Where’s the outrage when Democrats vote to continue government spying?
The US Senate on Friday voted to reauthorize the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a spying bill that critics say violates the Fourth Amendment and gives vast, unchecked surveillance authority to the government.
The move extends powers of the National Security Agency to conduct surveillance of Americans’ international emails and phone calls.
The FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act (H.R. 5949), passed on a 73-23 vote with 73% (30) of Democratic Senators voting in favor of greater government monitoring of and spying on US citizens.
Amongst the 30 Democratic Senators that voted for extending and expanding the Bush government spying policy were Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow.
Once again we have “liberal” Democrats voting for something that is anti-democratic and repressive. What seems to be different about these laws passing now under the Obama administration, than under the Bush years, is the lack of outrage against our collective rights being under attack.
During the Bush years people were up in arms about government spying, the Patriot Act, war and silencing free speech. The same things continue under Obama, but show me organized opposition.
All these liberals have been saying for the past two presidential elections that we need to vote for Democrats because it would be so bad if Republicans controlled the White House and the Congress. Well, the Democrats control both and it isn’t pretty. What is worse is that instead of taking responsibility for voting for Democrats that are just as repressive as Republicans and represent the interests of the 1%, liberals will just respond to their candidates voting for government spying with the comment, “well, it would be worse under a Republican administration.”