This is the email that I sent to senators Cantwell and Murray last week:
I urge Senator Murray to support Senator Feingold's Censure Resolution against President Bush for his authorization of the illegal NSA wiretap program. As countless constitutional experts have stated publically, this program is absolutely illegal and outrageous, and a danger to both civil liberties and the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government.
By being outside the legally required oversight of both the judiciary and congress, it is not only illegal and a dangerous precedent, but it also prevents the courts and congress from knowing whether the program is not overstepping its bounds by spying on innocent Americans and foreign nationals, not to mention whether it's effective in actually defending our national security.
The president cannot be allowed to continue with this illegal and potentially dangerous program. The program must either be stopped immediately or forced to comply with FISA, investigations must be held right away to determine whether it has restricted its operations to legitimate eavesdropping and has been conducted efficiently and effectively, and the president himself must be held accountable for his blatantly illegal actions in repeatedly authorizing this program.
I would eventually like to see impeachment proceedings brought against the president eventually, but that is the role of the house, not senate. But as a senator, it is within your power to support Senator Feinfold's Censure Resolution to begin the vital and necessary process of holding the president accountable for his actions and bringing this wiretap program fully within the law.
With Democrats being in the minority, I realize that chances are that this resolution won't pass. But the message that you will send by supporting it, and by having as many senators as possible supporting it, will be heard loud and clear by the GOP, by the White House, by the public, and by the press. And it is an important message to send right now, to make it clear that the Democratic party, and all patriotic senators who put the interests of the country above those of their president or party, do not and will not support this illegal program.
Senator Murray, by supporting this Censure Resolution, you have the power to let the president, his supporters in the senate and house, and the public, know that you do not and will not stand by while this illegal and dangerous program continues unabated, and that you will do everything in your power to bring it in compliance with the law, and the president to task for authorizing it. If you do not vote to support this resolution, you will effectively be sending the president, his supporters and the voting public, the message that you support this program. Do you want to send them that message? I certainly hope not.
Please vote to support Senator Feingold's brave, legitimate and necessary Censure Resolution!
This is the email response that I just received from senator Murray's office:
Dear Mr. ---:
Thank you for contacting me about the possibility of impeaching or censuring President Bush or other members of his Administration. I appreciate hearing from you.
As you know, Congress may remove the President, Vice President, and any Civil Officer of the United States from office through the impeachment process. According to the Constitution, the House of Representatives may impeach an official on charges of "Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors" (Article II, Section 4) to remove the individual from office. Only two sitting Presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, have ever been impeached. No sitting President has been convicted and removed from office. Only one President - Andrew Jackson - has ever been censured, or rebuked, by the Senate. President Jackson's censure was expunged from the Senate record three years later.
I share your concerns and frustrations with the Bush Administration. I too have significant concerns about the Administration's policies and the rationale for many of their actions. I voted against invading Iraq because the Bush Administration failed to address a viable exit strategy or clearly define the mission's objectives. I am deeply concerned with the Administration efforts prior to the invasion, and their conduct of the war since then. Additionally, I have grave concerns about the recent admissions that the President authorized the National Security Agency to spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant. The American people deserve a full and open investigation into the Administration's actions.
Oversight of the Administration is one of Congress's vital roles. Unfortunately, the Republican majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have conducted nearly no oversight, even routine, of this Administration. In the careful balance of power, I believe that Congress - as the legislative branch - has an obligation to conduct oversight on any executive, regardless of party. Congress must ensure that no abuse of power ever occurs, and that the American people continue to benefit from the transparence of government.
Only through effective oversight can the House and the Senate determine whether the Administration's actions have been appropriate, and I am deeply troubled by how few hearings have been held to examine these questions. I believe that the Congress must hold the Administration accountable for their actions and decisions.
Again, thank you for contacting me. If I can be of service in the future, please be in touch.
Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States Senator
P.S. I'd like to invite you to receive Patty Murray's Washington View, my weekly legislative update by e-mail. If you are interested in receiving my update, please sign up here: http://murray.senate.gov/....
Well, it's certainly encouraging to know that senator Murray shares my concerns and frustrations with the Bush Administration, and has "grave concerns about the recent admissions that the President authorized the National Security Agency to spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant". And, of course, I also appreciate her office's courtesy in replying to my email (which senator Cantwell's office hasn't even bothered to do).
However, given the blatancy and egregiousness of Bush's criminality in authorizing this program, and the very grave dangers that it--and not holding him accountable for it--pose to our civil liberties and democracy, I find both the tone and content of the above email to be woefully insufficient to the seriousness of this issue.
Murray, like nearly all of her Democratic (let alone Republican) colleagues, except for senators Boxer and Harkin (and of course Feingold), prefers to stand safely on the sidelines and not meaningfully stand up to Bush and this program, not just by not supporting this particular means of doing so, but by not supporting ANY means of doing so, be they legal or political, that actually has any teeth or chance of succeeding.
Instead, she prefers, as the rest of them do, to hide behind ambiguous and meaningless calls for congressional oversight and hearings--which she readily knows and all but admits in this email that today's Republican majorities in the house and senate have not and will not allow--EVER. Which, to me, betrays her and their lack of leadership not to mention courage on this matter.
It's like standing by and doing nothing as a shooting victim bleeds to death for fear of catching some infectious disease, claiming that it's not your job to try to save their life anyway, and that you've already called 911 and they're hopefully on their way. Except that you're deep in the woods and there's no chance that help will arrive for hours, if not days. Plus, you've got a first aid kit with surgical gloves to protect yourself, so it's not as if you're seriously endangering yourself by trying to save their life. And they're lying there dying, damn it!
I continue to reject the argument being made by some here and elsewhere that these Democrats aren't cowardly in neither supporting Feingold's resolution nor doing anything else to seriously stand up to Bush and this wiretap program, and that they're waiting until the facts and opinions are all in, that they're just being cautious, or are simply too clueless to know that it's now safe to come out against Bush.
When the story first broke, I agree that there were understandable reasons for not doing anything about this program until more facts and expert legal opinions came in. But it's been months since then and the facts and legal opinions overwhelmingly indicate that this program is blatantly illegal and dangerous, and must be stood up to and stopped asap, and that to not at least try to do so by any and all means necessary is to implictly support it. So the "let's wait till we know more about this program" excuse just doesn't cut it any more.
Nor does the cautious or even clueless excuse pass muster any more. I don't buy the argument that opposing this program (or even supporting the resolution) is politically risky. Bush and the GOP's numbers are terrible and only getting worse, and a majority of Americans are and have consistently been against WARRANTLESS wiretaps. So the political risks are not nearly as great as these senators and their DLC consultants seem to believe.
I also find their calls for hearings and investigations that they all KNOW will never happen in this Republican-controlled congress to be quite disengenuous and transparent. Do they really think we're THAT stupid? And regardless of any consideration of the political risks involved, Bush BROKE THE LAW, period, in a serious and dangerous way, and to not stand up to him is just plain wrong and immoral. Their unwillingness to get, acknowledge and act on this is intolerable--and cowardly.
Yes, COWARDLY.
What is it going to take to get these cowards to finally do their jobs and stand up to Bush and this gang of GOP thugs? Do we all need to march on their offices and demand action, or somehow scare them into taking action?
(Note to senator Cantwell as you seek re-election this year: while I certainly appreciated your principled stand to block drilling in ANWR late last year, your non-response to my email and silence on this critical issue is very troubling to me and many other Democrats, because by not standing up to president Bush on this issue, you essentially enable and support his violation of the constitution and claims to arbitrary dictatorial powers. I urge you to reconsider your stand on this critical issue.)
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