I’ve heard the following argument being repeated all over, given by Democrats who hate Barack Obama’s vote for the FISA Amendments Act, but believe that nobody should openly criticize what Obama did, out of fear of “giving the Republicans ammunition” with which to attack. They say that progressives who are openly expressing their anger at Barack Obama about the FISA Amendments Act are just “single issue voters”. “How could you let your support for Obama be sidetracked,” asks one, “by just this single issue?”
The rational response to this insistence that we get back in line behind Barack Obama and be quiet like good little followers could not be easier: The FISA Amendments Act is not a single issue. It is a piece of legislation that represents many issues. Those issues include:
- A broken promise and the resulting destruction of trust in Obama
- The coverup of George W. Bush’s crimes
- The dangerous expansion of Executive Branch power
- Corporate crime
- Corruption
- The movement of the Democratic Party toward the right wing
- The failure of Democrats in Congress to stand up to George W. Bush
- The right of protection from unreasonable search and seizure
- The use of communications technology to consolidate political power
- The right to equal protection under the law
- The constitutional ban on ex post facto laws
- The unconstitutional claim that non-citizens are not entitled to constitutional protections
Finally, there’s the issue of the survival of the entire Constitution as a working part of American law. That issue comes before every other single issue, because if the Constitution isn’t working, we won’t get what we want on other issues as well. With the Constitution disabled, it will be the big corporations and wealthy Americans in charge of government – not We The People.
We’re not handing the Republicans ammunition. Barack Obama did that, when he flip-flopped on the FISA Amendments Act. He loaded the gun himself, and placed it right in John McCain’s open hand.
If Democrats let Barack Obama get away with voting for the FISA Amendments Act, he will become a dangerous President who has learned a very bad lesson: A Democratic politician will never be held accountable for breaking promises and supporting right wing policies. Barack Obama will have learned that there’s no point in bothering to earn the support of progressives, because progressives are already too afraid to say no to any politician with the label of Democrat.
The time to set Barack Obama straight is now, not when he’s already comfortably sitting in the Oval Office, and not up for election for another 4 years. Now is when we have leverage to force Barack Obama to change. After the election, rank-and-file Democratic voters will be nothing more than yesterday’s tissue paper as far as Barack Obama is concerned.
