Why would so many Democrats betray their Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution, and vote for the FISA Amendments Act, a law which essentially unravels the fourth amendment in the Bill of Rights?
Part of the answer is that too many Democrats in Congress are not at all progressive, and have the nasty habit of voting more like Republicans than Democrats. Another part of the answer is that campaign consultants are encouraging cowardly Democratic politicians to embrace the politics of fear, still believing that supporting George W. Bush’s extreme presidential powers provides a vaccination against Republican accusations of being soft on terrorism.
Another part of the answer, according to a study by MapLight, is petty corruption. Their analysis shows that members of the House of Representatives who voted in favor of the FISA Amendments Act, which provides telecommunications companies with retroactive legal immunity for their illegal assistance in George W. Bush’s programs to spy against the American people, received double the amount campaign donations from telecommunications corporate PACS than did members of Congress who voted against the FISA Amendments Act.
Not that we needed any more proof that “our” government works for someone else now, but great job on this story. Okay, so if the Republicans won’t change their pig-headed ways (regarding ignorant “policies” both home and abroad AND using the politics of fear, nationalism and empire to advance the cause of “democracy” as they see it, through the barrel of a gun) and some (maybe most) Democrats waffle on enough of these issues to go along with them, how are we supposed to effect MEANINGFUL change before it’s too late and the country goes belly up financially and the way of the Roman Empire, and the world suffers the very real effects of climate chaos?
This is what i was hoping Obama would do with his charisma (ala Kennedy): lead the US and the WORLD into the green future – through committed action (like Kennedy with the space program), by example (a huge investment in green tech – alternative power that isn’t privately owned , ie. shared power), and the ONE WORLD idea (No More War – use the nations’ militaries and prisoners to HELP).