Republican FISA Lies

How many times have you seen the new advertisement Republicans are running on television about FISA?  I think I can recite it verbatim by now.  It's full of lies however.  The law allowing Washington to eavesdrop on Al Qaeda communications DID NOT EXPIRE on February 16th.  The FISA law is alive and well.  What did expire was a temporary extension of a law allowing George W. Bush to violate your constitutional civil rights (which, by the way, Congress cannot do) by spying on Americans.

Why did it expire?  Because George W. Bush wouldn't sign another temporary extension.  So, why can't the spoiled brat continue to intercept your phone calls, emails and financial transactions?  Because he refused to sign an extension.  How is this Democrats fault?

Since we're on the subject let's ask why Democrats would ever allow such constitutional violations any way?  Well, see it's an election year and they're more concerned with being painted as soft on terrorism than upholding their oaths of office.  Our civil rights are secondary.  Unfortunately it isn't possible to bypass the constitution this easily.  Congress cannot simply pass legislation giving retroactive immunity to corporations which conspired with the government to tap our phones, constitutional amendments are necessary.

The alternative, obviously, is to pack the Supreme Court with ideologues who would uphold any intrusion of our civil rights and we know Democrats would never allow that don't we?  What's that you say, how then do I explain John Roberts and Samual Alito?   Hmmmm, you've got me there.

Comments

[tyler]

Much like SCHIP...still alive and well...we just didnt expand it...but if you listened to Harry Reid et al, you would think we were pulling the oxygen tubes out of Graham Frost.

Same thing, John?

[John Morgan]

You mean they didn't pull those tubes out of poor Graham? Or they just refused to pay for them?

This is a phony argument because SCHIP isn't against the constitution. This FISA bill is. Look up the Fourth Amendment. I don't see anything in there that applies to SCHIP.

[tyler]

I see your point...and I guess i wasnt making mine clear...

I was comparing the left's hysterics over the SCHIP program and the GOP's hysterics over FISA.

Both sides did it/do it/will do it.

Its politics.

p.s. future democrat representative frost's hospital bills were paid in full by the SCHIP program. My son's emergency room visit was paid in full by me.

[John Morgan]

Yes, it's politics, and that's what we blog about....

[dl]

I heard this trivia on Jeopardy - at one time Congress limited the number of Supreme Court Justices to 7 in order to stop a President from appointing anyone to the Supreme Court - I don't remember the President.

[John Morgan]

You're probably referring to FDR's attempt to pack the court by expanding it. The Justices were declaring facets of his New Deal unconstitutional so he decided to expand the court and appoint new Justices more in line with his own thinking.