As a loyal supporter, as a donor, as a (trying to, anyways) fundraiser, as someone who has been shooting down smears about you at work, amongst friends and family, and anywhere else I hear them, as all of these things, I am writing to you to tell you: You had it right the first time on FISA.
You were right to say you'd support a filibuster of any "reform." You were right to say you'd vote against telecom immunity in any bill. You were right to say that our civil liberties should be protected at all costs. You were right....and then you stopped it. I do not know if it is because you want to take the issue away from Republicans (who, by the way, are now dragging the "flip-flop" mantra back into our public discourse), or because of advice from your staff that it would bolster your security credentials. I do know that it is not nearly as principled as your first stance, no matter how you phrase it, and that Americans still respect well-stated, well-grounded principle. It is a far greater sign of "toughness" to stand strong on your principles than it is to change a position because you're afraid of what the other guy will say.
Senator, you should know this, you should know this deep in your soul, that no matter what you say or do, no matter what stance you take on an issue, no matter what, John McCain and his party will do their best to drag you into the gutter, because that is all the Republican Party has in their arsenal. They are wrong on every issue America faces today, and Americans are the ones saying it in poll after poll after poll. All they have is their smears, and the moment that you decide it is politically expedient to change your position on an issue, a position you had previously defended numerous times to great effect, you make it easier for them to drag you into that gutter. You make it easier for them to smear you. You make it easier for them to bring you down from the pedestal you have occupied so well in this campaign. Why would you want to do that?
This is not another "political issue." Republicans have done their best to make FISA, warrantless wiretapping, and other such measures mere "political battles," but they are more than that, and you know that. These are our basic rights. These are our Constitutional rights, and these are rights that shall not be abridged. Our government had all the tools it needed after 9/11, but broke the law because they wanted to expand the powers of the executive the same way that Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon had. This bill would give everyone involved in this gross violation of our rights a free pass, and by doing so, further deepens the wounds inflicted on the rule of law in this great nation of ours.
We the people of these United States are no longer afraid of terrorists. We no longer cower in fear at the mention of Osama bin Laden, al Qaida, or any of the other boogeymen. We have long since determined that we were played for fools by George Bush and the Republican Party, our fear used to subvert the law, to start an unnecessary, unjustified, costly, brutal, and endless war in Iraq, and our rights used as weapons in a political fight. Our rights are not weapons of politics. They are not the property of any political party. They are our rights, our liberties, our personal freedom, and after eight years of having our freedom encroached upon, our fears played upon, our money and our lives used as sacrifice to a perverted worldview which has brought us to the brink of economic ruin as a nation, we have had enough.
This is why so many of us support you. This is why we have such belief in you. This is why four years ago I told my friends you'd be President some day. Do not take our belief in you for granted, and do not throw away your principled stance because somebody whispered in your ear that it'd stop the Republican attacks on you. They're going to say what they say regardless of what you do, so for God's sake, do the right thing. Lead a fight against telecom immunity. Support a filibuster. Give a speech in which you tell the nation that upon further reflection, you realize that this bill is not what you believed it to be, and you cannot and will not support it. Be a leader, and show this nation that you will not continue to treat the Constitution like a mere piece of paper, but instead as the sacred document it is. Do this, and you will show America more about you and your principles than a thousand commercials could do.
We believe in you, Senator. You can be a great President. Show America that you have what it takes to be great.