Dear Grassroots Global Activists,

In exactly two weeks, we are going to find out whether members of Congress have any respect for the institution they represent.  We will see whether they have the courage to stand up to the Bush administration and defend the Constitution they took an oath to protect.  Specifically, we will discover whether they are willing to take the measures necessary to ensure that Bush administration officials testify before Congress. 

On July 10, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to investigate the firings of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and the questionable prosecution and imprisonment of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman.  Karl Rove, a potentially key figure in both incidents, has been issued a subpoena to testify before the committee.  Rove's lawyer has said that Rove will not appear.

Congress has a few options here.  First, if Rove fails to appear, they could pass criminal contempt charges against him, as they did against White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers.  This is good, but will not result in immediate testimony. 

The second option is to have Karl Rove arrested, under the theory of inherent contempt, and brought to Congress to testify.  This is better, but may still be eventually unsatisfying if Rove ends up testifying yet asserts executive privilege repeatedly in order to avoid disclosing important information.

Another option - and the one supported by the American Freedom Campaign Action Fund - is to tell the president immediately that he will be impeached if members of his administration do not provide full testimony before Congress by a date certain in July.  This has historical precedent as one of the three articles of impeachment ultimately brought against President Richard Nixon was based on his refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas.

The final option is to do nothing and set a precedent for the future by which any administration can claim that Congress does not have the ability to force executive branch officials to testify before Congress.  This would be an affront to our Constitution and Congress is dancing perilously close to this line already.

We cannot allow Congress to become subservient to the executive branch.  It must exert its oversight authority and force administration officials to testify.  Please tell your U.S. representative to take whatever steps are necessary to compel testimony by clicking on the following link:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2165/t/1027/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25061

Thank you for sharing your feelings with your U.S. representative. 

Steve

Steve Fox
Campaign Director
American Freedom Campaign Action Fund

Senator Russ Feingold has long believed that a strong grassroots field program is the key to electoral victory. As such, Senator Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund created the Patriot Corps in 2006 as a way to support progressive candidates across the nation. In the lead-up to the 2008 election, the Progressive Patriots Fund will again be hiring, training and sending field staff to key races across the country.

The program will run from September 4th – November 12th, 2008. Participants will be paid $500/week and will be provided housing free of charge on their assigned campaigns.

Once chosen, Patriot Corps members will participate in an extensive, multi-day training program in Milwaukee, WI. Senator Feingold's senior staff will personally train participants. Training will run from Thursday, Sept. 4th – Saturday, Sept. 6th. Participants will be expected to report to their assigned campaign on Tuesday, Sept. 9th. This training will focus on volunteer recruitment, organizing a canvass, running a phone bank, working with local activists, advanced GOTV training, and staffing a candidate.

Patriot Corps members will then be placed on targeted campaigns across the country for the last two months leading up to the election.

While we're looking for organizers with experience, we're also hoping to hire activists with a willingness to learn, word hard, and bring victory home this fall.

For more information or to apply for the Patriots Corps Program, please visit our website:

http://progressivepatriotsfund.com/patriot-corps/

Dear Friends,

Right now, Fox News is trying to paint Barack Obama as foreign,
un-American, suspicious, and scary. They're trying to send Americans
the message that our country's first viable Black candidate for
President is not "one of us."

I've joined on to ColorOfChange.org's campaign to push back on Fox,
publicly demanding they stop their race-baiting and fear mongering.
If that doesn't work, then we'll go to their advertisers and the FCC.
I wanted to invite you to sign on as well.  It takes only a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=2403-122512

Here's what happened recently:

After Senator Obama won the nomination, he and his wife gave each
other a "pound" in front of the cameras. Fox anchor E.D. Hill called
the act of celebration a "terrorist fist jab." Then last week, a Fox
News on-screen graphic referred to Michelle Obama as "Obama's baby
mama"--slang used to describe the unmarried mother of a man's child.
It was a clear attempt to associate the Obamas with negative cultural
stereotypes about Black people, an insult not only to Michelle Obama
but to women and Black people everywhere. 

After each of the incidents mentioned, Fox issued some form of weak
apology. But what does it mean when you slap someone in the face,
apologize the next day, then slap them again on the third? It means
the apology is meaningless.

These aren't one-time incidents--they're part of a pattern that
continues no matter how often Fox is forced to apologize.   Fox has a
clear record of attacking and undermining Black institutions, Black
leaders, and Black people in general.

If we don't push back now, we will see more of the same from now until
November.  Please join me in helping to bring an end to Fox's
behavior.

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=2403-122512

Thanks.

Thanks For Visiting!