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If you're disappointed in Obama over the USA PATRIOT Act, that's your own fault - he was very clear about his opinions on USA PATRIOT from long before he ran fo
by cryptoz 11y ago
If you're disappointed in Obama over the USA PATRIOT Act, that's your own fault - he was very clear about his opinions on USA PATRIOT from long before he ran for office, as early as 2003 (or 2006?). Obama has voted in favour of expanding/extending the USA PATRIOT Act's powers from the earliest possible time that he had US lawmaking influence.
There are many reasons to be disappointed in Obama perhaps, but he was clear about this from Day 1: He supports unchecked US domestic spying.
Citation: http://www.ontheissues.org/barack_obama.htm http://www.ontheissues.org/barack_obama.htm
- JoshTriplett 11y agoThen again, so did his (non-third-party) opponents. Not a lot of choice available.
- cryptoz 11y agoThere were some options during the primaries (like Dennis Kucinich), and this is why the primary elections are so important. None of the No-to-USA-PATRIOT options made it past the primaries, so we were left without much real choice.
- Doji 11y ago> non-third-party You're imprisoned in a cage of your own making.
- vezzy-fnord 11y agoMore like a cage of Duverger's law.
- JoshTriplett 11y agoI frequently vote third-party. I'm not under the illusion that they have any hope of winning.
- itbeho 11y agoMaybe enough of us will someday make a difference.
- vacri 11y agoThe US first-past-the-post system is the maker of the two-party cage.
- ikeboy 11y agoAny reason your citation is from a wacky conspiracy site?
- cryptoz 11y agoOh, I didn't realise, it was the top result for my search. I'll fix it with a proper link soon, there are many legitimate sources for that data. Sorry about that. Edit: Changed to http://www.ontheissues.org/barack_obama.htm http://www.ontheissues.org/barack_obama.htm.
- adam74 11y agohttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/united-states-of-secrets/obama-on-mass-government-surveillance-then-and-now/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections... Excerpt from that page: 2007 — A Promise on the Road to the White House By 2007, Obama is campaigning for the White House and making government transparency a central part of his platform. He tells an audience in Washington that the Bush administration “puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we provide.” As president, Obama says, he will provide U.S. intelligence agencies the tools they need to defeat terrorists without undermining the Constitution. “That means no more illegal wiretapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime … No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient.”