Day of Action in D.C. ACLU Teams Up for Public Outcry to Save Constitution

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Today's Day of Action: A Public Outcry to Save the Constitution and Restore American Values

Anthony D. Romero
Tue Jun 26, 10:50 AM ET

The times they are a-changing.

Today, thousands of ACLU members and other activists are descending upon the nation's capital for an historic rally and Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice. We are there to make our voices heard: the Bush administration's relentless assault upon our nation's laws, values and civil liberties must end.

The ACLU is teaming up with dedicated, high profile human rights groups including Amnesty International, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture for this event. More than 50 organizations are participating, representing more than four million Americans. Thousands of people are traveling from every state to participate in this historic day to rally and lobby members of Congress. The ACLU and other groups have collected more than 170,000 petition signatures which we'll hand-deliver to Congress to send a clear message: We the people say it's time for Congress to hold this administration accountable for its actions and restore our constitutional rights.

A national tragedy on September 11 was used by the Bush administration to advance a highly ideological agenda and seize greater powers. Guantánamo. Illegal spying on citizens. The destruction of habeas corpus rights of U.S. prisoners to challenge their detention. Extraordinary rendition. Torture. These are just some of the un-American and unacceptable policies this administration has foisted upon us as part of the so-called "war on terror." These are the policies that we're protesting today and that the ACLU has been fighting tooth and nail in the courts, the legislatures, and through our advocacy efforts.

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We must put this Congress on the spot now, not hand off these problems to the next administration. We must fight for legislation to restore our civil liberties. It's time to shut down Guantánamo and transfer those detainees who should remain in custody to civilian courts or military courts martial, where they can be tried before impartial arbiters. It's time to restore integrity to our laws -- restore habeas corpus, stop the illegal spying, stop the torture -- and recapture our moral legitimacy as a great democracy.

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The crowd was calling for impeachment. Dennis Kucinich was haled like a rock star. Leahy, Dobbs, Nadler and the rest just got polite applause.

When are these other lawmakers going to wake up and do their job of impeaching Cheney and then Bush?

I would have liked to see that.

but since there was no media coverage it's impossible to tell! The Post had nothing on it, even though we had 5 members of Congress speaking.