Thank you Senator Dodd

[rockybelt]

Thank you for standing behind the statements you made regarding the FISA bill. Sir, you are the ONLY one of the Democratic candidates that voiced opposition to this bill and voiced determination to stop this bill from passing. Some others in the Democratic party voiced opposition to this bill but not a one of them stood up and said NO!

Only you, sir, realized that this vote on the FISA bill had far reaching implications beyond the telco companies and their culpability into domestic spying. You alone realized that the passage of this FISA bill would set forth a precedent to be cited by many other corporations that do business with the Bush administration. You, and you alone, realized that other companies would seize upon the passage of this FISA bill as a way to rid themselves of any culpability to crimes committed by this White House.

Other Democratic candidates had PLENTY of opportunity to join with you to aid in this filibuster that you alone were going to undertake. People like Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama, Dennis Kucinich and whoever else is running for president on the democratic ticket. Unfortunately, none of them chose to be with you, even though you curtailed your campaign time in Iowa in order to do your sworn duty. I am particularly disappointed in Joe Biden and Dennis Kucinich. Both staunch defenders of the Constitution, yet neither would join you on the Senate floor to do this most important job. Hillary and Obama do not surprise me so much. Both are corporate democrats and represent the status quo.

Up until today, my loyalties have been with Dennis Kucinich. You, sir, have always been in the back of my mind along with Biden and Edwards. Your actions of today convinced me that you sir are no flash in the pan say whatever they want to hear kind of person. You stand behind your beliefs and take the appropriate actions no matter what the personal cost to you. For that sir, I salute you and I pledge my support for you in your campaign for President of The United States.:kick:

[mth44sc]

1. Indeed

BRAVO!

[mzmolly]

2. EVERY elected official can take notes from Dodd and his patriotic stand today.

:toast: to the good Senator.

[robbedvoter]

3. Kucinich isn't a senator. otherwise, right on!

[rockybelt]

4. Sorry

I got carried away in my moment of enlightenment. I stand corrected Kucinich is a Congressman. Now what do I do?

I know. Dodd, Kucinich. How about it?

[K Gardner]

5. We should ALL at least email Senator Dodd and just say "thank you"..

he should know he wasn't alone up there, that there were thousands of us rooting for him. Good letter !

[rockybelt]

6. Thank you for that suggestion

By all means, let's all e.mail Sen. Dodd and thank him for his courageous and patriotic time.

dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3130
My apologies for not thinking of that.

[1corona4u]

7. He is not the only one that supported it....

this was all planned out..go find my thread called "Dodd filibuster 4:55 PM". All of the info is there. Needless to say, yes, thanks to Dodd, but they were ALL in this together. That, I'm confident of, as Hillary, Obama, and Biden specifically signed a letter, last week, asking Reid to bring it to the floor THIS week. They all planned it. Polichick said she called her senator today, and they told her "something is in the works". They knew exactly what was going to happen. That's why they all didn't go.

[rockybelt]

8. That for me

is just a cover. You cannot be for something this important and not be there to support it. Everyone knows that things can change in a heart beat.
To not be there is unforgiveable. You can say you support something because it can get you some votes. You can say you support something and be there to champion your cause even if it means that you lose votes. There is a clear winner here. The one that champions his just cause to support and defend the Constitution will get my vote every time.

[1corona4u]

10. Uhh...not a "cover"

I guess you just don't get it. There wasn't a filibuster today, just the debate on the amendment. Then it was tabled, and I say they all knew it was going to be tabled. It's also important to note that the main issue today was ONLY to address the immunity part of the bill. The bill will still go through, as in wiretapping, and that is not what was being argued. Only the removal of the retro immunity. By the way, Dodd was not the only democratic senator there during debate. There were others.

So everyone is upset over whether or not these telecom companies face prosecution. In my opinon, Bush and the republicans should be the one you all are pissed off at, not congress, or specifically our senators.


(The Politico) Facing divisions among Senate Democrats, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has postponed debate on reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act until January.

Although Reid won a cloture vote earlier in the day allowing the FISA debate to begin, he still faced heavy pressure from his own Caucus on amendments that could be offered to the base bill, which was a version of the legislation approved by the Intelligence Committee. Facing these concerns, Reid decided to delay final action on the legislation until the Senate returns for the second session of the 110th Congress, which means no work on the FISA bill until at least mid-January.

"I've spoken to a number of senators , and everyone feels it would be to the best interests of the Senate that we take a look at this when we can come back at the first of the year and resume this," Reid said on the floor Thursday night.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, had been fighting all day to block completion of the FISA bill, since Dodd strongly opposes the retroactive telecom immunity provision contained in the Intelligence Committee version of the bill.

"My lonstanding concerns were over this retroactive immunity" for telecommunications companies, Dodd said after Reid declared the FISA bill would be set aside.

"There is significant debate about it. I feel strongly about it and look forward to coming back in January" and resolving the dispute.

I know there are various ideas kicking around as some sort of compromise idea that may be worked out," Dodd added. "There's certainly some time to think about that so we can this when it comes back again."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/17/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3627245.shtml

I am really tired of people acting like they know everything, when the last shoe hasn't even dropped yet. And won't now, until Jan.

[rockybelt]

13. How do you hold Sen Reid in such high esteem?

He has been an obstructionist since the very beginning. Right along with his cohart in the House, Ms. Pelosi.

This issue brought up in the FISA bill is of prime importance. Important enough for every senatorial candidate to come back to washington to support Sen. Dodd. If they cannot see the importance of this bill and the defeat of the bill as amended, they have no business representing me or you.

The only reason Reid set aside this bill was because of the thousands of responses he received from people like you and me.

I don't know everything like you think that you do, but I know enough to know that these bastards that say they represent you and me when they want to press forward immunity for the telcos are not acting in our best interests. Instead they are acting in the best interests of the corporate entities that they represent. Senator Reid did exactly that. He acted in the best interest of the corporate entities when he wanted to pursue immunity for them. If you support his actions, so be it. But do not condemn me for not supporting him. That I will not tolerate.

[1corona4u]

14. I DON'T

I never said anything of the sort! I SAID he did ONE thing right. Today, by tabling the bill. Otherwise, I can't stand him or Pelosi.

What I am saying is;

IF IT'S SO IMPORTANT, THEN WHY NOT WAIT UNTIL WE HAVE ALL THE FACTS, BEFORE YOU GO CRUCIFYING ALL OF THE OTHER CANDIDATES!!!!!!!

Based on what I DO KNOW, for a FACT, Hillary, Obama, Dodd, and Biden ALL signed a letter, LAST week, specifically asking Reid to bring it to the floor THIS week. Now why in the HELL would they have done that IF it was an issue of whether or not they were there???? None of US have all of the facts, but I think it's ridiculous that people are freaking out over the other senators not being there, when it may have been the plan all along, thereby chastising them for NO reason.

They didn't just blow it off. And no one should be saying they did, unless they have some FACTS to back it up.


And, let me repeat this; THE BILL WAS NOT THE ISSUE. THE ONLY ISSUE WAS THE RETRO IMMUNITY. THAT'S ALL. THERE WAS NEVER ANY INTENTION OF VOTING DOWN THE ENTIRE BILL.

[rockybelt]

15. For no reason?

Look at their records.

[IndianaGreen]

9. Dodd was the only one to leave Iowa and come to Washington to fight for our rights

No amnesty for illegal aliens but amnesty for the telecom companies that broke the law? Bullshit!

A filibuster was the only way to stop this fatally flawed FISA bill that Harry Reid and the telecom industry wanted. A filibuster was also the only way to stop the Alito nomination. Saying that one would vote against a bad bill ain't enough!

Chris Dodd is the hero of the day!

Too bad Iowans can't tell the difference between a person of substance and a personality!

[1corona4u]

11. Well, apparently NOT...

since the tabling of it seemed to work just fine.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

17. Well Obama's statement on this is appallingly wishy washy

but I think we've come to expect that now from Mr. Audacity of Hope.

Dear (_____):

Thank you for contacting me concerning the President’s domestic surveillance program. I appreciate hearing from you.

Providing any president with the flexibility necessary to fight terrorism without compromising our constitutional rights can be a delicate balance. I agree that technological advances and changes in the nature of the threat we face may require that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), enacted in 1978, be updated to reflect the reality of the post 9/11 world. But that does not absolve the President of the responsibility to fully brief Congress on the new security challenge and to work cooperatively with Congress to address it.

As you know, Congress has been considering the issue of domestic surveillance since the last Congress. The debate is still ongoing, but the shift in party control on Capitol Hill has clearly had an impact on this critical discussion over the balance of power in our system of government. On January 17, 2007, after conducting its wiretapping program without court approval for over 5 years, the Justice Department announced that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court had approved its program to listen to communications between people in the U.S. and other countries if there is probable cause to believe one or the other is involved in terrorism. Then, in early February, the Justice Department announced that it will give the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of both chambers of Congress access to previously withheld documents on the NSA program. The congressional committees with jurisdiction over this issue hailed the agreement as a step in the right direction.

However, there is still significant work to be done. Just before the August recess, Congress passed hastily crafted legislation to expand the authority of Attorney General and the director of National Intelligence to conduct surveillance of suspected foreign terrorists without a warrant or real oversight, even if the targets are communicating with someone in the United States. This legislation was signed into law by the President on August 5, 2007, and expires after six months.

Congress is working on reforms to the FISA bill to be enacted before the expiration of the current legislation. On November 15, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3773, the “Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007” (RESTORE Act) by a vote of 227-189. The House bill does not provide retroactive immunity for private companies that may have participated in the illegal collection of personal information, nor does it provide immunity for administration officials who may have acted illegally. The Senate committees on Intelligence and the Judiciary have since approved proposals with their own reforms to FISA. The debate over retroactive immunity is still ongoing, and I will support a filibuster should legislation that includes such a provision come to the Senate floor.

The American people understand that new threats require flexible responses to keep them safe, and that our intelligence gathering capability needs to be improved. What they do not want is for the President or the Congress to use these imperatives as a pretext for promoting policies that not only go further than necessary to meet a real threat, but also violate some of the most basic tenets of our democracy. Like most members of Congress, I continue to believe the essential objective of conducting effective domestic surveillance in the war on terror can be achieved without discarding our constitutionally protected civil liberties. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress, and with the President, to meet this uniquely American challenge.

Thank you again for writing. Please stay in touch as this debate continues.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator

[Rene]

12. Dodd is the first person to truly stand up to the * admin AND the so-called

Dem leadership. I wish Rahm Emmanual and Donna Brazile would disappear from the political scene. Neither are needed.

[suziedemocrat]

16. Hey ..... what if Dodd ran for President! Wouldn't that be GREAT?