I suspect I'm not the only one here who spent part of their New Years traveling back in time via CSPAN3. Back to the 1987 confirmation hearings of Robert Bork. It was especially nostalgic for me because I played a small part in the campaign to block him. I was a lowly intern at a women's organization that was part of the coalition working to block him. I remember sitting on the floor putting together packets of postcards, stickers, and other (quaint by today's standards) tools for grassroots activism. Truth be told I don't think too many of us thought we'd be successful. It was pretty unusual to defeat a nomination to the Supreme Court.
Yesterday I turned on the hearings just as Bork was being asked about his role in the Saturday night massacre. The scene could not be more relevant to today's events. We won that Bork battle. While we may not have won the war, winning the battle felt pretty good and changed Supreme Court nominations forever. It was gratifying to watch those hearings again knowing the outcome. Let's feel that again.
This is a call to action. We must keep the pressure on Congress for hearings in the NSA program, particularly we need Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. We already know what to expect from the
Intelligence Committee from the failure to fully investigate pre-war intelligence. Besides, these hearings (if they occur) would be secret.
We know now that the pressure is on Arlen Spector to rescind his call for hearings. Time reports:
Specter, for one, has promised hearings early in the year--a move, sources tell TIME, that the White House is hoping to head off by convincing the Senator to defer to the Intelligence Committee, whose hearings would be behind closed doors and classified. "They're going to lean on Specter very hard not to hold hearings," says a Republican official. Bush has warned that any public hearings on programs would simply tip off terrorists and invite them to adjust their tactics, and he says, "This is a war."
We've got to lean on Specter harder than the White House. We've got to call, write, fax, email, send smoke signals, hold press conferences, and get all of our friends to do the same. Contact all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and let them know how important this is. Write letters to the editor in your local paper. Contact your Senator even if s/he is not a member of either committee. We must be heard.
Defeat the emerging conventional wisdom that this scandal is too complicated for us regular folk to understand or care much about. Let's make it hurt for Specter if he caves. Make sure he and all the members know we are watching. This is not just important politically, it goes to the heart of small d democracy.
Committee on the Judiciary members:
Arlen Specter CHAIRMAN, PENNSYLVANIA
Patrick J. Leahy RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER, VERMONT
Orrin G. Hatch UTAH
Charles E. Grassley IOWA
Edward M. Kennedy MASSACHUSETTS
Jon Kyl ARIZONA
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. DELAWARE
Mike DeWine OHIO
Herbert Kohl WISCONSIN
Jeff Sessions ALABAMA
Dianne Feinstein CALIFORNIA
Lindsey Graham SOUTH CAROLINA
Russell D. Feingold WISCONSIN
John Cornyn TEXAS
Charles E. Schumer NEW YORK
Sam Brownback KANSAS
Richard J. Durbin ILLINOIS
Tom Coburn OKLAHOMA
Let's get them all on record. Contact DC and local offices. Raise your voice and make sure we are heard. Why are you still reading this and not writing your letters?