Civil libertarians make a scene in one our finest neighborhoods
by digby
Protests against NSA spying have reached all the way to the home of House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi’s big campaign fundraiser.
From left, Renay Davis of San Francisco, Janine Boneparth of Sausalito, and Suzanne Cowan of San Francisco stand along Eucalyptus Road in Belvedere, Calif. on Saturday, July 13, 2013. They were among some 70 people demonstrating against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s support of the NSA’s surveillance of U.S. citizens. (Photo: Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
And this time, the protests are coming from a group that includes professed Democrats—a notable departure from the silence and inaction of the Democratic machine as the Obama Administration’s NSA spying scandal ripples across the globe.
Over 70 people picketed Saturday afternoon outside of the Belvedere, California home where congressman Jared Huffman was throwing a big fundraising bash for Pelosi.
The fundraiser took place just weeks after Pelosi forcefully defended the NSA’s warrantless spying programs and denounced NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden as a ‘criminal’ at a NetRoots Nation conference in San Jose, California. Her statement at the conference had been met with loud boos and heckles from the crowd.
The boisterous picket in this wealthy neighborhood—organized by the Coalition for Grassroots Progress, an organization for ‘progressive change’—featured colorful signs declaring “One nation under surveillance” and denouncing ‘big brother.’
“The question I think we need to ask ourselves, in light of these new revelations, is how much longer can we afford to bankrupt ourselves morally and financially in the name of security?” Caroline Banuelos—president of the Sonoma County Latino Democratic Club—told the Marin Independent Journal. “Do we really feel safer by allowing our representatives to take away our civil liberties?”
“I’m pleased there is this groundswell,” declared former congressional candidate Norman Solomon. “We’re just getting started and we’re not going to let this subside.”
I’m sure those high dollar donors were quite shocked. Most of them are under the misapprehension that the only people who object to anything our Democratic party leaders do are Tea partiers. They are wrong.
.