October 5, 2007
We Won’t Wait: Stop Torture, End Spying, Restore the Rule of Law
Put your Members of Congress on notice today, ask them: Will you defend the Constitution?
It’s long past time for Congress to stop caving in and start standing up to the Bush Administration.
With your help, the ACLU is putting all 535 members of Congress on notice: stand up for the Constitution or face a tidal wave of criticism and pressure from your constituents. We are asking each member of Congress to go on record by asking a simple question - Will you defend the Constitution? And will you defend it now? Answering yes means standing up on four critical issues:
Stopping Torture
Ending warrantless wiretapping
Shutting down Guantánamo Bay
Restoring habeas curpus
Our “leaders” in Washington keep telling us to wait for a more politically expedient time to restore our freedoms. Well, the ACLU has a message for them: Don’t Wait for ’08! That’s the rallying cry during our critical campaign demanding immediate action from Congress to restore our constitutional rights and to hold the Bush Administration accountable for its abuses.
The ACLU is calling on everyone across America who cares about liberty and the state of the nation to let Congress know we demand action on these crucial issues.
Put your Members of Congress on notice today, ask them: Will you defend the Constitution?
Take Action: Tell Congress to Fix FISA and Defend the Constitution
In August, Congress caved in to Bush fear-mongering by passing temporary legislation that allows the government to intercept the calls and emails of innocent Americans without a court order. Congress’ actions resulted in a massive outcry from freedom-loving people across the country. Reeling from the backlash, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promised to “fix” the legislation on their return this fall.
By all indications, the House and Senate will cast critical votes within three weeks — deciding whether or not to make the vast new spying powers that they granted the Bush Administration in August permanent.
We can't let that happen. That's why the ACLU started the FISA Flood of 2007, a monumental outpouring of grassroots energy to demand that Congress stand strong by standing up for the Constitution, not caving in to the Bush Administration.
We’re making progress. The 72 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are standing firm on their eight fundamental principles on FISA reform. They state that the best way to fight terrorism and secure Americans “is to follow the rule of law.” We couldn’t agree more.
But things will be moving very quickly in the next few weeks. All our members of Congress but especially leadership — who control the agenda and whose actions impact us all — need to know just how many Americans demand they act to restore the Constitution. That’s why it’s important your elected officials hear from you now.
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=V8eXmQAybdsrS98RyW72Zg..