Taking the Revolt Against REAL ID to a Whole New Level

From Downsize DC. Please spread the word to friends and through your blog:

There are two urgent action items today . . .

* Bombard the Department of Homeland Security with comments opposing the REAL ID Act
* Bombard the national media with requests to cover the REAL ID Revolt

What Congress has done, Congress can undo, and we're in the process of proving it. Gone are the days when an issue is settled for all time just because Congress votes it into law. Now, and in the future, citizens will be joining together to force the repeal of bad laws.

A case in point is the online gambling ban. A bill to repeal it has just been introduced. But an even better example is the REAL ID Act. REAL ID is on the ropes, and today is the day when we take the national revolt against REAL ID to a whole new level.

We have joined with 30 national organizations to open a new front.

These groups range across the political spectrum, from the American Library Association to Gun Owners of America to the National Council for Jewish Women to the Republican Liberty Caucus to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

We are all joining together to fight the REAL ID Act.

More specifically, DownsizeDC.org, is partnering with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to bombard the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with comments opposing DHS's proposed regulations for implementing REAL ID.

EFF has created a system for delivering these comments to DHS, and we're going to make use of that system. In a moment, I'll give you the link you need to send your comment. But first . . .

Please prepare to take a second action today. Downsize DC is about to employ a new weapon in the fight to control Congress. Please make use of this new weapon today.

Congress may not always care what citizens think (until they're forced to), but Congress always cares what the media thinks. We need to get the media to cover the nationwide revolt against the REAL ID Act.

If we can do that, then Congress will really take notice, and the growing movement to repeal REAL ID will become vastly stronger.

We have created a new system that will allow you to make requests of media organizations. Please use this system for the first time today to ask three cable new shows to cover the growing REAL ID revolt.

We have selected Keith Olbermann, Neil Cavuto, and Wolf Blitzer as the first people to receive your requests that attention be paid to this issue.

You will need to write your own personal comments about the REAL ID Act, both to DHS using the EFF system, and to the media, using our system.

Now, starting with this paragraph, I was going to give you talking points to use in your messages, but on reconsideration, I don't want to do that. To be really effective with these two action items we really need a wide variety of messages, WRITTEN ENTIRELY IN YOUR WORDS, not ours.

So think of what you want to say about the REAL ID Act, and say it. Tell DHS why you don't want the REAL ID Act imposed on you. Tell the media why this issue is important to you, and why the revolt against REAL ID, and the reasons for it, need serious national attention.

You don't have to be brilliant, or long winded, or incredibly knowledgeable. You just have to say how you feel.

You can send your message to DHS through the Electronic Frontier Foundation here.
You can send your message to Keith Olbermann, Neil Cavuto, and Wolf Blitzer here.

The deadline for comments to DHS is May 8th. They are already being inundated with objections, but we need to send the number of these objections into the stratosphere. There is limited time to do this, so ACT NOW.