re counting on him to keep his word? Ask him to block any compromise that includes immunity for phone companies that helped Bush break the law.

Obama’s presidential campaign: [phone]

Then, help us track our progress by clicking here:



http://pol.moveon.org/call/?cp_id=758&tg=479

[Radical Activist]

1. Another good reason I'll give to Obama directly instead of the MoveOn PAC.

We need a united campaign this year.

Why aren't they asking people to contact other Senators? Why are they forcing Obama campaign volunteers to respond to their emails and messages instead of doing something that will help win the election?

[madfloridian]

2. United by hushing diverse voices?

I don't think so.

[Radical Activist]

3. Campaigns have two resource. Time and money.

Every minute the Obama campaign spends responding to a message form a MoveOn member is a minute not spent winning the election. Every minute MoveOn members spend griping at Obama asking him to take a stand he already agrees with is a minute MoveOn members don't spend helping to win the election.

Obama isn't the obstacle in this fight. If they were serious they would target other Senators.

[madfloridian]

4. Even a message about our privacy and our rights as citizens...

to not be spied on?

[Radical Activist]

5. Where do Florida's two Senators stand?

Obama can take whatever stand you want and it won't make a difference if the majority isn't with him.

And Obama is already in favor of removing immunity from the bill so the protests of this seem exaggerated. Obama is already for doing the right thing. If we want that to happen then the strategic approach is convincing the rest of the Senate.

[pnorman]

6. Sadly, I'm beginning to have serious doubts about MoveOn.

"Agent provocateurs", in the manner of Cointelpro, is what comes to mind. In ANY event, the recommended manner of contributing to Obama is through DU!

pnorman
On edit: Here's the website to contribute to Obama, while crediting DU: https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/pf?outreach_page_id=6145

[Pastiche423]

14. Sadly, I'm beginning to have serious doubts about Obama

All this talk about Hope and Change is meaningless if he won't fight for what is right NOW! A Constitutional Scholar should do all that is possible to protect our Constitution.

If he won't fight now and capitulates to the RW, he does not deserve, nor has he earned my vote.

[pnorman]

16. With only a TINY fraction of such sanctimonious self-righteousness,

I supported Ralph Nader in 2000 (a "safe" move in Washington state.) I justified myself in the aftermath of that sorry election (as I still do to this date) with: "I make the best choice I can, with what's known to me at that time!"

Would you say the same, if McCain (with possibly Joe Lieberman as his running mate) gets the vote count close enough to STEAL?

pnorman

[Pastiche423]

18. Neither mccain, nor holy joe

have anything to do w/Obama's comments. AFAIK, he made those comments of his own free will.

[orleans]

20. i think this will be rather telling--sort of a sign of how things to come

will be dealt with.

[Pastiche423]

21. You are right

I hope he surprises me.

[Radical Activist]

22. Didn't Obama say he was going to fight for removing immunity from the bill?

So why aren't you happy about that?
Maybe it makes you happier to be proven "right" about Obama. I think a lot of people at DU are eager to see Obama move to the right for their own petty reasons, even in a case like this where they agree with him.

[Pastiche423]

24. The 1st comments I read

said he would fight to remove the immunity after he became president. Has he backtracked on that?

It is my desire that he will fight for the removal of immunity when the bill comes to the senate floor this week.

Btw, wtf does: "Maybe it makes you happier to be proven "right" about Obama" mean?

On edit: With no senators threatening to hold up the bill (HR 6304), one of the last hopes for opponents faded June 20 when Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois announced he would vote for the legislation. Some civil liberties groups that oppose the measure had called on Obama to use his position in the party to derail it.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002902405

[Radical Activist]

25. Obama's statement says he'll work to remove immunity from the Senate bill.

So Obama has already pledged to do what you ask.

An awful lot of people on DU seem awfully eager to declare that Obama is moving right.

[Pastiche423]

27. I just edited my post

Please re-read it.

[Leopolds Ghost]

39. "What YOU ask" -- meaning not what Radical Activist wants

An awful lot of people on DU seem awfully eager to shut down the FISA debate

and NOT ask Senators to honor their filibuster commitments.

You know good and damn well that Obama, in allowing the immunity
provision to enter into law, is doing so deliberately knowing it
can never be revoked by a subsequent act, except by SCOTUS.
The President has no power to revoke immunity and you know it.

[Radical Activist]

43. senatorS

Obama says he's for removing immunity from the bill. Isn't that what we're all for?
What about the other 49? Obama can't do it alone. Don't you think there's an agenda in focusing all the attention on Obama, as though he alone can decide the fate of the bill?

[beac]

26. If he hasn't "earned" your vote, WHO has?

Seriously, do you think voting for ANY of the other candidates will help "protect our Constitution"?

[Pastiche423]

28. No one

[beac]

29. SO, you think "sitting out" the election is the appropriate way to help our country?

Then you have "earned" my disdain.

Seriously, HOW can you even think about not voting? Unbelievable.

[Pastiche423]

32. Do not EVER put words in my mouth!

Those words came from YOUR mouth, not mine.

[beac]

33. Sorry, I didn't realize that "No One" was going to be on the ballot.

My bad.

[Leopolds Ghost]

38. That's why "not voting" is an option. If you had a choice between Hindenburg

Would you vote for anyone who passed the Enabling Act,
no matter how personally noble they might be? Would Jefferson?

[Leopolds Ghost]

37. I was right, they're NOT going to go away, they're going to attack FISA threads!

"FISA isn't important -- unity is!"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3491163

So attack any center-left blog that doesn't
get with the program, even so called "Radical Activist" are doing it!

[Donnachaidh]

7. Move On just showed me that THEY aren't willing to play politics with out rights.

They just went back on my good guy list.

Ball is in Obama's court.

[deacon]

8. If he's about "change" he BETTER make some noise! I don't want another pelosi-type ended up in the

white house. "Change" requires courage and I want to see someone that bucks the status quo, choosing rule of law over politically safe decisions.

[readmoreoften]

10. Seriously. When has a politician ever suddenly shown more courage AFTER an election.

If he can't keep his promises on the campaign trail WTF makes people think he'll suddenly change the world when he gets into office? That is the most batshit crazy idea of all: stay bland and stand for nothing lest you offend the far-right-but-potential-swing-voter because your base is stuck with you. Barack Obama's got some of the driest goddamn powder around. He should be able to spare some powder to do the right thing at least once before the election.

[brindis_desala]

17. JFK voted against the civil rights act before he was president.

It would help if self-righteous Democrats knew something about politics

[readmoreoften]

19. Wow it happened once almost 50 years ago! And you call ME self-righteous.

Yeah you know a lot about politics. I'm convinced. Wow, you really *got* me. You're right. You're a fucking genius.

[EFerrari]

30. So did Johnson. You're right. n/t

[creeksneakers2]

9. A filibuster won't help much now

How many would join Obama? FISA sounds like a done deal. I don't like the phone company immunity but I was much more worried about infringements on civil liberties. The House bill left in some protections. So the bill isn't all bad, and I don't see Obama making this his signature cause at the moment.

[Leopolds Ghost]

42. One Senator has the right to filibuster

Harry Reid would never block a Republican filibuster and he has promised
not to do so.

[tomg]

11. Actually, I am hoping that

Obama, Feingold, Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Boxer, Kennedy, (if he is well enough) lead the fight against FISA. Obama is the presumptive nominee. He is going to be the president. This is the time that he has to start herding the cats. We all know that the bill itself is complete bullshit, and it isn't simply about immunity for telecoms. It is much deeper than that ( like the 4th amendment). But let them just fight it on the telecom issue.

If it is stopped, we all win, throw it back to the Republicans and say "sure we will pass it when you drop immunity." And then when they don't, the Dems get to say that the Republicans place big business interests over security. The dems need to control the debate. I think the best way to go is for him to start acting like he is the president already and its all over but the counting. And I want a pony.

[jaysunb]

12. My message to MoveOn

STFU ! Stop being a goddam tool.

Try this kind of logic before you get us ALL screwed.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/22/154532/464/756/540290


evilfrown:

[MasonJar]

13. Sorry, but Moveon is right this time. They did exactly what Obama asked

about the 527s; they backed him in the primaries. They and we deserve for him to prove he can stand tall. It will not hurt him with the people and he is not after telecon money anyway. He has a lot to gain and if he folds, he has a lot to lose...as in a dedicated cadre of door-to-doorers, who need to understand that he keeps his word and that he supports the Constitution and the rule of law. Those who are his supporters would do him a favor by letting Obama know this instead of making excuses for why he will not keep his word.

[CTD]

15. It's very important that our nominee be on the right side of this very important issue

I will support him regardless. But to take a stand on this is more than just a symbolic gesture. It's taking a stand for the Constitution.

[jimmyzvoice]

23. I Do Not Believe MoveOn would do this

I have seen this story here and on Huffington Post. But, even though I often receive e-mails from MoveOn.org, I did not receive such an e-mail. I went to the MoveOn.org website and cannot find anything about this letter. It seems suspicious to me. Is someone else putting this out to jam up the phone lines of the Obama Campaign? This whole story seems to me to be out of character of MoveOn to badger Obama rather than supporting him in what he wants to do.

Can anyone here confirm if this letter from MoveOn, as presented at Huffington Post, is legitimate or not?

[Hubert H. Hubert]

31. GIYF

http://pol.moveon.org/immunity/080621obama.html

[Stuart G]

34. I have looked at the Move On web site..

There is nothing there about this.

http://www.political.moveon.org/

note the difference in the addresses....the one that contains the stuff that urges Obama to filubuster is:

http://pol.moveon.org/immunity/080621obama.html


Their web site for political action has nothing...on this. Is it possible that this is a fraud?
Something put up by the Repuks in order to get at Move On and the rest of us.

Note: this is the correct move on web site address. From there, you can link to their political action site, which is the top address, not the second one where the ad urging Obama to filibuster comes from

http://www.moveon.org/

[Stuart G]

35. By getting everyone riled up on this one...

They would be working on their divide, conquer and hate routine..Is it possible that the second ad, is really something that Move On did not put up? Just asking the question..

[Hubert H. Hubert]

36. OK, try this one then...

http://www.political.moveon.org/immunity/080621obama.html

[Leopolds Ghost]

41. "getting everyone riled up" on warrantless wiretapping?

[Leopolds Ghost]

40. Welcome to DU. I see you have deep concern about anti-FISA people "gumming up the works".

Enough to make it the subject of your first post.

See: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3491163

[Buzz Clik]

44. Outstanding! Yet another thread on the same subject.

:party: