Wednesday, February 13, 2008

 

Obama opposes telco immunity

Sam Graham-Felsen, of the Obama Campaign, released the following statement yesterday to a list I'm on, saying, "Feel free to quote."

I'm not entirely comfortable quoting it without a citable source, but the issue is important, and the Obama campaign folks are understandably busy. Graham-Felsen says the URL will be available soon. I'll post it as an update as soon as I get it.

Oh, by the way, in yesterday's voting, McCain voted to weaken the Constitution and let telco-bushco off the hook, Obama voted against it, and, I am very, very sorry to say, Clinton was apparently too busy to show up.

Obama's statement:
"I am proud to stand with Senator Dodd, Senator Feingold and a grassroots movement of Americans who are refusing to let President Bush put protections for special interests ahead of our security and our liberty. There is no reason why telephone companies should be given blanket immunity to cover violations of the rights of the American people – we must reaffirm that no one in this country is above the law.

We can give our intelligence and law enforcement community the powers they need to track down and take out terrorists without undermining our commitment to the rule of law, or our basic rights and liberties. That is why I am proud to cosponsor several amendments that protect our privacy while making sure we have the power to track down and take out terrorists.

This Administration continues to use a politics of fear to advance a political agenda. It is time for this politics of fear to end. We are trying to protect the American people, not special interests like the telecommunications industry. We are trying to ensure that we don't sacrifice our liberty in pursuit of security, and it is past time for the Administration to join us in that effort."

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