Today is the date of the special election to replace Jane Harman, and large numbers of Democrats will be turning out to vote for Marcy Winograd, who is running to succeed Harman with a more liberal policy platform.

Marcy Winograd, a Democratic candidate for the seat, has made her position on the renewal of the Patriot Act’s most abusive powers clear. She opposes the Patriot Act extension, and has pledged to support a full repeal of the Patriot Act.

Marcy Winograd’s opponents are machine Democrats, already having commissioned opinion polls and begun robocalls to voters in California’s 36th congressional district. Winograd, on the other hand, is campaigning as a genuine liberal Democrat.

Jane Harman is finally retiring from Congress, and Democrats in California’s 36th district will have the opportunity to elect someone who represents their liberal values.

Representative Jane Harman has a spotty record when it comes to the defense of American liberty. She voted for the USA Patriot Act before she read it, and had no problem supporting the warrantless surveillance enabled by the Patriot Act and FISA Amendments Act until it turned out that she was a target of it. [...]

In the Homeland Security Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2010, the National Applications Office is not listed as among the programs that are being cut or significantly reduced in funding. Why? On Friday, there was a markup session for the legislation, with the opportunity to eliminate funding for the satellite spy operations against American citizens. Why did the Democrats on the Price’s subcommittee fail to act?

Will there be more cosponsors for these bills this week, or will Congress let the NAO come into full operations without protest?

Whether these bills, or new legislation like them that would prohibit Obama from moving forward with his Bush-style tribunal show trials, are moved out of committee will be the test of whether Democrats in Congress are willing to stand up for the Constitution or are content to acquiesce, and bring their political party in alignment with the Bush-era politics of fear.

Pelosi now says, “I have great confidence in Jane Harman. She is a patriotic American. She would never do anything to hurt her country.” That statement, given what Pelosi claims to have known all along about Jane Harman’s alleged attempt to interfere with an investigation into espionage against the United States, is mind boggling.

The corruption connected to the warrantless wiretapping Total Information Awareness spy system runs throughout the centers of power in the United States – including the former and current presidency, the Congress, private communications giants, lobbying firms, and our nation’s most powerful newspaper.