This post is part of the MyDD candidate series. It's also my first post on MyDD period. I'm not affiliated with the Dodd campaign in any way, but I look forward to reading your comments.

For my first post on Chris Dodd for the MyDD candidate series, I had planned to write a long post dealing with questions of democracy, leadership, activism, and why I personally was supporting Chris Dodd. Unfortunately, sometimes legislative realities intrude on the best laid plans. Hopefully next week I will get to tell you all exactly why I support Chris Dodd. Today, however, I'm talking about FISA, against which Dodd is leading the fight.

Today, starting at around 10 am, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be revising and possibly voting on a new FISA law, as Matt Browner Hamlin previously mentioned. The issues at stake, as I'm sure you know, are twofold. First, Chris Dodd (and I) believes that there should be no immunity for lawbreaking telecom companies that spied on American citizens starting before 9/11. Folks, this is not about terrorism. Second, the FISA legislation in its current form allows the government to obtain "umbrella warrants," which allow it to spy on a wide net of people. Dodd (and I) believe this is unconstitutional, going against 4th amendment rights barring unlawful search and seizure.

Just yesterday, word came out that the latest version of the FISA bill had the government taking responsibility for the telecom's sins, which means that if the government is sued as a result of illegal wiretaps, the taxpayer will end up bearing the cost. The Dodd campaign has come out against this stupid "compromise," saying:

The taxpayers of the United States should not have to pick up the tab for corporate telecom giants who broke the law by enabling the government to spy on those very taxpayers. Asking the American people to foot the bill is simply adding insult to injury.

I couldn't agree more. It would be one thing if we were talking about holding Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, and any others that authorized these programs personally responsible, but that kind of "compromise" is just wishful thinking from the likes of Dianne Feinstein, who plans to vote for telecom immunity.

There is hope, however. Ten votes are needed in the Judiciary Committee to stop this bill from moving forward. As I said above, they are writing and voting on this legislation today at 10 am EST (that would be now). Why don't you give the committee members a call and ask them how they are voting? If they plan to vote yes, tell them you can't support any vote that includes telecom immunity or umbrella warrants. Christy at Firedoglake has the numbers to call:

Joe Biden     (202) 224-5042
Patrick J. Leahy     (202) 224-4242
Edward M. Kennedy     (202) 224-4543
Herbert Kohl     (202) 224-5653
Dianne Feinstein     (202) 224-3841
Russell D. Feingold     (202) 224-5323
Charles E. Schumer     (202) 224-6542
Richard J. Durbin     (202) 224-2152
Benjamin Cardin     (202) 224-4524
Sheldon Whitehouse     (202) 224-2921
Arlen Specter     (202) 224-4254
Orrin G. Hatch     (202) 224-5251
Charles E. Grassley     (202) 224-3744
Jon Kyl     (202) 224-4521
Jeff Sessions     (202) 224-4124
Lindsey Graham     (202) 224-5972
John Cornyn     (202) 224-2934
Sam Brownback     (202) 224-6521
Tom Coburn     (202) 224-5754

Chris Dodd's citizen generated whip count is keeping track of the votes. If you get an answer from any of these Senators, make sure you update the Dodd campaign so they can update their numbers. It'll take 10 no votes to win this fight, let's get there!

I'm glad Chris Dodd is taking a leadership position on this issue. It's one that's important to me, and I know it's one that resonates deeply with many other Americans. This kind of leadership is one of the main reasons I support Dodd and it's the kind of strong leadership we need after eight years of Bush's anti-government.

As you well know, if FISA passes the Judiciary Committee, Chris Dodd has informed Harry Reid that Dodd has placed a hold on the bill and will filibuster it if it gets to the Senate floor. I hope it won't come to that, but if it does, I'll be happy to have someone like Chris Dodd on my side to fight the good fight for me.