***FReepers: Urge President Bush to VETO Shays-Meehan CFR Bill! !***

Sixty Second Activist ^ | March 22, 2002 | Sixty Second Activist

[MeekOneGOP]

***FReepers: Urge President Bush to
VETO Shays-Meehan CFR Bill! !***

Tell Bush to VETO Shays-Meehan!
Stop this unconstitutional bill!

Here is the link to the Action Item.

http://www.conservativehq.com/032102.htm

Clicking on the "Action Item" link will take you to a form that will allow you to send a message to President Bush.

Here is the text of this Action Item..........

As you know, certain provisions of Shays-Meehan, including the ban on issue advocacy advertising 60 days from a general election and 30 days from a primary, as well as prohibitions on so-called "coordination" of contact between advocacy groups, individuals, and candidates for office, are outright violations of First Amendment free speech protections.

We're now one step closer to losing our rights to free speech and to have our voice heard in the political arena. If this legislation becomes law, the only groups left with real influence in our political system will be incumbent politicians and the media. The losers will be average citizens, civic groups, labor unions and political parties.

If Congress will not protect the U.S. Constitution, you are oath-bound to do just that. Free speech gag rules in Shays-Meehan violate the most protected of all free speech rights -- the right to free expression of political ideas.

You have expressed deep concerns about many of the free speech provisions in Shays-Meehan, and I hope that you will make the right decision in favor of the First Amendment.

Please VETO the Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform bill. Thank you.

Here is the link to the Action Item.

http://www.conservativehq.com/032102.htm

[MeekOneGOP]

Clicking on the "Action Item" link will take you to a form that will allow you to send the above message to President Bush.

Excerpts from The Sixty Second Activist e-mail:

We've done a lot to try to protect our Constitutional rights. We sent hundreds of Western Union mailgrams, thousands of emails, and over 90,000 faxes.

But our legislators refused to listen. On Wednesday, the Senate passed the Incumbent Protection Act, otherwise known as Shays-Meehan Campaign Finance Reform.

This has set the stage for a constitutional crisis. If President Bush signs this bill, it would severely restrict the rights and abilities of individuals and civic organizations from participating in the political process and speaking out and educating voters on issues of public policy.

Speak out against an incumbent -- go to jail.

Certain provisions of Shays-Meehan, including the ban on issue advocacy advertising 60 days from a general election and 30 days from a primary, as well as prohibitions on so-called "coordination" of contact between advocacy groups, individuals, and candidates for office, is an outright violation of First Amendment free speech protections.

After what the liberals in Congress have passed, we're one step closer to losing our rights to free speech and to have our voice heard in the political arena. If this legislation becomes law, the only groups left with real influence in our political system will be incumbent politicians and the media. The losers will be average citizens, civic groups, labor unions and political parties.

The bill now goes to the President's desk, to be signed into law or vetoed... and President Bush hasn't said which it will be.

"If Congress will not protect the U.S. Constitution, President Bush is oath-bound to do just that," said Phil Kent, president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation (www.southeasternlegal.org). "Free speech gag rules in Shays-Meehan violate the most protected of all free speech rights -- the right to free expression of political ideas."

"President Bush has expressed deep concerns about many of the free speech provisions in Shays-Meehan," said Kent, "and we hope that he will make the right decision in favor of the First Amendment."

All Americans who cherish the right to free speech should consider it their duty to contact the President and urge him to VETO this bill. Click "Go!" above now!

Here is the link to the Action Item.

[anniegetyourgun]

I think I'd better not fax, call and e-mail again in the same day. Yeah, I'll wait until Monday to do it all over again!

[Lunatic Fringe]

Not really Breaking News, is it..?

[BulletBrasDotNet]

The following is an e-mail that we sent to our President at 222.WhiteHouse.gov.

Dear Mr. President, Please do not sign this bill.

There are millions of Conservative loyal Constitutional Americans who believe in the Constitution of the United States of America.

If you sign this bill, you will have betrayed the Constitution which you swore to uphold.

Regards,

Mark and Karen Davis
Tomkins Cove, NY

[MeekOneGOP]

Not really Breaking News, is it..?

Seems to me Freedom of Speech is very important, IMHO..............

[backhoe]

Silence, America!:

Silence, America!: for Silence, America!. 

Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register

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A further Mini-Editorial!

Folks, these clowns, corrupters, and frauds in Congress are trying to silence YOU!

Wake up, doggone it!

Rush and Hannity and all the hosts in the world can inveigh against this garbage day and night, but unless you actually do something about it, it will not matter one tiny iota!

Now is the time! If not now, when? When they arrest your wife or kids for "improper speech?"

Get off your rear ends and send some emails and faxes. Write letters, especially letters to editors.

Call talk shows- the local ones are easy to get on and reach a lot more people than you may realize.

This- right here, this "issue"- is where the rubber meets the road...

There are over 70,000 members here, and I know each of you knows at least two or three more people you can tell about this-- so do it! Now!

And tell them to tell 2 more people, and tell them to "pass this on to 2 more..."

The right to speak freely is as fundamental to a free society as the right to defend yourself against unprovoked attack. This is a frontal assault on your liberty and the freedom of your children and spouse.

It's time to move out, folks- march, or die....

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Here's a Note to Activists:

Want to do something? Go here:

Ignorance Making You Ill? Cure It!

for links, tools, & instructions about how to contact a pile of different people, and how to send a link to this story right here ( or anywhere else ) to a "mass email" using Outlook Express.

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I say again, people- it's time to speak up- or be forever silenced!

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A further aid for activists:

Sorry for the difficulties some of you experienced yesterday in reaching the
> web site to send out the 100 faxes to all 100 U.S. Senators through Sixty
> Second Activist.  The URL was so long it sometimes jumped to a second line
> in the transmission, thus breaking the link.  Here's a shorter link that
> should take you to where you need to go:
>
> https://secure.chargedcontribution.com/ATA_60s_Shays-Meehan2/gopnv.asp
> ( this link, while not free, allows you to send faxes to 100 senators for $21.... )

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I say one last time- speak up now, or be forever silenced!

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[CasearianDaoist]

There is a real point here: We have to keep it up until the last minute. We need sustained protest. It cannot die down now. Do not let them think it has blown over and died down.

[MeekOneGOP]

Related links:

How to increase public awareness that CFR is unconstitutional
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/651813/posts

Bob Johnson, David Keene and other leaders send
letter to President Bush on Campaign Finance Veto!
http://saturn.he.net/~danger/freepnet/acu2bush.html

---

President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington D.C. 20500
March 20, 2002

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the nearly one million members and supporters of the American Conservative Union, and the millions more represented by those groups who have co-signed this letter, we are writing to urge you to veto the ill-conceived and unconstitutional Campaign Finance "Reform" bill, passed by the House last month, and the U.S. Senate this afternoon.

As we have said all along, this is not about politics, but about principle.

It is a travesty that so many Members of Congress-on both sides of the aisle- seem to have either forgotten about or chose to intentionally ignore their oaths to "support and defend the Constitution" when they cast their votes on this legislation. It is, frankly, sad that such an affront to freedom has actually made it to the desk of the President of the United States.

Much of the debate over this legislation focused on which party will be helped or hurt by its various provisions, with very few commentators addressing the core questions of whether or not the sorts of restrictions on political speech envisioned by the bill's authors are either wise or Constitutional.

We don't know which party will ultimately benefit or be hurt by this legislation and what's more, we don't care.

The bill making its way to your desk completely redefines political speech and outlaws or criminalizes speech that every American has always believed to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Looked at from our perspective, you are being asked to sign a bill that tells those who might want to criticize the actions of politicians to just shut up.

We understand fully the reasons why you have taken the position up to now that Congress could not count on a Presidential veto on this legislation and must therefore work to fashion something that is fair, effective and, yes, Constitutional. Well, Congress had its chance … and failed.

So now it's up to you!

You can pass the buck to the courts and hope that they will straighten out this mess. Or, you can veto it for what it is…. A bad bill that criminalizes political speech and deserves to be sent back from whence it came.

If there was ever a time to use the veto pen this is it. We urge you to veto this legislation.
If you can honestly say that you believe legislated restrictions on political speech is at the core of what our Founders wanted, by all means, sign the bill. But if you believe the proposed restrictions won't pass muster by a Supreme Court that actually believes in free speech, please, do everyone a favor by vetoing it.

Yours Sincerely,

David A. Keene
Chairman, American Conservative Union

[MeekOneGOP]

That's the spirit! Thanks!

[MeekOneGOP]

Thank you! Good job!

[deadhead]

Thanks for the link MeeknMing, I have signed and sent the letter. I have sent so many e-mails, and called the White House. Freedom of Speech Bump

[TLBSHOW]

Yes it is breaking news and should be till Bush vetos it and then here will be the new breaking news headline

Freepers save Free speech President Vetos CFR

[BulletBrasDotNet]

Backhoe,

I send three or four very brief notes to W or Cheney every day. More than a few sentences, no one will read.

Messages, short and to the point is the best ingredient in getting through to someone who will read the note, and maybe send it "upstairs."

[TheHound]

I sent one thru an FR link a week ago or so - is this different?

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks!

[MeekOneGOP]

I send three or four very brief notes to W or Cheney every day. More than a few sentences, no one will read.

Messages, short and to the point is the best ingredient in getting through to someone who will read the note,
and maybe send it "upstairs."

Keep up the good work. Thanks.

[RedWing9]

Bumparoooni!!!

[MeekOneGOP]

I sent one thru an FR link a week ago or so - is this different?

Probably. If you want to send one directly through your e-mail, President Bush's e-mail address is:

President@whitehouse.gov

Thanks!

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PS: Here's the e-mail I sent to him.............

My Dear President Bush:

On March 20th, David A. Keene, the Chairman of the American Conservative Union sent you a letter urging you to veto the Campaign Finance "Reform" bill. There were many other conservatives that signed that letter. I hope you have received it by now. If not, below is a copy of that letter, which is posted on the Internet here: http://saturn.he.net/~danger/freepnet/acu2bush.html

I agree with the letter and also urge you to veto the Campaign Finance Reform bill. Because it restricts free speech prior to an election, it is without a doubt unconstitutional. When you took the oath of office on January 20, 2001, you swore to uphold the constitution. This bill is unconstitutional and I know you are a man of honor and a man of good character. You have shown me that in your years as governor of my state and in the time that you have been President of this great country.

Please don't disappoint me and your conservative base on this issue. Veto Campaign Finance Reform. It's the right thing to do.

Sincerely,

Richard W. Meek

I attached the letter in post #8.

[MeekOneGOP]

PS: Thanks for doing the right thing!

[Recovering_Democrat]

Give it the old college try, but I'm afraid the decision has been made: FREEPers now need to pray, and mightily, for the wisdom of the Supreme Court to strike this law down.