VA Democrats Resolution Regarding Wiretapping

Is this something that DPO ought to pursue?

Resolution
of the
Arlington County Democratic Committee



WHEREAS, the People of Virginia and the Arlington County Democratic Committee firmly believe in the Constitutional principles of three co-equal branches of government, and the system of checks and balances by which that equality is preserved; and

WHEREAS, our Founding Fathers, including those great Virginians Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, were adamant that they had established a government of laws and not men; and

WHEREAS, any President who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government, and any executive who claims for himself the power to ignore the legitimate legislative directives of the Congress or to act free of the check of the judiciary becomes the central threat that the Founders sought to prevent in the Constitution – an all-powerful executive too reminiscent of the King from whom they had broken free; and

WHEREAS, the Executive Branch of our federal government has admitted to secret electronic surveillance of American citizens, and has declared that it has the unilateral right to continue without regard to the established law enacted by Congress to prevent such abuses; and
Although we believe that the threat from terrorism is all too real and that we must be ever-vigilant in protecting our citizens from harm, we reject the idea that we have to break the law or sacrifice our basic principles of government to protect Americans from terrorism, because by doing so we destroy the very way of life that we are fighting to protect; and
WHEREAS, “We the People” are the key to the survival of America's democracy, and as citizens we have a duty and a responsibility to help to preserve and protect our Constitution by speaking out and participating and by holding our elected officials accountable for their own responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, former Vice President Al Gore spoke at the Constitution Hall of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington D.C. on Monday, January 16, 2006 to sound an alarm and to call upon his fellow citizens to put aside partisan differences and join with him in demanding that our Constitution be defended and preserved; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Gore outlined five points of action to protect the constitutional liberties and American values that have been placed at serious risk by the unprecedented claims of the current White House Administration to a “truly breathtaking expansion of executive power”;

NOW THEREFORE, on this 1st day of February, 2006, it is hereby resolved that the Arlington County Democratic Committee endorses and supports those Five Points of Action and calls upon our elected senators and representatives to implement these measures in all haste.

The five points are:

1. Immediately appoint a special counsel to investigate what many believe are serious violations of law, including the criminal issues raised by warrant-less wiretapping of Americans.


2. Immediately establish new whistleblower protections for members of the Executive Branch who report evidence of wrongdoing.


3. Both Houses of Congress should hold comprehensive hearings on these matters, including the criminal issues raised by warrant-less wiretapping of Americans.


4. The extensive new powers requested by the Executive Branch in its proposal to extend and enlarge the Patriot Act should under no circumstances be granted, unless and until there are adequate and enforceable safeguards to protect the Constitution and the rights of the American people against the kinds of abuses that have so recently been revealed.


5. Any telecommunications company that has provided the government with access to private information concerning the communications of Americans without a proper warrant should immediately cease and desist their complicity in this invasion of the privacy of American citizens.