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Pelosi and Hoyer, whose lives were defined by the Cold War Then I'd expect they appreciate the view that any government that perpetrates pervasive surveillance
by ctdonath 13y ago
Pelosi and Hoyer, whose lives were defined by the Cold War
Then I'd expect they appreciate the view that any government that perpetrates pervasive surveillance upon the populace at large with no notification & no recourse is the embodiment of Evil Communism™ and the antithesis of core American values, totally violating the US Constitution.
- rayiner 13y agoWhy would they think that? They grew up in an era when the FBI was keeping close tabs on guys like MLK. They entered politics at a time when there was zero oversight of the NSA (not even by the "rubber stamp" FISA court), and at a time when the CIA was actively engaged in political assassinations abroad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11905 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11905). And yet, things turned out fine. The Soviet Union was defeated, America survived, and our biggest problem today, from their point of view, is not civil liberties but an ailing economy. I can totally see how someone like Pelosi might think along the following lines: 1) The world is scary and the CIA/NSA serve an important purpose in protecting national security; 2) By and large government officials are trustworthy, and won't abuse their power (remember, she's a Democrat); 3) The NSA has shown colorable attempts to stay within the bounds of the Constitution (only collecting metadata, or only targeting non-US persons). You may not agree with any of these points, but I think it's ridiculous to say that only bribery could make you agree with these points.