Mike Arcuri

In 2006, when Michael Arcuri was first running for Congress, he announced his support for the Military Commissions Act, a Republican piece of legislation that legalized torture, ended the right to fair trials, and removed the fundamental legal right of habeas corpus. The law gave President Bush the power of a tyrant.


Mike Arcuri was running as a Democrat - so why would he support this kind of terrible Republican law? It was a particularly sad example of triangulation. You see, Arcuri had already pressured all of his Democratic rivals to drop out. There would be no Democratic primary election, and so Arcuri figured that he didn't have to worry about making Democrats happy with him any more. From that point on, Michael Arcuri focused his campaign on convincing Republicans that he would be their kind of Congressman.

The saddest part of the episode was when candidate Arcuri admitted that he supported the Military Commissions Act even though he had never even bothered to read the law. Arcuri didn't support the Military Commissions Act because it was a good law. He supported it just because it was a convenient tool in the promotion of his personal political ambition... and the Constitution could be sacrificed in the process.

Congressman Michael Arcuri, like all serial abusers, has a pattern of behavior that's sadly predictable. When it comes to Arcuri, that pattern follows the election cycle. When there is still time for a Democratic rival to challenge him, Arcuri cozies up to the Democrats, and makes a lot of promises about how he'll stand strong. Then, once it's clear he's got any potential challengers out of the way, Arcuri tosses the Democrats to the side and aligns himself with the Republican Party.

It happened in 2006 with the infamous Military Commissions Act. It happened again in 2008 with the equally rotten FISA Amendments Act.

The FISA Amendments Act sacrificed the Constitution for the sake of corporate profits and a George W. Bush's desperate grab for power. It retroactively legalized an unconstitutional program to spy against millions of Americans' private communications and allows that program to continue without any judicial controls. The FISA Amendments Act, still in effect under President Obama, violates multiple clauses of the Constitution, most prominently the ban on ex post facto laws and the fourth amendment, part of the Bill of Rights.

Read more on the FISA Amendments Act.

Congressman Arcuri not only voted for the FISA Amendments Act, he led the charge to push the terrible legislation through the House of Representatives in just 24 hours - before anyone had a chance to even read the bill. Arcuri introduced a resolution to limit debate on the bill to just one hour. Thanks to Arcuri's resolution, opponents of the FISA Amendments Act got a total of less than ten minutes to express their objections and concerns.

Representative Arcuri ought to be ashamed of his role in the passage of the FISA Amendments Act. He betrayed the Democratic Party. He betrayed his Oath of Office. He betrayed the Constitution.

Michael Arcuri has been a thorough disappointment to New York's 24th congressional district voters. It's time to stop pretending, and be honest about the trouble that Arcuri's right wing Blue Dog status is causing us. These buttons and bumper stickers are good first steps in showing the opposition of 24th district progressives to Arcuri's re-election campaign in 2010.

Mike Arcuri is a Disappointment Button

Mike Arcuri is a Disappointment bumper sticker

Michael Arcuri Betrayed American Freedom