Dodd's back

Senator Chris Dodd heroically and almost singlehandedly prevented telecom amnesty from passing back in December.

Right before the Christmas break, there was a procedural tussle involving arcane Senate rules, but the gist of it is that his threatened filibuster postponed any significant action one way or the other until the Senate resumed in January.

And of course early this month, Dodd pulled out of the race and will be back in the Senate full time.

Well, here it is mid-January, and the fun and games in the Senate on the Bush-demanded pardon for AT&T and the other big telecommunications companies is gearing up again. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would like to once again accommodate Bush and his corrupt, law-breaking buddies. Or, at the least, retain the old FISA bill provisions, without amnesty, but still allowing way too much leeway in warrantless spying.

According to Tim Tagaris (who worked for the Dodd campaign, but is now speaking only for himself) Dodd's fellow senators are using surrogates speaking anonymously in the media to make clear that he is expected to get back in line and quit rocking the boat.

But Tim and others are determined to get Dodd's back.

There are a couple of ways to do that. First, write a letter to Dodd (contact form) showing you support his continued efforts on behalf of the Constitution and the privacy of law-abiding American citizens. And, perhaps even more important, send a copy to Reid (contact form), as well as Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Clinton (contact form) and Obama (contact form) (who ought to be using their considerable platforms to advance this issue before their colleagues and the public).

The second thing that can be done to thank and support Dodd, is to contribute to the retiring of his campaign debt. If you can, send a token of gratitude for his courage and commitment to the Constitution.