Congresswoman Johnson's Blatantly Misleading Ad!

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Nancy Johnson, who is running for re-election as a congresswoman from Connecticut, has run an ad, link below, where the announcer states:

“A call is placed from New York to a known terrorist in Pakistan. A terrorist plot may be unfolding. Should the government intercept that call or wait until the paperwork is filed?”

I contend that these are false choices. The reality is that the call can be intercepted immediately and paperwork can be filed with the FISA court for up to 72 hours after the surveillance takes place.

Am I wrong about this?

This seems like a blatantly misleading ad even for a republican.

http://www.johnsonforcongress.com/National_Security.mpg

[whistle]

1. How long should the download take? I have hi-speed DSL and

...after 1 minute it was still downloading so I killed it. Is it a video?

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3. It is a video but it came up quickly on my PC. I have high speed

cable.

[zalinda]

2. It is misleading

From what everything I've heard, paperwork can be done AFTER the tap has been placed.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200512210011

zalinda

[CTyankee]

4. "Paperwork"? Yup, that GD piece of paper, the Constitution!

This ad is an out and out lie and an insult to the people of CT. Nancy Johnson has stooped too low to represent her district in CT. What a disgrace she is!

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5. I plan to send this LTTE to the Danbury News-Times but I want

to make sure I have my facts straight before submitting it. It is true that paperwork can be filed 72 hours after a call has been tapped, isn't it?


Johnson’s Ad is Blatantly Misleading

In a recent Nancy Johnson campaign ad for her re-election, noted in The News-Times on 9/13/06, an announcer states the following false choices:

“A call is placed from New York to a known terrorist in Pakistan. A terrorist plot may be unfolding. Should the government intercept that call or wait until the paperwork is filed?”

The reality is that the call can be intercepted immediately and paperwork can be filed with the FISA court for up to 72 hours after the surveillance takes place. This enables the government to protect us by acting when they need to while allowing the FISA court to provide oversight so these powers are not abused.

Why is Nancy Johnson deceiving us with these false choices in her campaign ad? This is a dishonest attempt to scare Connecticut voters into voting for her. We do not need another deceptive politician in Washington and Johnson should be ashamed of this ad.

President Bush believes that he should not have to comply with this law and there should be no oversight over his actions. Apparently Nancy Johnson agrees with the President and believes that our government should not be accountable to anyone when they listen to our calls.

Chris Murphy is a politician with integrity who believes that the President should comply with the current FISA law that allows the government to intercept calls when they need to and file paperwork later. Murphy will not be a rubber stamp for the President’s failed and illegal policies and will support legislation that helps the citizens of Connecticut. Please vote for Chris Murphy this November to hold the President accountable and help bring badly needed positive change to our federal government.

[CTyankee]

6. I like your letter, but

I absolutely hate having to repeat the repubs use of the term "paperwork." It sounds too bureaucratic. If I were you I'd put the word in quotes and say something about what that means and how the FISA law was designed to have both outcomes: needed surveillance of our enemies AND constitutional safeguards that will PREVENT a conviction being thrown out because of lack of those safeguards. Then you can say, after all, isn't this what we are supposed to be fighting for in the Middle East? Isn't this the difference between a constitutional democracy and a dictatorship?

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7. Thanks for your input. I will make some changes and get the letter

out today.