Marking Nixon's resignation, 'moneybombers' aim at Hoyer for FISA compromise

U.S. Rep. Steny HoyerA coalition of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) supporters and leading liberal bloggers are unleashing a "Moneybomb" on Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) and two other Democratic U.S. House members today in an effort to punish them for supporting the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act compromise earlier this summer.

The group, 'Strangebedfellows,' is comprised of BreakTheMatrix.com bloggers Trevor Lyman and Rick Williams, who organized huge online fundraising days for Paul's Republican presidential candidacy, have teamed up with the Democratic-leaning Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com and Jane Hamsher of firedoglake.com on this issue they share a passion for. U.S.

Paul's online fundraising had already raised eyebrows in political circles when Lyman, largely independent of the campaign, organized a single day push that raised $4.2 million from more than 37,000 contributors in about 24 hours. He scheduled it on Nov. 5, 2007 to coincide with Guy Fawkes' Day, famous for the plot to blowup Great Britain's Parliament that day in 1605. On Dec. 16, 2007, the same day as the Boston Tea Party, they set a new record with $6.04 million.

The group chose Aug. 8 for the big push because it's the anniversary of President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation for "his lawbreaking and surveillance abuses."

"That day illustrates how far we have fallen in this country in less than 35 years," the group said in a statement, "as we now not only permit rampant presidential lawbreaking and a limitless surveillance state, but have a bipartisan political class that endorses it and even retroactively protects the lawbreakers."

Besides Hoyer, U.S. Rep. John Barrow (D-Georgia) and freshman congressman Chris Carney (D-Penn.) will also being targeted with advertisements from the day's haul. By mid-June, Blue America PAC, run by firedoglake.com's Hamsher, had raised $207,500 and ran an ad critical of Hoyer in the Washington Post, though the money raised today will probably not come into play until after the November elections.

Carney is in a hotly contested race for reelection against a Republican, Barrow has already beaten back a Democratic primary challenger and Hoyer faces nominal opposition from Republican Collins Bailey in the 5th Congressional District.

Bailey, who was one of Ron Paul's key Maryland supporters, could surely use the support as he only has $600 in cash on hand, yet it is much more likely that this money will go towards supporting a challenger to Hoyer's selection as Majority Leader at the re-organization meeting in November.

For his part, Hoyer maintains the compromise to give retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies was the best option available to him, as a sizable chunk of his caucus said they would side with the Republicans if he didn't make the deal.