Someone please explain to me Obama's vote. Apparently he was one of the 69 senators who voted to broaden government spy powers and give immunity to telecoms who aid in secret wiretapping.
It's called moving to the middle. If he didn't vote that way we'd have the whole summer and fall of ads of how Obama voted against protecting us....blah,blah...
There is a difference with this bill in that the government still has to go through traditional FISA routes if wiretapping DOMESTIC calls, which wasn't part of the original FISA bills that included retro-active immunity. Also, bear in mind, that while the telecoms are immune from prosecution, they can still be hauled in to testify in front of accountability committees. Personally, I'm more interested in busting the guys in charge than some Verizon CEO.
I know folks are bummed by the vote, but at least he showed up and voted, unlike McCain.....
He's not moving to the middle. He is and has been in the middle since the beginning of his campaign. His policy proposals are ho-hum and to the right of anything mildly progressive. Any changes he's made to his domestic agenda--universal health care, taxes, education-- have come from the pushing and shoving of the primary season, mostly as a result of proposals made from Edwards (very substantive) and Clinton (detailed).
Re: Domestic Snooping For a constitutional expert, he ain't too impressive. He is contributing to the erosion of the Constitution rather than protecting it.
Although this current bill is "an improvement" over the current practice of illegal wiretapping and snooping, it is essentially and functionally UNCONSTITUTIONAL (see 4th amendment). That is the issue.
Which the ACLU promptly filed suit on within minutes of the vote, meaning the issue will fly around the courts now for years. The question has to be then what kind of SCOTUS do you want, who will likely see this case eventually?
I'm OK with the middle. While I'm a lefty on most issues, there are some issues however that I'll look at a more pragmatic approach (national security, foreign ops). Remember that this "middle guy" has, up until this last vote, had the most liberal voting record in the Senate. Just Sayin'.
I'm sure Obama was aware of the 4th Amendment issues at hand, but he also saw the political realities as well.
I'm not really surprised. I found Obama to have a 'compromise with the people that are trying to destroy you' thing about him that stopped me from becoming too enamored with him. I don't know what's strategy and what's his 'reach across the aisle' nature. I'm not fond of it, in any case.
I like to think he is insulating himself from the backlash that results when he picks Russ Feingold as his VP.
Who knows? He's sure pissed off a lot of his base, and I'm not sure it does any good. But all I know is I'm voting for the guy!
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There is a difference with this bill in that the government still has to go through traditional FISA routes if wiretapping DOMESTIC calls, which wasn't part of the original FISA bills that included retro-active immunity. Also, bear in mind, that while the telecoms are immune from prosecution, they can still be hauled in to testify in front of accountability committees. Personally, I'm more interested in busting the guys in charge than some Verizon CEO.
I know folks are bummed by the vote, but at least he showed up and voted, unlike McCain.....
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Re: Domestic Snooping
For a constitutional expert, he ain't too impressive. He is contributing to the erosion of the Constitution rather than protecting it.
Although this current bill is "an improvement" over the current practice of illegal wiretapping and snooping, it is essentially and functionally UNCONSTITUTIONAL (see 4th amendment). That is the issue.
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I'm OK with the middle. While I'm a lefty on most issues, there are some issues however that I'll look at a more pragmatic approach (national security, foreign ops). Remember that this "middle guy" has, up until this last vote, had the most liberal voting record in the Senate. Just Sayin'.
I'm sure Obama was aware of the 4th Amendment issues at hand, but he also saw the political realities as well.
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I like to think he is insulating himself from the backlash that results when he picks Russ Feingold as his VP.
Who knows? He's sure pissed off a lot of his base, and I'm not sure it does any good. But all I know is I'm voting for the guy!
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And yes, he would make a swell VP.
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