Dear Rep Harman,
I am glad to hear that you are now critical of the NSA spying program and cautious about any military action against Iran. I can only surmise that my challenge to you in this race has made you think more deeply about rubber-stamping Bush's war agenda and illegal wiretaps.
My message - Out of Iraq and Protect our Constitutional Rights -- is resonating across California's 36th district and beyond -- and clearly it makes sense to you, as well. Good.
Perhaps you could kindly clarify why you said only a week ago that a pre-emptive strike on Iran might be warranted if the intelligence were "pristine." Given the conflicting intelligence reports in the build-up to the Iraq war, the "pristine" reference seems particularly puzzling. Just recently when I met with the Iranian American Democrat Club, its members overwhelming condemned a pre-emptive attack, pointing out that it would result in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and breed hatred of the US across the Middle East.
I have more questions below the jump.
In addition, I am wondering why -- in the face of your new NSA spying posture -- you will not condemn the Patriot Act, which you voted for three times. Under the Patriot Act, as you know, law enforcement can routinely violate the 4th amendment with "sneak and peek" warrantless searches of homes.
I hope that as we campaign together -- so to speak -- you will re-think your Meet the Press statement/Feb. 12th, at which time you "deplored" the leak of the illegal wiretaps. As it has been pointed out on the Daily Kos numerous times, members of Congress are protected under the US Constitution's Speech and Debate Clause (Article 1, Sec. 6 ) should they decide it is in the public interest to reveal to fellow congress members flagrant government abuse and law-breaking.
Great to hear from you. I look forward to the dialogue, particularly since this race is now a virtual tie. I also invite others to respond, as I will be available for the next hour.
Sincerely,
Marcy Winograd
36th Congressional District Candidate, CA
www.WinogradForCongress
PS - I wrote this diary, "Standing for Peace" in response to Coming together by Rep. Jane Harman
Thanks to PeteB2 for the suggestion to link to that diary!