Burner And Massa On FISA

image credit: www.darcyburner.com

Image credit: Massa For Congress. Reduced by Cujo359

Here's what Darcy Burner, a Slobber And Spittle Blue candidate for Washington's 8th Congressional district, had to say about the FISA bill passed by the House, according to Daily Kos:

Hi, this is Darcy Burner, running for Congress in Washington's 8th congressional district. Like many of you, I'm incredibly disappointed with today's vote on retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies. I've made my position on this issue very clear, and I've been happy to be fighting to ensure that we uphold the Constitution through all of this. But the real question is what we do going forward. We need to make sure that we elect people to Congress who are going to defend the Constitution at the same time that the keep this country safe. I promise you, I will never let you down on that. It's time for us to elect more and better Democrats.

WA-08: Darcy Burner on FISA

That's the entirety of the message, as I understand it. There's no equivocation, no nonsense about "compromise".

Here's SnS Blue candidate Eric Massa on the subject, also from Daily Kos:

Another fundamental injustice is the current and new ability of the government to wiretap, eavesdrop and record private conversations on cell phones, traditional phones, email and posted traditional mail. They can do this without a warrant because again they claim that that government ability is needed to be able to catch potential terrorists in the act before they strike. But, again this is just not true. The government already has that ability but under previous pre-Bush Administration law the enforcement agencies must seek a warrant within days of the action.

NY-29: Why I would have voted against new FISA rules

Once again, we have a clear statement of what's wrong with this bill. Massa is a former career naval officer - he understands what can happen if there is no way to catch terrorists before they act. Yet he is unequivocally against trashing the Constitution to do it.

Actually Massa had a good deal more to say on the subject. It's an article worth checking out.

Contrast these statements with the pathetic efforts of Barack Obama and the craven pandering that Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer engaged in to pass that bill in the House. This is why I'm not going to contribute to Obama's campaign, nor to group funds like the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) or the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). I'm putting my money where it will do the most good - supporting candidates like these.

You can do that, too, at Slobber And Spittle Blue. Part of the reason these people are on that list is because they've stood up and taken positions that are unpopular with the people who are running this country, and their sponsors. If that's not enough choices for you, check out Blue America '08. There are many good candidates there, as well.

If we're ever going to get our country back from the fools, cowards, and opportunists who are running it, we need to put our efforts into electing people who will make that happen.

UPDATE: Added a bit of explanation about what it takes to be listed on Slobber And Spittle Blue.

UPDATE 2: Forgot to mention that newly-elected SnS Blue candidate Donna Edwards voted against the FISA bill. She's making me proud already.