Make no mistake about it: Harry Reid will decide whether corporations that broke federal law with Bush and Cheney will be given retroactive immunity for their felonies. It is that simple. Harry Reid controls what the Senate will, and will not, vote upon. The buck stops with Harry Reid.
One month ago, Harry Reid considered doing the WRONG thing. He brought retroactive immunity legislation to the floor of the Senate. But then, in response to the patriotic efforts of Senator Dodd, the netroots, and every American who values the rule of law, Senator Reid chose to do the right thing and WITHDRAW that legislation.
Now, alas, the latest news suggests that Harry Reid is preparing to once again do the WRONG thing and bring such legislation before the Senate.
And so, once again, the hour is upon us, each and every one of us, to stop our very own Democratic leader from doing the wrong thing. Our very own Democratic leader?!?
Truly, what has become of us? Will corporate lawbreakers be given retroactive immunity for their felonies? Will "we the people" NEVER discover the full extent of all the federal laws that were broken by Bush and Cheney when they violated FISA? Will all the federal felonies that were committed simply be swept under the rug? Forgotten? Never to be discovered?
It is time for everyone in the netroots to get off their butts and stop this tragedy from occurring.
For starters...call Harry Reid right now at (202) 224-3542. Demand that he not bring this to a vote.
Update: If the line is busy, or his voicemail is full, you can also fax Harry Reid at (202) 224-7327, or email Harry Reid at senator_reid@reid.senate.gov.
If Harry Reid can table immigration reform for an entire year, he can assuredly table the issue of retroactive immunity from consideration for a year. Yes, boys and girls...such is the power of Harry Reid. He is the gatekeeper, the decider. The buck stops with Harry Reid.
When you call Harry Reid, feel free to add anything you want to say about future donations to the DNC, the DCCC, the DSCC, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John Edwards...when one of them becomes the nominee.
Second...if you have any ideas on how to stop this constitutional catastrophe from happening, compose a diary right now describing your plan, and post that diary at Daily Kos. How about at least 10 original ideas/plans, in 10 different diaries, within the next 24 hours? Recommend these diaries up.
Third...call Senator Obama at (202) 224-2854, Senator Clinton at (202) 224-4451, and former Senator Edwards at (919) 636-3131 and demand they take determined, presidential-quality action right now. No excuses. Pledge to give money to the candidate who shows the most determined presidential leadership on this potential catastrophe within the next 24 hours. Pledge to withhold future donations to any one of the candidates who fails to take strong action on this.
Fourth...call the 14 Senators who said they would support Dodd's filibuster of this tragedy last month. Call and thank them for their patriotic position, and ask them if they will continue to support Dodd's and Feingold's planned filibuster to stop it once again. Report back to DailyKos the responses you get.
Here the 14 patriots:
Feingold - (202) 224-5323
Dodd - (202) 224-2823
Obama - (202) 224-2854
Sanders - (202) 224-5141
Menendez - (202) 224-4744
Biden - (202) 224-5042
Brown - (202) 224-2315
Harkin - (202) 224-3254
Cardin - (202) 224-4524
Clinton - (202) 224-4451
Akaka - (202) 224-6361
Webb - (202) 224-4024
Kennedy - (202) 224-4543
Boxer - (202) 224-3553
Fifth...Call all these Democratic Senators and demand that they NOT support retroactive immunity for corporate lawbreaking.
Akaka, Daniel K.- (D - HI) (202) 224-6361
Baucus, Max- (D - MT) (202) 224-2651
Bayh, Evan- (D - IN) (202) 224-5623
Biden, Joseph R., Jr.- (D - DE) (202) 224-5042
Bingaman, Jeff- (D - NM) (202) 224-5521
Boxer, Barbara- (D - CA) (202) 224-3553
Brown, Sherrod- (D - OH) (202) 224-2315
Byrd, Robert C.- (D - WV) (202) 224-3954
Cantwell, Maria- (D - WA) (202) 224-3441
Cardin, Benjamin L.- (D - MD) (202) 224-4524
Carper, Thomas R.- (D - DE) (202) 224-2441
Casey, Robert P., Jr.- (D - PA) (202) 224-6324
Clinton, Hillary Rodham- (D - NY) (202) 224-4451
Conrad, Kent- (D - ND) (202) 224-2043
Dodd, Christopher J.- (D - CT) (202) 224-2823
Dorgan, Byron L.- (D - ND) (202) 224-2551
Durbin, Richard- (D - IL) (202) 224-2152
Feingold, Russell D.- (D - WI) (202) 224-5323
Feinstein, Dianne- (D - CA) (202) 224-3841
Harkin, Tom- (D - IA) (202) 224-3254
Inouye, Daniel K.- (D - HI) (202) 224-3934
Johnson, Tim- (D - SD) (202) 224-5842
Kennedy, Edward M.- (D - MA) (202) 224-4543
Kerry, John F.- (D - MA) (202) 224-2742
Klobuchar, Amy- (D - MN) (202) 224-3244
Kohl, Herb- (D - WI) (202) 224-5653
Landrieu, Mary L.- (D - LA) (202) 224-5824
Lautenberg, Frank R.- (D - NJ) (202) 224-3224
Leahy, Patrick J.- (D - VT) (202) 224-4242
Levin, Carl- (D - MI) (202) 224-6221
Lincoln, Blanche L.- (D - AR) (202) 224-4843
McCaskill, Claire- (D - MO) (202) 224-6154
Menendez, Robert- (D - NJ) (202) 224-4744
Mikulski, Barbara A.- (D - MD) (202) 224-4654
Murray, Patty- (D - WA) (202) 224-2621
Nelson, Bill- (D - FL) (202) 224-5274
Nelson, E. Benjamin- (D - NE) (202) 224-6551
Obama, Barack- (D - IL) (202) 224-2854
Pryor, Mark L.- (D – AR) (202) 224-2353
Reed, Jack- (D - RI) (202) 224-4642
Reid, Harry- (D - NV) (202) 224-3542
Rockefeller, John D., IV- (D - WV) (202) 224-6472
Salazar, Ken- (D - CO) (202) 224-5852
Schumer, Charles E.- (D - NY) (202) 224-6542
Stabenow, Debbie- (D - MI) (202) 224-4822
Tester, Jon- (D - MT) (202) 224-2644
Webb, Jim- (D - VA) (202) 224-4024
Whitehouse, Sheldon- (D - RI) (202) 224-2921
Wyden, Ron- (D - OR) (202) 224-5244
Sanders, Bernard- (I - VT) (202) 224-5141
May the phones ring off the hook. For more information about this issue and the netroots' efforts, visit Firedoglake or Glenn Greenwald.
There is word that Senator Feinstein will be offering an amendment that will kill all the pending, courageous lawsuits trying desperately to get to the bottom of the lawbreaking, and instead, shunt this issue into the secret FISA court so that that this secret court can secretly make a secret determination. Under the Feinstein amendment, the secret FISA court will be bound to excuse any corporation’s felonies if that corporation had a reasonable belief that their actions were legal. Oh boy...an exculpatory loophole you could drive a truck through!!! Can you say: we, the truth, and the rule of law lose? Really people: what has become of our constitutional democracy?
Folks, it is now or never. Make your voices heard, or forever hold your peace. Do you have the power? Or, are you powerless? Are you really going to stand by and let this happen? Are you just going to roll over?