Cornyn to Obama: Stop With the Enemies Lists

Weekly Standard ^

[Sub-Driver]

Cornyn to Obama: Stop With the Enemies Lists

The White House call for people to inform on anyone spreading "disinformation about health insurance reform" didn't sit well with a lot of people -- Obama isn't running a political campaign anymore, he's supposed to be running the country (and in the event even those who spread video clips of the president making statements on health care reform that are now impolitic have been targeted by the White House). Texas Senator John Cornyn has written a letter to the president politely asking if he could please put an end to the creepiness:

“I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy’ or otherwise inimical to the White House’s political interests,” Sen. Cornyn wrote. “You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights.”

Read the full letter after the jump.

Dear President Obama,

I write to express my concern about a new White House program to monitor American citizens’ speech opposing your health care policies, and to seek your assurances that this program is being carried out in a manner consistent with the First Amendment and America’s tradition of free speech and public discourse.

Yesterday, in an official White House release entitled “Facts are Stubborn Things,” the White House Director of New Media, Macon Phillips, asserted that there was “a lot of disinformation out there,” and encouraged citizens to report “fishy” speech opposing your health care policies to the White House. Phillips specifically targeted private, unpublished, even casual speech, writing that “rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation.” Phillips wrote “If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed “fishy” or otherwise inimical to the White House’s political interests.

By requesting that citizens send “fishy” emails to the White House, it is inevitable that the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and private speech of U.S. citizens will be reported to the White House. You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights.

I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward emails critical of his policies to the White House. I suspect that you would have been leading the charge in condemning such a program—and I would have been at your side denouncing such heavy-handed government action.

So I urge you to cease this program immediately. At the very least, I request that you detail to Congress and the public the protocols that your White House is following to purge the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities of citizens who are reported to have engaged in “fishy” speech. And I respectfully request an answer to the following:

· How do you intend to use the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities of citizens who are reported to have engaged in “fishy” speech?

· How do you intend to notify citizens who have been reported for “fishy” speech?

· What action do you intend to take against citizens who have been reported for engaging in “fishy” speech?

· Do your own past statements qualify as “disinformation”? For example, is it “disinformation” to note that in 2003 you said: “I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan”?

I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN

United States Senator

[Heart of Georgia]

Senator Cornyn - Thank You!

[BykrBayb]

We will not recognize it in another 3 1/2 years.

I already don't recognize it. Not since the government ordered the brutal murder of Terri Schiavo. And it keeps getting worse.

[Piranha]

I think this is very significant. I also think sen. Cornyn’s response is dead-on and I hope it gets noticed (and that he does, too).

[DarthVader]

You bet it is and he is getting things properly documented. If Nancy/Harry don’t deal with this and admonish Obozo, Sen. Cornyn has other people that can redress this issue and have the power to make things happen.

[sunny48]

Thank you Senator Cornyn

[Syncro]

I hardly see it mentioned what Obama is going to do with the email addresses of the people that report patriotic constitutional discussions to him as “fishy” etc.

I imagine he is going to keep that list so he can recruit them into his army that he mentioned some time ago that he is forming.

He will have a long list of lackeys from the thousands of emails he receives from leftists tattle-tales.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT.

As I've stated before it's quite obvious there are those who hero worship the messiah who are not taking public opposition to his health care plan very well. The fact that the Obamabots are choosing to respond in this way does raise some very serious issues with the first amendment.

One more thing I want to add to is all freepers out there be very watchful of some obmabot trolls coming on here and trying to cause trouble. I just came off of a thread that was started by someone who just signed on today. Everyone there is still tyring to figure out if he/she is really on our side or just here to cause trouble.

[soozer47]

Being a patriot, I did the only thing I could do—I turned myself in. I suggest you all do the same. I intend to send this until I get a response....

Dear White House,
I am hereby turning myself in to the White House Dissent Management Czar. I disapprove of the government run health care bill and I will tell everyone I know that it is a crummy idea. You now have my IP and my email. If you would like my physical address and zip code and cell phone #, just let me know so that I can provide it for you and you can monitor me at all times. If you want me to turn myself in to the police, I can do that too.

Sieg Heil! And have a nice day!
Susie XXX ( a well-dressed-by-Kohl’s mob member)
Friendswood, TX

[RegulatorCountry]

Back in the 90’s, in my wilder, more big-L Libertarian and far less Classical Liberal/Constitutionalist days, I used to troll anarchist forums, provoking those commie trust-fundies-in-drag to all sorts of silliness.

Those days are well behind me now, but something I recall from then jumps out at me, and that was “jam Echelon.”

Any way to flood this effort with useless data?

[COUNTrecount]

Bump

[Western Phil]

“Does this remind anyone else of Nazi Germany, when neighbors and families would turn in each other.”

Its only been a few years since that was the mode of operation of the Stasi.

[MrB]

I had a email buddy back then that had “nuclear weapons” in his auto-signature.

[RegulatorCountry]

That’s just the sort of thing I’m cogitating upon, here.

Any applicability, that you can see?

[SonOfDarkSkies]

Obama learned this lesson from Soros who escaped the Holocaust by identifying fellow Jews (and their property for confiscation) in Hungary.

[MrB]

Just send in a dozen emails a day,
mostly reporting libs & 0bama supporters.

[TBP]

Senator Cornyn will have to be reported.

[Sequoyah101]

Coryn seems to maybe have a pair yet. Everybody needs to get in zero’s face over this one. It is outright state police stuff right out of the Stazi or just about any other regime you can name.

It has already gone too far but this is way too much. Make all the assessments you want as some have already and parse all the words and phrases you want but the intention of this is clear ...intimidate and turn the people on one another. What will be done with the information one can only guess but the fact is ...it is wrong!

[RegulatorCountry]

It’s a worthy cause to subvert this thing.

Can it really be that simple?

[Logical me]

if he could please put an end to the creepiness:

Please????? WTF. King Obama is really asking for real problems with this witch hunt. This is how communists/dictatorship work. Whoops! That is what he is.

[1951Boomer]

Part of me sees a resemblance between this and a whispering campaign among 5th grade girls. So childish and juvenile—could a 25-year-old staffer have won a few brownie points by coming up with this stupid idea? The other part of me thinks this more sinister.