It’s just the latest in a long series of betrayals by Barack Obama. Obama was elected by Americans because they wanted change from the policies of George W. Bush. In spite of that clear mandate, Obama has preserved the worst of George W. Bush’s policies.

How can any self-respecting Democrat vote for Obama in 2012? To re-elect Obama would be to reward his betrayals.

That’s not to say that there shouldn’t be a Democratic President. There should be – but one who holds true to the progressive values of the Democratic Party’s base rather than running over to support Republican legislation.

In 2012, Democrats need to Primary Obama. We can find someone better.

Congressman Sam Farr was not among them. Unlike many of his colleagues, Representative Farr took a strong stand against the renewal of the most clearly unconstitutional provisions of the Patriot Act. Farr explained,

“I felt compelled to vote against extending the three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act that continue to give the government sweeping authority to spy on individuals inside the United States and, in some cases, without any suspicion of wrongdoing. These intrusive and sweeping powers stand in stark contrast to the fundamental individual privacy rights enshrined in the Fourth Amendment of our Constitution. All three surveillance provisions are unnecessary, they do not protect us against terrorism, and they should have been allowed to expire long ago. I am appalled by the blatant disregard for the civil liberties of innocent Americans who have absolutely no connection to the global war on terrorism, and I look forward to a time when these provisions are no longer the law of the land.”

You can stand with Sam Farr in his opposition to the Patriot Act. At noon tomorrow, March 12, 2011, Americans will gather in protest against the Patriot Act outside the U.S. Capitol. You can join them. For more day to day, simple activism, if you live in Washington D.C. or in the 17th congressional district of California, where Sam Farr comes from, you can place this bumper sticker on your car, with the simple message: I support Sam Farr.

Jackson Lee explained her vote by recalling the difficult early years of the United States of America. She reminded her colleagues that, although the early U.S.A. was besieged by European powers intent on ruining the new nation, the founders did not allow their fears to interfere with the growth of liberty. The early Americans stood firm in support of the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure in a way that many Americans today are reluctant to emulate.

Jackson Lee declared:

“To win the war on terror, the United States must remain true to the founding architects of this democracy who created a Constitution which enshrined an inalienable set of rights. These Bills Of Rights guarantee certain fundamental freedoms that cannot be limited by the government. One of these freedoms, the Fourth Amendment, is the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. We do not circumvent the Fourth Amendment, or any other provision in the United States Constitution, merely because it is inconvenient.

As an American citizen, the security and safety of my constituency is pinnacle, but I will never stand for legislation that infringes on the basic rights afforded in our Constitution. When our founding fathers drafted the constitution, after living under an oppressive regime in Britain, they ensured that the American people would never experience such subjugation. Where are the protective measures for our citizens in the Patriot Act? Why are the measures addressed in the last Congress not included in the bill?

Instead of reauthorizing these provisions, Congress should conduct robust, public oversight of all surveillance tools and craft reforms that will better protect private communications from overbroad government surveillance.”

In these times when phantom fears are provoking many politicians in Washington D.C. to rush to sacrifice our constitutional freedoms for a thin semblance of security, we need more leaders like Sheila Jackson Lee who remember what true American courage looks like. Courage means that, even if there are dangers out there in the world, we keep hold of our freedoms.

If you’re a resident of the 18th congressional district in Texas, display your support to Representative Jackson Lee. Put this bumper sticker on your car to show that when Sheila Jackson speaks in support of liberty in the Constitution, she speaks for you.

If you live further to the east, consider making your way to Washington D.C. this Saturday to show some leadership yourself. This Saturday, March 12, 2011 at noon, there will be a protest against the Patriot Act outside the U.S. Capitol Building.

In a recent debate over extension of the Patriot Act’s unconstitutional regime of unreasonable search and seizure against huge numbers of Americans, Schakowsky stood on the side of liberty. H.R. 514 renewed the worst abuses of the Patriot Act without even any attempt at reform, but Schakowsky did not let the legislation pass without her opposition.

Representative Schakowsky explained, in a speech on Capitol Hill, that she opposed the legislation because, “Among the provisions extended in this bill is section 215, which allows the government to gain access to anyone’s private, confidential records, including their medical, financial, library, and bookstore records, without first presenting evidence linking those records to a suspected terrorist or spy. It also fails to allow for court oversight of these secret orders, and prohibits the recipient of such orders from challenging the legality of the order for a year.”

Thank you, Jan Schakowsky, for your stand against the Patriot Act. Your opposition to Big Brother spying powers is just one reason we can say: Jan Schakowsky speaks for me…

…but of course, in the U.S.A., it is not the role of a citizen to merely be spoken for by political leaders. A good opportunity to speak for yourself is present this coming weekend, Saturday March 12. At noon on that day, Americans who care about their constitutional freedoms will gather outside the U.S. Capitol Building in protest, demanding repeal of the Patriot Act.

Well, the national emergency has come and gone, but the Patriot Act remains. It was renewed, in spite of previous promises, in 2005, and now, in 2009, it’s the Senate Democrats who are leading the charge to renew the Patriot Act. They’re trying to pass S. 1692, a bill to put off the sunset yet again.

Like the original Patriot Act, S. 1692 fails to protect Americans’ constitutional rights. Good senators like Russ Feingold and Dick Durbin supported an amendment that would have at least guaranteed that the Patriot Act’s worst powers would only be used in cases of suspected terrorism or foreign spying, but their amendment was dismissed. Worse yet, it was other Democrats who made up the deciding votes to kill the reform. The following Democrats voted no to reforming the Patriot Act:

Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Senator Al Franken
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Senator Ted Kaufman
Herb Kohl

It’s time to talk back to these Democratic leaders. They were elected to take a stand against the abuses of the Bush era, not to extend them! This bumper sticker gives a direct message about what’s at stake: Patriots Against the Patriot Act

This video contains more explanation of the problems with the new Patriot Act extension:

No, we don’t, and Democrats in Congress are the reason we don’t. In the House of Representatives, the Blue Dog Democrats wrecked health care reform. In the Senate, five right wing Democrats joined the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee today to vote against a public option in health care reform. These five Democratic turncoats were:

Max Baucus
Blanche Lincoln
Kent Conrad
Bill Nelson
Tom Carper

Progressive organizations agree – without a public option health care reform is rendered virtually meaningless. Now, these right wing Democratic senators have killed the public option. They’ve ripped the heart out of Barack Obama’s reform program.

So what are we going to do about it? Sit around and mope? No. We’re going to teach these anti-progressive Democrats a lesson about what happens when leaders break promises made to progressives. The progressives get organized, and they fight back.

In Arkansas, John Gray is leading the charge. He is challenging Blanche Lincoln from the left, asking why Lincoln is abandoning Democratic Party promises and voting like a Republican instead.

Today, Gray responded right away when he heard that Blanche Lincoln had voted against Barack Obama’s public option. Gray linked Lincoln’s anti-reform vote to the large campaign donations she receives from insurance companies and other commercial entities that make a profit from the broken status quo. “She has a rather large campaign chest, almost half of which is from the medical industries,” Gray said. “The fact that she is loyal to her sponsors is not at all surprising.”

Gray pledged to support single payer health care instead of the pro-industry sham promoted by Senator Lincoln. By eliminating the commercial inefficiencies created by insurance companies, the Gray Health Plan would enable savings that would pay for health care coverage for all Americans.

Universal health care coverage – remember that promise? John Gray has not forgotten. That’s a darned good reason to vote John Gray for Senate in 2010.

Show your support for Maurice Hinchey’s record, and for his re-election, with a very progressive bumper sticker:

This is the closest I can come to designing a pro-Obama bumper sticker lately:

Sigh. At least he’s not John McCain.

Barack Obama went to the floor of the United States Senate. He stood up to George W. Bush and his anti-American spying programs. He voted in favor of several efforts to remove the unjust provisions of the electronic spying law.

What did Hillary Clinton do? She just walked away from the Senate. Hillary Clinton did not even bother to show up to vote. Hillary Clinton left

Politicians like Hillary Clinton need a reminder that government spying against Americans is unAmerican. If Hillary Clinton will not show up to do her job in the Senate to defend us from government spying, then she no longer deserves the support of voters – not for her campaign for President, and not to be re-elected to the Senate either.