I just sent this missive to my Congressman, Jim Gerlach (PA 6). I know it probably won't change his vote, but maybe if he hears it enough, it might break through that Stepford Wives white noise coming out of the White House. Pipe dream? Probably. But should I sit on my hands because Gerlach is a GOP automiton? Hell no!
I am one of your constituents. I am an attorney and practice within your District with an office in Paoli. The FISA bill coming up for vote today is an abomination of what the Founders, who wrote the Fourth Amendment, had in mind. Congressman, you took an oath to defend the Constitution. Now is the time to honor that oath by voting NAY on the FISA bill.
In the first place, no one has ever adequately explained why the government needs an even more lenient standard than appelaing to a secret court that granted over 10,000 warrant requests before turning down only two from the current administration. It is already automatic. Why does the executive branch need to circumvent that, unless the things they are doing are so henious that it would shock the conscience?
Second, the telecom immunity provision is about the worst public policy I have seen in a very long time. It conforms the law to past behavior. In other words, if I broke into your house and got caught, I'd be in a heap of trouble, facing both criminal and civil liability. But if I then engaged some of the most powerful lobbiests on K Street to change the law to permit burglary retroactively, and Congress capitulated, I'd be just fine. The telecoms broke the law. They could not have reasonably relied on any advice given them by the Justice Department because it was so far from correct that even a first-year law student could have told them otherwise.
This is an accountability moment. Are you going to vote to uphold the Constitution or are you going to go along because the White House told you to? The choice should be obvious. I only wish I had faith in your ability to make the right one. You can restore that faith with a NAY vote today.
I can only hope (and a slim one at that) that he will hear the voice of reason.