From the
Press Release from US Senate Candidate Shenna Bellows (Maine):
“This isn’t the first time we have been down this road of tough rhetoric and weak action,” Bellows said. “Members of Congress are responsible for laws like the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 that have enabled abuse of power by the NSA and other federal spy agencies. We need a special Congressional investigation into the nature and extent of spying in America, and we need a dramatic overhaul of our nation’s privacy laws to restore our constitutional freedoms and public trust.” (link)
This is not the first time Bellows has spoken out on unwarranted spying either. As the head of the ACLU of Maine in 2008 she spoke out on the groundbreaking Maine Public Utilities Commission lawsuit to force the telecoms to
reveal the extent of their spying for the NSA:
“When Maine telephone customers asked the Maine Public Utilities Commission to examine the warrantless surveillance program, the Maine state government was willing to stand up for Mainers’ privacy and pushed forward even in the face of a federal lawsuit,” said Shenna Bellows. “Now Mainers are calling on Senators Snowe and Collins to defend their privacy in Washington.”
Snowe and Collins responded by voting for the 2008 FISA bill, absolving the the telecoms of any liability and preventing disclosure of the extent of their unconstitutional actions.
Today's statement:
“Vast NSA spying undermines our democratic freedoms and threatens international relations,” said Bellows, the former head of the ACLU of Maine. “It is unacceptable for Congress to scold the White House in public but codify NSA spying in secret. As a Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Susan Collins has an opportunity to correct her past support of the Patriot Act and NSA spying and to begin to restore constitutional freedoms.”
Her success earlier this year in leading Maine to protect cellphone and mobile device privacy can be a model of how to do things right.
“Our work in Maine with Republicans and Democrats alike to advance strong privacy principles should serve as a model for the nation,” Bellows said. “We demonstrated that it’s not necessary to compromise our core principles to advance meaningful reform. A shared commitment to protecting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights transcends partisan politics.”
More good stuff below the fold...
Maine and Montana are the only two states that require a warrant in order to track citizens via their mobile devices. Bellows built a coalition of progressives and libertarians at the State House to pass this legislation with a rare supermajority override of a Gov LePage veto.
For Bellows, privacy is not just about personal liberties- it's also about community trust, a progressive value:
"Privacy, under the Constitution, is important in terms of individual liberty, but it’s also critically important to community trust. If we as a society can’t trust that our government isn’t spying on us, that undermines our sense of unity, our sense of shared purpose, and our ability to work together on common problems. Restoring privacy will benefit both our community and individual liberty. If elected, I will work to repeal the PATRIOT Act [and] to repeal the FISA Amendments Act. I will always stand up for privacy."
In 2014, Maine will have an opportunity to elect a US Senator who has spent the past decade
fighting for civil liberties at the state and national level. Give her a look, then spread the word, and give her the juice to take this battle to the halls of Congress.
Bellows for Senate campaign website
Shenna Bellows on Twitter
Bellows for Senate on Facebook
ActBlue link
9:24 AM PT: The long-term Maine ACLU director tells Salon she can beat Susan Collins, and calls out Congress for NSA complicity
http://www.salon.com/...
1:51 PM PT: Shenna Bellows has picked up her first national endorsement. More on that, and a guest blog post by Shenna, at Down with Tyranny.