Constitution Day: Can we please talk about it?
Constitution Day has arrived without major statements from Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain on the need to restore this country’s commitment to the rule of law.
— John Nichols, Constitution in Crisis, Candidates in Denial, The Nation
At the risk of showing my age, I grew up with the impression that the Constitution was supposed to guide us 365 days a year … ah well. Times change.
In Get FISA Right: on the air in St. Paul I lamented the lack of discussion of Constitutional issues in the election campaign. Turns out that Dahlia Lithwick and I weren’t the only ones who are disturbed by this:
- The Institute for America’s Future is featuring these issues prominently in their “give us a debate worthy of a nation in trouble” series that they kicked off earlier this week with a full-page New York Times ad.*
- The ACLU’s launching a “constitution voter” drive, asking Congresspeople to stop “failing freedom”, and running an excellent blog post from Russ Feingold (who held a Senate hearing yesterday on restoring the rule of law); they’re also involved with local events, like Freedom to Speak! at Seattle-area libraries.
- Common Cause is focusing on the role of media and having a rally at the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia.
- The American Freedom Campaign and World Resources Institute are leading a group of 30+ organizations (including Get FISA Right as well as Human Rights Watch, Campaign for American Progress, the Bill of Rights Defense Fund, and the American Conservative Defense Alliance) who are asking the Presidential candidates and media to dedicate today to discussing constituational issues.
During the past 8 years, the Bush administration listened to Americans’ phone calls and read their emails without a warrant. If elected President, John McCain would do the same.*