Tonight (7-12-2004) Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA 9th CD) made a failed attempt to explain his vote to defeat Bernie Sanders "Freedom of Reading" Amendment in the US House. While I commend Rep. Smith for reaching out with a conference call to a number of concerned citizens, in the end it appeared to me that the congressman is so sold on showing courage in the face of the terroist threat that selling out some of our civil liberties is a small price to pay.
Basically what he told us was that, A): he had been informed by the Congressional Reporting Service that there was a "probable cause" statute that would protect us from abuse. This claim was promptly rebuked by the representative of the ACLU who was in on the call; B): Jane Harman (ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee) told him it was ok to buck the entire Democratic Caucus (191 Democrats voted in favor of the amendment) because the entire Patriot Act would be back before the congress next year anyway; and C): if it weren't for the fact that John Ashcroft is Attorney General, this probably wouldn't be such a bad law. (This sentiment seems to run through the thinking of John Kerry as well, as the only negative comments I could find about the PA on his website had to do with how bad Ashcroft is).
There were many voices rising up in opposition to Rep. Smith. Many from the membership of this very group. Each one took the congressman to task for failing to understand the purpose of the amendment as well as the Patriot Act as a whole. In the end, we are left with how we got here. "What I want to know is................."
The Left Shue
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From: Adam Smith [mailto:adam@electadamsmith.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 6:27 PM
To: WA National Delegates
Subject: Letter to National Delegates
Dear Washington State Delegates,
First of all, I want to apologize for the vote I took on the Patriot Act amendment. I operated on insufficient information and voted wrong. I do owe all of you an explanation for that vote.
I absolutely oppose Attorney General John Ashcroft and the way he has run the justice department. He dismisses everyone who disagrees with him as giving aid and comfort to the enemy and that is a level of arrogance that is a grave threat to our civil liberties. I also believe the Patriot Act should be substantially altered. Many pieces of it are way too broad and dangerous to civil liberties. Most importantly, I believe strongly that a warrant and probable cause must precede any government searches of anything. The justice department should not be allowed to unilaterally engage in such investigations.
My mistake on the Sanders amendment came from the issue of probable cause. It was a three step learning curve for me and regrettably I only got to the first two steps before the vote. First, I heard the complaint that the Patriot Act allows searches without probable cause. Second, I checked this out and several sources told me that this was not true. A warrant and probable cause were required. I confirmed this with the non-partisan congressional policy staff. Third, I learned that "probable cause" had no definition. The court issuing these warrants has no standards. This means that no probable cause exists in any meaningful sense. For this reason based on my principles stated above, I should have clearly supported the Sanders amendment.
This issue will be back. As the Republicans demonstrated they were not going to allow the Sanders amendment to pass no matter what, but the Patriot Act expires next year. Therefore, it is helpful that I have learned these crucial facts now before the Act is up for reauthorization next year.
With that said, I do think that the level of personal attack directed at me is unfair. I have worked to elect Democrats for over twenty years and fought for numerous progressive issues. Pro-Choice groups and the Human Rights Fund have both given me a 100 percent lifetime rating. I have marks almost as high with labor, environmentalists, the ACLU and Americans for Democratic Action. I led the fight to pass hate crimes legislation in the State Senate and fought hard for gay rights as well. I have opposed every single tax cut proposed by President Bush, opposed his efforts to destroy Medicare and have fought him on numerous other issues as well. Finally, immediately after President Bush was elected, I knew our country was in need of a new direction, and for the last three years have been working on John Kerry’s campaign.
I know this has been a difficult and contentious process as many of us supported different candidates, but I ask that we all take a moment and honestly consider my record. Not only have I been a loyal Democrat, but I have reached out to all delegates in this process to try and make amends for any concerns. I personally met with Jeff Smith and apologized to him for specific actions and also made that apology public to all of you.
Given my record, I do not think I deserve this level of attack, even admitting the mistake I made on the vote last week. I hope we get past this and come together to elect as many Democrats as possible this November. Many of you have contacted me and my staff with your support and appreciation for my work, and I am grateful for that.
Thank you for all your hard work during this process.
Sincerely,
Adam Smith
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