The Meat of the Matter

This just in from MoveOn.org: Dear MoveOn member, The push for a real investigation into the president's illegal wiretapping program is picking up steam. Yesterday, the first Republican right-wing Rep. Heather Wilson, called for a "painstaking" review of the program. It's especially significant because Wilson heads a House subcommittee that oversees the NSA. Today, we learned that two judges from the secret intelligence court warned that the program "ran a significant risk of being declared unconstitutional." It's obvious to members of both parties that the president is breaking the law with his domestic spying program. The question is: are they going to let him get away with it? The only way Congress is going to continue to take this seriously is if they hear from concerned Americans now. Can you write a letter to the editor of your local paper? You can write and send a letter in just a few minutes through our online tool, at: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1461&id=6817-6786491-MtkEsunvMnCGVtAgaLaYWA&t=1 The op-ed page is often the most-read page in the newspaper and politicians pay special attention to it to understand how their community is responding to important issues. Seeing letters from concerned Americans will send them the message that we're not going to let the president off the hook. Our tool allows you to find papers near you and submit your letter online. We even provide talking points. Here are some basic points you can use, but please remember that when you write your letter, it's really important to speak from your heart. - The president is breaking the law. If Congress doesn't hold him accountable, they are telling us that the president is above the law. - The president already has the power to immediately wiretap suspected terrorists. The law offers the president the flexibility to wiretap suspected terrorists immediately and get a court order up to three days later. - The domestic spying program is a dragnet that has led to innocent Americans. The Bush administration insists that the illegal wiretapping program is only applied to suspected terrorists. Now, both the New York Times and the Washington Post have reported that the program is a fishing expedition that often leads to innocent Americans. On Monday, the attorney general would not confirm that the program didn't eavesdrop on innocent Americans. - Opposition to the president's power grab is bipartisan. Despite Karl Rove's desire to turn this into an election issue, even threatening to take electoral revenge on Republicans who break with the president, Republicans and Democrats have questioned his authority. As Congresswoman Wilson points out, the administration's reluctance to come clean, "has deepened her apprehension about whom the agency is monitoring and why." The president knows he's breaking the law so he's desperately trying to change the subject, using misleading terms like "terrorist surveillance program" to describe illegal spying on Americans in the United States. He's in dangerous waters right now, and he knows it. With momentum building against him, it's important to turn up the heat. The ad you're helping us air on CNN this week is one important part of this fight—it reminds people what happened the last time a president thought he was above the law. The next step is take our personal voices to the public. One of the best ways to do that is to write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Can you take a few minutes to write one today? http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1461&id=6817-6786491-MtkEsunvMnCGVtAgaLaYWA&t=2 Together, we can make sure this president doesn't get away with undermining one of the core values enshrined in our Constitution—protection against abuse of power by a system of checks and balances.