Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. Positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria are listed last.

Pro (Yes)

Con (No)

McCain, John (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con John McCain, US Senator (R-AZ), stated in a Jan. 3, 2008 CNET News.com article titled "Technology Voters' Guide: John McCain": "The struggle against Islamic fundamentalism is the transcendent foreign-policy challenge of our time. I am committed to winning this battle, enhancing the stature of the United States as beacon of global hope, and to preserving the personal, economic, and political freedoms that are the proud legacy of the great sacrifices of our fathers. Every effort in this struggle and other efforts must be done according to American principles and the rule of law. When companies provide private records of Americans to the government without proper legal subpoena, warrants, or other legal orders, their heart may be in the right place, but their actions undermine our respect for the law. I am also a strong supporter of protecting the privacy of Americans. The issues raised by S 2248, and the events and actions by all parties that the preceded it, reach to the core of our principles. They merit careful and deliberate consideration, fact-finding, and exploration of options. That process should be allowed to proceed before drawing conclusions that may prove to be premature. If retroactive immunity passes, it should be done with explicit statements that this is not a blessing, there should be oversight hearings to understand what happened, and Congress should include provisions that ensure that Americans' private records will not be dealt with like that again." Jan. 3, 2008 John McCain

Top

McKinney, Cynthia (Grn) - Not Clearly Pro or Con

Cynthia McKinney, former US House Representative (D-GA), in a July 12, 2008 article titled "Acceptance Remarks Green Party Convention" on her official candidate website, stated: "There is a real room, with a window and a door and there's two seats at the table. The window is for us to look through while our representatives make policy for us so we can see what they're doing. At the table, one seat is for the Democrats and one seat is for the Republicans. Now, we don't know who did it, but one of them put a lock on the door and slipped a key to the corporate lobbyists who can come and go at will and whisper what they want to the Democrats, and then whisper what they want to the Republicans, and the result is that we the people, who pay for those seats and determine who sits in them, want one thing, but because the corporate lobbyists can come and go at will, our values get overridden and our representatives give us something else... That's how we end up with everyone saying they're against illegal spying on innocent people, yet end up with a telecom immunity bill being signed into law." July 12, 2008 Cynthia McKinney

	Top

Nader, Ralph (Ind) - Con Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, stated in a July 9, 2008 article titled "Nader Audio on Telecom Immunity" on his official candidate website: "And I'm listening now to the debate on the Senate floor over legislation that will give President Bush new warrantless eavesdropping powers. The bill will also grant immunity to telecom companies for cooperating with Mr. Bush in his illegal warrantless wiretapping on Americans - on any one of you... ...[T]his bill gives the President vast new warrantless eavesdropping powers and allows the government - for the first time ever - to tap into America's telecommunications networks with no judicial warrant requirement. President Bush and the Democrats who support him argue that the telecommunications companies were only doing what they were told by the President and were acting as 'patriotic corporate citizens.' This is pure hogwash. First of all, corporations aren't citizens. Second, the President can't order anyone - citizens or corporations - to break the law. This legislation, which the Senate is debating right now, sets up a double standard of justice. Break the law as a citizen, go to jail. Break the law as a corporation, go to Washington and get immunity... We [Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez] strongly oppose the wiretap surveillance legislation that Obama and McCain support." July 9, 2008 Ralph Nader

	Top

Obama, Barack (D) - Con Barack Obama, US Senator (D-IL), issued the following statement regarding his Yes vote on H.R.6304 the "FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Amendments Act of 2008" as reported on cbsnews.com in a June 21, 2008 article titled "Obama: I'll Fight To Strip Telecom Immunity From FISA": "Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program. [The bill] does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses." June 21, 2008 Barack Obama

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE WITHDRAWN OR WHO NO LONGER MEET OUR CRITERIA      Biden, Joe (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Brownback, Sam (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007; no position found as of that date Top    Clinton, Hillary (D) - Con Hillary Clinton, US Senator (D-NY), stated in a Jan. 2, 2008 article titled "Technology Voters' Guide: Hillary Clinton" on CNET News.com: Q: "Telecommunications companies such as AT&T have been accused in court of opening their networks to the government in violation of federal privacy law. Do you support giving them retroactive immunity for any illicit cooperation with intelligence agencies or law enforcement, which was proposed by the Senate Intelligence Committee this fall (S 2248)? [Hillary] Clinton: I have said that I oppose retroactive immunity for telecommunications providers, and I oppose the retroactive immunity provisions in the Senate Intelligence Committee bill." Jan. 2, 2008 Hillary Clinton Top      Dodd, Chris (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Edwards, John (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 30, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Gilmore, Jim (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Aug. 14, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Giuliani, Rudy (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 30, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Gravel, Mike (Lib) - None Found ProCon.org emailed the Gravel campaign on Apr. 23, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of May 28, 2008.   Top      Huckabee, Mike (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Mar. 4, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Hunter, Duncan (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 19, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Imperato, Daniel (Ind) - None Found   No longer met ProCon.org's criteria as of Mar. 21, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Keyes, Alan (Ind) - None Found ProCon.org emailed the Keyes campaign on Apr. 23, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of May 28, 2008.   Top      Kubby, Steve (Lib) - None Found   No longer met ProCon.org's criteria as of Mar. 21, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Kucinich, Dennis (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 25, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      McEnulty, Frank (Ind) - None Found   No longer met ProCon.org's criteria as of Mar. 21, 2008; no position found as of that date Top    Paul, Ron (R) - Con Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), stated in a Jan. 3, 2008 article titled "Technology Voters' Guide: Ron Paul" on CNET News.com: "No. I would in no way support giving them [telecommunications companies] immunity for breaking privacy laws. One of the legitimate functions of the federal government is to protect the privacy of its citizens, not invade it. If private companies cooperated with the federal government in violating the Fourth Amendment rights of their customers, they should be held accountable." Jan. 3, 2008 Ron Paul Top      Richardson, Bill (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 10, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Romney, Mitt (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Feb. 7, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Smith, Christine (Lib) - None Found   No longer met ProCon.org's criteria as of Mar. 21, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Tancredo, Tom (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Dec. 20, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Thompson, Fred (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 22, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Thompson, Tommy (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Sep. 12, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Vilsack, Tom (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Feb. 23, 2007; no position found as of that date