The Congressional Progressive Caucus makes what it calls The Progressive Promise. It’s a platform of progressive action the CPC pledges to take. That Progressive Promise includes the following plank:
“To sunset expiring provisions of the Patriot Act and bring remaining provisions into line with the U. S. Constitution.”
That promise about the Patriot Act is made on a new version of the CPC website which the CPC proudly announced on Twitter today. It’s a funny coincidence, because, also happening today, the U.S. House of Representatives is voting on H.R. 514, legislation to renew the worst aspects of the Patriot Act, which would otherwise sunset 19 days from now.
So, what did the Congressional Progressive Caucus do with its new web site and Twitter account to rally opposition to the Patriot Act, as it promised? Nothing. Not one note of opposition was published to the new web site. Not one tweet demanding that the sunsets of the Patriot Act be honored was made. The Congressional Progressive Caucus did not keep its Progressive Promise.
A decade ago, with George W. Bush as President and the Democratic Party trying to figure out what to do to respond to his regressive policies, I would have been patient. I would have encouraged progressive activists to do what they could to support the Democrats in Congress, and quietly ask those Democrats to be more active on progressive issues.
It’s no time for patience now. The Democrats in Congress have had ten years to figure out how to undo the damage done to the Constitution by the massive domestic spying network established under the Patriot Act. Time and time again, they have failed to act. For the most part, they have failed even to speak in protest.
Out here in the liberal grassroots, we’re busting our butts to get the word out on issues like the Patriot Act. We don’t have much in the way of resources to put that message forward, but we do the best we can. Day in and day out, we speak up to encourage activism on the matters that matter to us.
In the U.S. Congress, the Congressional Progressive Caucus claims to speak for us, and its members have a great deal of resources at their disposal to make things happen. Yet, more often than not, they don’t speak. They don’t lend a hand. They don’t take the simple actions necessary to encourage opposition to terrible regressive laws like the Patriot Act.
Today, we have seen that the Congressional Progressive Caucus is better at making promises than it is at taking action. It isn’t enough for a few members of the CPC to take isolate action. If the caucus is going to be taken seriously, it needs to take serious action. It needs to get organized, and work to keep its promises.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus silence in the face of Patriot Act renewal today is absolutely unacceptable. Until it does something more concrete with the collective power of its members, the CPC can only be known as the Congressional Passive Caucus, or perhaps the Congressional Poser Caucus.
