Hopeful But Vigilant

Just because I've been digging in the mud for a little while here, I'd like to take note of something substantive Obama's Democratic platform, which is by and large a stunningly good document, much better than I expected, and more surprising to boot. Steve Clemons likes it:

I don't agree with all of it, and I'll nitpick here and there another time as everyone will -- but the broad parameters of this document are uplifting, feel real, and from a distance as well as up close, the prescriptions drafted here are clearly about rebuilding a "high-trust world" at home and abroad in contrast to the "high-fear world" that Bush and Cheney have wrought and which John McCain (regrettably) seems fixated on perpetuating [...]

I have read through much of the platform -- but not all. Some of the key zingers are a focus on technology and taking back the government and getting more democracy per se via technology. There is a focus on service, on faith-based efforts -- a focus on citizen stakeholding.

And what I love most about the platform is that it started with a focus on what we need to do in America as Americans -- and not necessarily on the wars and conflicts in which war are embroiled abroad. The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars do demand our attention - as do many other international challenges -- but the defining challenges are here and should be addressed. The platform starts with these, and that is refreshing.

Here's a copy. These things aren't really useful in and of themselves, but in this early stage they do show Obama's worldview and how he will focus his attention on governing. And in that respect, I have to say that it's very refreshing. My favorite part is about the Constitution and civil liberties, which offers a toehold that we can use to demand major reform. I will quote at length:

As we combat terrorism, we must not sacrifice the American values we are fighting to protect. In recent years, we’ve seen an Administration put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. The Democratic Party rejects this dichotomy. We will restore our constitutional traditions, and recover our nation’s founding commitment to liberty under law.

We support constitutional protections and judicial oversight on any surveillance program involving Americans. We will review the current Administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. We reject illegal wiretapping of American citizens, wherever they live.

We reject the use of national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. We reject the tracking of citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. We reject torture. We reject sweeping claims of “inherent” presidential power. We will revisit the Patriot Act and overturn unconstitutional executive decisions issued during the past eight years. We will not use signing statements to nullify or undermine duly enacted law. And we will ensure that law-abiding Americans of any origin, including Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans, do not become the scapegoats of national security fears.

We believe that our Constitution, our courts, our institutions, and our traditions work.

In its operations overseas, while claiming to spread freedom throughout the world, the current Administration has tragically helped give rise to a new generation of potential adversaries who threaten to make America less secure. We will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools to hunt down and take out terrorists without undermining our Constitution, our freedom, and our privacy.

To build a freer and safer world, we will lead in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people. We will not ship away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, or detain without trial or charge prisoners who can and should be brought to justice for their crimes, or maintain a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law. We will respect the time-honored principle of habeas corpus, the seven century-old right of individuals to challenge the terms of their own detention that was recently reaffirmed by our Supreme Court. We will close the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, the location of so many of the worst constitutional abuses in recent years. With these necessary changes, the attention of the world will be directed where it belongs: on what terrorists have done to us, not on how we treat suspects.

We recognize what leaders on the front lines of the struggle against terrorism have long known: to win this fight, we must maintain the moral high ground. When millions around the world see America living up to its highest ideals, we win friends and allies in this struggle for our safety and our lives, and our enemies lose ground.

For our Judiciary, we will select and confirm judges who are men and women of unquestionable talent and character, who firmly respect the rule of law, who listen to and are respectful of different points of view, and who represent the diversity of America. We support the appointment of judges who respect our system of checks and balances and the separation of power among the Executive Branch, Congress, and the Judiciary–and who understand that the Constitution protects not only the powerful, but also the disadvantaged and the powerless.

Our Constitution is not a nuisance. It is the foundation of our democracy. It makes freedom and self-governance possible, and helps to protect our security. The Democratic Party will restore our Constitution to its proper place in our government and return our Nation to our best traditions–including our commitment to government by law.

If we could be assured that these principles would be reflected in policy, we could all go back to sleep. But we can't. Obama caved on FISA and the Democratic leadership in Congress is just as bad. But this is on paper now, and the only way it becomes vital is by throwing it in every legislator's face to start a movement for major Constitutional reform. Ronit Aviva Sancis, one of the leaders of the "Get FISA Right" movement, has a good response to this on the subject of wiretapping, which I think can be broadened out to the whole document.

After eight long years of a complete disregard for civil rights and liberties that freaked out the otherwise unflappable Molly Ivins, reading these sections on civil liberties was inspiring. It's an unmistakable commitment to return to the rule of law. The draft platform makes use of the comprehensive approach Get FISA Right took on the issue of Constitutional rights and the theory of unchecked unitary executive power, which is the appropriate response to the wholesale attack on our liberties.

However, there are a few unanswered questions.

Although the draft language on wiretapping says all the right things, it leaves the door open for those - including various Democratic Senators - who claim that under the FISA Amendments Act wiretapping is under judicial oversight and in keeping with the Constitution. It's also unclear as to whether or not this constitutes a pledge to reform the flawed FISA Amendments Act passed this July.

The platform does include the "comprehensive review" of government surveillance programs Sen. Obama promised us. Sen. Obama said that such a review would lead to taking "any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future"; presumably review will lead to reform, but reform isn't specified in the platform.

We have a responsibility to drill down to the specifics and make sure that those who violated these liberties for the last eight years are held accountable - otherwise they'll simply pop up again and again.

Make no mistake - there's a big difference between Obama and McCain on these matters. And there's a blueprint for a just world, dedicated to the rule of law and the restoration of our democracy, right there in the Democratic platform. The follow-through, however, is very important. That's where a bottom-up movement can nudge things in the right direction. It's a question of values, and we have to make sure the party in power stands behind them.