Is It Representation When No One Calls You Back?
Yesterday, I called up Bob Casey and Pat Murphy’s offices: they’re two local pols who decided to reward people who break the law by illegally spying on Americans, by voting in favor of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008,which granted retroactive immunity to these companies that particiapted: in other words, a get out of jail free card for Verizon and AT&T. Needless to say, this is a favor that has never been offered to, say, marijuana offenders, burglars, and other felons.
I had called because, despite their statements to me that the new FISA amendments they had voted in favor of would actually enhance my civil liberties, the New York Times reported that in reality (and just as I had predicted) the spying had continued and in fact expanded. The NSA calls it an “overcollection” that was “unintentional”. In fact, the NSA blamed the very law Patrick Murphy and Bob casey voted to pass. So I was hoping for an explanation.
Now let me be honest here. When someone’s watering down my civil rights, I get testy. When someone blows smoke up my ass, I get testier still. When someone is utterly condescending to me, and treats me like I’m an idiot who doesn’t know any better, I start to get really angry. And when, at the end of the day, it turns out I was right all along? I am downright unpleasant a fucking nightmare.
But all of that is just too damn bad for Pat Murphy and Bob Casey. It is not their job to like me. It is not their staff’s job to decide not to call me back just because they know the guy who calls on a weekly basis is, again, upset by something their boss did.
So the question I have today, and which I will be posing in my second day of unreturned calls, is “does it count as representation when my reps not only vote the wrong way, but have their prior statements demolished by current events, and then refuse to engage a constituent who wants to know A) why he wasn’t listened to and B) what they are going to do to rectify the situtation and C) how we can prevent this kind of predicatble stupid error from happenening again.
Pat Murphy, this is directed especially to YOU: you’re a fuckin’ lawyer for chrissake. You knew better than to vote for the FISA Amendments Act. Tell your staff to man up and answer my questions.
I’m sorry if I’m unpleasant, but you want to know what’s REALLY unpleasant? WATCHING YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES WHO SWEAR TO UPHOLD AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION EVISCERATE THE FOURTH AMENDMENT.
You guys are NOT off the hook. I’m calling EVERY DAY until I get a clear and coherent response. That one’s for you Ashley Stover, and for you too David Kline (legislative aides in both of those offices): no more accustaions that I’m questiong your mental state, and no more pretending that the law doesn’t mean what it means.
