Fighting Telecom Immunity
Senator Dodd has led the fight against offering amnesty to Telecoms that knowingly violated the law (and the public trust) in the FISA bill.  Dodd is willing to filibuster any version of the FISA bill that offers telecom immunity.  

Dodd on FISA:

Yesterday Dodd had a victory.  From a campaign email sent out by Dodd's Internet Guy Tim Tagaris:

   
• 1. Within the last hour, the Senate Judiciary Committee just reported out a FISA bill that DOES NOT include retroactive immunity for the telecom companies that helped the Bush Administration spy on Americans.

   

• 2. This means the Judiciary bill moves to the full Senate WITHOUT the dangerous language included.

   

• 3. Retroactive immunity will, however, surely be introduced as an amendment to the FISA bill.

   

•  4. If needed Senator Dodd will filibuster any amendment seeking to add retroactive immunity to the underlying bill. By filibustering, he will force the opposition to find 60 votes to pass the provision.

It will be a lot more difficult for those who would enable the erosion of our Constitution to find the 60 votes necessary to stop immunity on its own than it would be for us to find the 40 needed to sustain a filibuster of the bill as a whole if it included immunity.

The fight against telecom amnesty isn't over, but Dodd will be there (urging citizen action every step of the way) until the end.

Working Families
Chris Dodd authored the Family Medical Leave Act which Senator Chris Dodd is authored the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which has allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave if they are ill or if they need to care for a sick family member or new child.  

But his committment to the issues of working families doesn't end there.  Dodd also authored the Child Care and Development Block Grant a product of the welfare reform in 1996 which provides money for child care assistance for low-income families, families receiving public assistance, and parents enrolled in training or education or who are working and transitioning from welfare or other public assistance. States can use these funds to help families who need child care in order to work and to help families move out of and stay off welfare.  Access to childcare is crucial for any parent wishing to reenter the workforce or seek additional education and training.  Year after year President Bush has proposed a freeze in discretionary spending for this grant.  I am confident that a Dodd presidency will makes access to childcare a priority.  

Dodd has also been a leader in the fight against predatory lending.  His Homeownership Preservation and Protection Act would reform mortgage lending practices that have created the foreclosure crisis we're seeing now.  

Chris Dodd on predatory lending (Senate Press Release 9/5/07):

Let me be clear: affordable home loans are a good thing; predatory lending is not.  Predatory lending needs to be stopped, which is why I intend to introduce legislation that will put an end to the practices that have forced thousands of Americans into foreclosure and put thousands more in danger of losing their homes.

My bill will end prepayment penalties - which only exist in the subprime market, and which penalize homeowners for trying to do the right thing by refinancing their mortgage.  It will prohibit brokers and lenders from "steering" homebuyers to a more costly loan.  And it will make brokers responsible to the people who pay them - and ban them from acting as free agents who play lenders and borrowers off against each other.  Most importantly, my bill will help keep Americans in their homes while also helping to restore public confidence in our mortgage and capital markets.

Chris Dodd has been a strong leader in the Senate on these and other kitchen table issues.  He will be a President for Working Families.  

Dodd Gets Bloggy
No other candidate has engaged online quite like Chris Dodd.  Rather than using the Internet to disseminate information Dodd has focused on civic engagement and coalition building.  The Dodd campaign isn't talking at us but with us.  

Why does that matter?  I respect politicians who want to raise the level of debate and encourage people to get involved with issues that matter to them.  Our current president isn't doing that.  Our current congress isn't doing it either.  When it's done right, politics online is supposed to empower people to work towards something.  No other presidential campaign has come close to this ideal.  Only Chris Dodd has realized the potential of the Internet as a way to help citizens become effective advocates.

And Dodd has stood by online activists when so many other politicians were happy to jump on the bandwagon attacking us.  Chris Dodd was the ONLY member of Connecticut's Congressional Delegation to vote against the pointless resolution condemning Moveon.  On the even of Yearly Kos Chris Dodd stood up for the netroots on national television taking on none other than Bill O'Reilly.  Not only does Dodd understand the power of online activism, but he has shown that he will be our advocate.  

The Elephant in the Room: Iraq
Chris Dodd will end the war in Iraq.  He will set a firm deadline tied to funding, and bring our troops home.

From Dodd's campaign website:

By ending our military's participation in Iraq's civil war, we can begin focusing our attention on fighting al Qaeda in Afghanistan and elsewhere - boldly engaging friends and foes alike in a robust diplomacy, dedicating more resources and manpower to homeland security and leading the world on energy independence.

Hope alone will not wipe away the damage to America's moral authority these last 6 years. Hope alone will not bring our allies back to our side. And hope alone will not restore America's leadership.

But with conviction and clarity, Chris Dodd believes we can bring an end to the war in Iraq and make America more secure. With the right leadership, America can lead again.

Dodd is the candidate to end this war and get our troops out of harm's way.  It's that simple.  

I am proud to endorse Chris Dodd for President.