Somebody gave out marching orders yesterday for Democrats in Congress to fall in line and vote to reauthorize the surveillance authorities of the Patriot Act for yet another year. Although a some Democrats resisted, a shocking number of representatives simply did as they were told, ignoring their own party platform's promise to undo the abuses of the Patriot Act. This was a sneak-vote, held without any notice before the day of the vote and given the misleading heading of "Medicare reform." That's how the Congress acts when it is ashamed of its vote... and it should be ashamed. Patriot Act authorities were reauthorized yesterday without any reforms whatsoever. Not any reform. Not a single word of change. Not one.
You'd expect certain groups of Democrats, such as the openly conservative Blue Dogs, to vote in support of the Patriot Act, and that's pretty much what they did. But what about members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus? The Progressive Caucus has come out in formal opposition to regimes of unfettered surveillance like the Patriot Act. In its "Progressive Promise," the Progressive Caucus pledges "to sunset expiring provisions of the Patriot Act and bring remaining provisions into line with the U. S. Constitution" and "to protect the personal privacy of all Americans from unbridled police powers and unchecked government intrusion."
Well, guess what: the following members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus went ahead yesterday and voted to reauthorize provisions of the Patriot Act anyway:
Marcy Kaptur of Ohio Bennie Thompson of Mississippi Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas Alan Grayson of Florida Corrine Brown of Florida Charles Rangel of New York Louise Slaughter of New York Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan John Hall of New York Luis Gutierrez of Texas Robert Brady of Pennsylvania Bobby Rush of Illinois Lucille Roybal-Allard of California Eric Massa of New York Chakka Fattah of Pennsylvania Danny Davis of Illinois Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas John Conyers of Michigan William Lacy Clay of Missouri Jesse Jackson, Jr of Illinois Andre Carson of Indiana Diane Watson of California Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut James Moran of Virginia
Since each of these cowards and sellouts voted to authorize fascism and police state methods to be used against American citizens, each and every one of them must face stiff primary challenges from the left, and independent challenges in the general election from the left. At the very least, we must organize efforts to cut these politicians off from campaign funding for their re-elections. They do not deserve our support or our votes.
Read the rest here.