The mainstream media has - once again - bought into a Republican talking point, hook, line and sinker. The issue in the NSA warrantless spying scandal isn't the choice between security and liberty. The warrantless spying only takes away our liberty and privacy without adding any additional security.
Just about everyone in the administration, including the president, has said that they are only spying in on Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda affiliates. If that's the case, why do they need to bypass the courts?
Any court in the country would give you a warrant to spy on a person talking to Al Qaeda or an Al Qaeda affiliate.
So, if they need a warrant, they can easily get one. Plus, they have 72 hours to get it AFTER they listen in on the conversation. That completely destroys the need for speed argument. That only leaves one argument - they're too lazy to get a warrant.
At least, I'd believe that argument because these are the people who couldn't figure out how to send rescue teams into New Orleans for five days. But no one in the media should buy into the idea that we wouldn't be safe if we had to get warrants to track terrorist suspects.
If warrants expose us to so much danger with Al Qaeda, wouldn't they do the same for criminals inside America? Isn't it too dangerous to get warrants for mob investigations? We need security! How about drug gangs and serial killers? We need security - we can't risk getting warrants for any of these people.
This is a nonsense argument. The people who make this argument simply do not believe in the American system of justice. They also flat out don't believe in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution that clearly states you need to get a warrant for investigations like these.
Senator Pat Roberts summarized the Republican demagoguery best when he opened General Hayden's confirmation hearing by saying, "You have no civil liberties if you are dead." He actually said that. That's a direct quote.
In other words, if you don't let us take away your liberties, you will die. Classy.
What happened to, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry must be rolling over in his grave. Think of all the brave men who died to give us these precious freedoms that Senator Roberts wants to give away so cheaply now.
Though Henry's quote proves what a coward Senator Roberts is, it is also not the right either-or here. We can give you plenty of security and plenty of liberty - it's called a warrant. It's a simple check that allows one branch of the government to make sure that another branch is in fact protecting our security instead of doing something else. I can't think of an executive branch that needs that check more than the current one.
The constitution isn't just for the good times. It is designed for even the tough times, times the country is tested. It is built to last. It provided plenty of security as we fought the Soviet Union, the Nazis and just about every other enemy you can imagine. But now we should fold it up because of a couple of guys hiding in a cave in Afghanistan?
We can have security and we can have liberty - if we care to do it right, as we have throughout all of American history. Let's not let these incompetents pretend otherwise.