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The vote yesterday was about much more than FISA, as important as that statute is. It provided us with a window into Obama's soul, into the stuff he is made of.
Obama has said that he would have voted against the 2002 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) if he had been in the Senate at that time. Given his cowardly performance in the FISA vote, does anyone really believe that anymore? Obama half-heartedly sought cover under amendments that were destined to fail, and then he voted to eviscerate our civil liberties. That is the essence of triangulation. The FISA vote was a much easier and clearer vote than the AUMF. In 2002, Bush's approval was in the 80's%, and we did not then know about his wide-ranging criminality and law-breaking. The FISA vote was a no-brainer for a Constitutional lawyer, and Obama still did not have the back-bone to oppose this unconstitutional Bill that has no support among his real constituents and is really only designed to provide a cover up for Bush's impeachable offenses..Obama would have done the same thing in the 2002 AUMF vote. He would have triangulated, and then voted with the herd.
Obama not only cowers: it is truly embarassing to see how little it takes to make him cower, and how easy it is for him to abandon clear principles. .
This was Obama's first test as the Candidate. We now know all that we need to know about Obama. He does not have the the courage to stand up for fundamental principles. That is his essence and it will never change. That is Obama.
I will not contribute to his campaign. I will contribute to people who really DO have the back bone to stand up for our Constitution and fight: groups like the ACLU, Electronic Freedom Frontier and progressive candidates at www.ActBlue.com.
I urge you to invest your Obama dollars there, too.
