Some clarity on GOP scare tactics
Senators Jay Rockefeller and Patrick Leahy and Congressmen Silvestre Reyes and John Conyers have an op-ed piece in tomorrow's Christian Science Monitor that calls out the White House on its fear-mongering tactics regarding warrantless surveillance:
Our country did not "go dark" on Feb. 16 when the Protect America Act (PAA) expired. Despite Mr. Bush's overheated rhetoric on this issue, the government's orders under that act will last until at least August. No surveillance stopped.
If Bush truly believed that the expiration of the Protect America Act caused a danger, he would not have refused our offer of an extension.
Amen to that. They also say this:
It is clear that he and his allies, desperate to distract attention from the economy and other policy failures, are trying to use this issue to scare the American people into believing that congressional Democrats have left America vulnerable to terrorist attack.
But if our nation were to suddenly become vulnerable, it would not be because we don't have sufficient domestic surveillance powers. It would be because the Bush administration has done too little to defeat Al Qaeda, which has gained strength throughout the world. Many of our intelligence assets are being used to fight in Iraq instead of taking on Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda organization.
The president may try to change the subject by talking about surveillance laws, but we aren't buying it.
Neither should the rest of us.