Friday, July 11, 2008

Strange Bedfellows


In reaction to the newly signed FISA legislation, a diverse and unusual group of people are getting together to send a loud and clear message to the Democrats who voted in favor of the destruction of the Constitution. The goal of the group, called Accountability Now, is to raise what's known as a money bomb, and drop it in the laps of whoever runs against those who voted to immunize the telecom industry, and allow the President to have unprecedented power to spy on Americans. They intend to fund advertisements across the country against the re-elections of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers who stabbed America in the back. And to fund advertising for those who run against them.

Holding a month long pledge-a-thon that counts on the Internet's ability to pass word of mouth faster than any advertising campaign, Accountability Now has already received about 2,000 pledges of donations, with 16,000 visitors to the website since Wed.

What makes this hastily formed group so unusual is that it consists of expert fund raisers from the BreakTheMatrix campaign and Ron Paul supporters Rick Williams and Trevor Lyman, as well as well known left wing bloggers Glenn Greenwald from Salon and Jane Hamsher from FireDogLake. left wing and right wing coming together in a common bond to try to oust the traitors who voted away the Fourth Amendment, and gave succor to a criminal President.

The date they have chosen to drop this money bomb on the unsuspecting Democrats and Republicans is August 8th. Given that this is the date that Richard Nixon was forced to resign from office for doing a whole lot less than this president and this and the previous Congress have ever done when it comes to breaking every surveillance law, it seems almost righteously fitting to hit those who betrayed voter trust with their votes with a campaign to drive them from office also.

According to the Wall Street Journal and several bloggers, the ACLU is involved, as well as the Democratic fund raising site ActBlue, who will handle all of the group's legal processing and paper work. Such a strange group of people to be seen coming together in common cause, but it just goes to show that Americans are not really that different when it comes to the issues of freedom and civil rights. We are a nation that believes in our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the rule of law. Americans also believe that absolutely no one is above that law, and that you don't just change the law when you get caught breaking it, or use it to protect the most corrupt Executive Branch in our nation's history.

One might be tempted to dismiss this as some sort of Internet buzz that will die down soon enough until one also realizes that the BreakTheMatrix people were responsible for putting together the online campaign that raised $14 million for Ron Paul. And that the chorus of outrage is just beginning to resound across the web, especially within the left's blogosphere, with many former Obama supporters calling for everyone to sit this election out altogether. Whether that's the wise choice is another question altogether.

But make no mistake. To the politicians who stand there and say "I am not a crook", you've got a voter surprise coming. You can not vote against the interests of the American people and then try to run for re-election with smiles and more platitudes. Because a group of Strange Bedfellows is not going to allow the people to forget what you have done, and I happily joined their group today, pledging money, time, and effort to make your ouster from office a reality. I hope all of you who read this will join the fight also. If nothing else, visit the site and see what the hooplah is all about.

No comments: