Tom McClintock on Fisa Reauthorization - Petition
From Tom McClintock (R, CA)
Petition: http://www.tommcclintock.com/fisa-reauthorization
Dear Friend,
As Thomas Jefferson simply, but so eloquently put it:
“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”
There is no more perfect example than the FISA Reauthorization bill that once again stood before the House of Representatives last week and, once again, passed with a majority vote.
The FISA bill allows the government to target foreign nationals and intercept their communications without taking sufficient precautions to discard any communications of American citizens that these efforts may unintentionally ensnare.
In effect, this bill allows for the interception of communications of American citizens without warrant as required by the Fourth Amendment.
Proponents try to allay our fears by telling us not worry – that “irrelevant” information will be discarded. Yet, there is a fundamental flaw with this weak excuse...
The enforcement of this provision is, itself, shrouded in secrecy, making the potential for abuse substantial and any remedy unlikely.
Friends, no enemy can shred our Constitution. Only we, the American people, are capable of doing that and secret courts and warrantless surveillance are simply not compatible with a free society.
Benjamin Franklin settled the argument made by those who seek to threaten our freedoms for perceived safety when he warned that, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Indeed, America is safest when she is a thriving free society in a world that respects her strength and fears her just wrath. Stand with me and sign the petition to protect to our Constitution and the rights it guards.
