Read other letters about this article

• Friday, June 20, 2008 01:56 PM

  I sent this email to the Obama campaign

  "The so-called "compromise" bill that was passed in the House today with regards to the revision of long-standing American surveillance law is nothing more than a perverse capitulation to the demands of the hard right cabal that has hijacked the Grand Old Party. As I am a liberal Democrat, the Obama campaign can be almost certain to receive my vote (and the votes of those who, like me, are far to the left end of the spectrum on most issues), but that doesn't give future President Obama the right to trample on my ideals while spouting feel-good rhetoric about massive waves of change. The Senator from Illinois says that he will do his best to "closely monitor the program" of unconstitutional spying if he is elected, so does this mean that Barack Obama believes, like Bush and company, that the President has the power to eavesdrop on domestic communications without a warrant, and to demand that large corporations break the law with no consequences? This bill is a travesty; it codifies into the law of the land Nixon's infamous misapprehension that "when the President does it, it's not illegal." Senator Obama's campaign may win a few extra votes in swing states because of his support of this preposterous imposition on the privacy rights of Americans, but he is on the brink of losing the essence of his political meme: that he represents real changes to the workings of Washington, and that he has the courage to stand up to the powerful even when it might hurt him in the polls.

  P.S.: You can still have my vote, but you cannot have my money. I suspect I am not the only Democrat who feels this way at the moment. Senator Obama will have to work very hard to regain the full support of Democratic voters who believe in the spirit of the Bill of Rights."

  I think this is the kind of thing a to which a politician like Obama might be sensitive; an insinuation that at heart he is "just another corrupt politician," but without a nonsensical overreach such as, "I'm voting for McCain because of this." It seems to me that making the "power of the purse" claim is more effective than making a "ballot box" claim, because the latter is obviously a bluff. I urge anyone concerned about the FISA issue to let Obama know he doesn't have a free ride with "high-information voters" just because he is a Democrat.

  —NYtoLA Read NYtoLA's other letters
  Permalink
  Flag
  Click "Submit Flag" if you feel this post is inappropriate. Explain why below if you wish.

  Cancel