On Valentine’s Day, Congressman Hanna voted against an effort to extend the worst provisions of the Patriot Act. The record shows that these provisions are used in connection to alleged terrorist conspiracies only a fraction of one percent of the time. More than 99 percent of the time, Patriot Act powers to conduct unreasonable search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment are done against people, many of them Americans, who are not even accused of having any connection to terrorism – even second or third-hand connections.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense for a principled Republican to vote against the renewal of the Patriot Act. Republicans assert that they’re against big government, and the Patriot Act is the worst kind of big government program there is.

We also ought to be able to assume that Democrats in Congress would be willing to take such a stand in defense of our liberty. Yesterday, New York’s U.S. senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, showed that’s not the case. They both voted in favor of extending the worst spying powers of the Patriot Act – with no reforms whatsoever.

Will we hear any comment from Democrats in Trumansburg and the Town of Ulysses about this vote?

The existence of the Patriot Act has encouraged the federal government to ignore all restraints – even the very loose restraints that limit Patriot Act spying powers. A new report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation shows that there have been tens of thousands of violations of the Patriot Act by FBI agents, for example.

Our Democratic Senators ought to know better than to vote in favor of any provision that extends these unconstitutional powers. Please call Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand through the congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to deliver that message.

While you’re at it, call Richard Hanna at his office in Auburn – 315-252-6700 – to thank him for his vote against Patriot Act extension.

Yesterday, the Ulysses Democratic Committee sent a letter to our U.S. Representative, Michael Arcuri. On June 20th, Congressman Arcuri introduced a resolution to limit debate on this far-reaching law to just one hour, with less than ten minutes given for the law’s opponents to speak. Then, Arcuri voted for the FISA Amendments Act.

The Ulysses Democratic Committee’s letter reads,

Dear Michael Arcuri,

We, the Ulysses Democratic Committee, in the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins, State of New York, are very disappointed, in your vote for the FISA Amendments Act. While we were petitioning to get you on the ballot, you were working to undermine our Constitution, and give retroactive immunity to telecoms that are illegally spying on us. We hope you continue to support the Constitution and the voters in your district.

The Ulysses Democratic Committee also sent letters to senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Barack Obama has declared that he will vote for the FISA Amendments Act, even if amendments are not passed to improve the law. The committee’s letter to Obama reads,

Senator Obama,

We Democrats in the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins, the only county you carried in New York State in the primary election, are deeply disappointed over your support for the FISA Amendments Act. Senator Obama you have said that if elected you would investigate the crimes of the present administration. Passing the FISA Amendments Act would remove some of these crimes from consideration and further damage our rights as citizens as defined by the 4th amendment to the Constitution. Bill Burton, a spokesman for Senator Obama, vowed that you would “support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.” It is essential that you declare his intention to honor this pledge now. We need 41 senators to maintain a filibuster of this seriously flawed legislation. Senator Obama, as the likely nominee of our party, you are the de-facto head of the party. We need your leadership in-order to find these 41 senators.

Senator Hillary Clinton has not been clear about her intentions with the FISA Amendments Act. The Ulysses Democratic Committee sent her the following letter:

Dear Senator Clinton:

Our community is very disappointed with the House for voting to pass the FISA Amendments Act. We call upon you to join our Senior Senator from NY, and Senators Dodd and Feingold, in acting to filibuster the bill in the Senate if telecom immunity is not stripped from the bill. We also question the need for increased powers for the Executive branch to spy on the American people without a warrant, which we understand to run contrary to our constitutionally-protected rights.

New York’s senior senator, Charles Schumer, has clearly expressed his opposition to the FISA Amendments Act. Thanks to him for making that stand.