Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, Big Brother is running the country
It was revealed on Thursday that the National Security Agency (NSA) has a top-secret order requiring Verizon to hand over information on all telephone calls on all systems every day. Most people believe this data mining does not end with Verizon, and other cell phone companies have probably received the same demand.
For as long as I can remember, I have been a Democrat. I always believed that my party stood for the the middle class, the minorities, the poor. When George W. Bush destroyed our civil liberties, I still clung to the idea that Democrats would never take the bait. They would resist the power and continue to do the right thing. Yes, we’ve had our scandals, yes we have our “Blue Dogs,” but I still believed.
My faith first started to tremble when Democrats voted to invade Iraq in the wake of 9/11. I’m no foreign policy or terrorism expert, yet I knew Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with September 11th, 2001. That faith took another hit after the PATRIOT Act was signed in the middle of the night.
Then the bailouts went through in 2007 and my left eye began to twitch. Again, not an expert on economics, and this may be naive, but couldn’t “they” have sold all those loans and mortgages to smaller, local banks for pennies on the dollar and allowed big banks to just fail?
The IRS scandal isn’t, Benghazi was a horrible tragedy but I don’t recall the right wing screaming after more than 200 Marines were killed in Beirut under Reagan. There are real things going on, things that should give us pause. Why was the PATRIOT Act reauthorized? Why is Penny Pritzker about to be the new Secretary of Commerce? Why isn’t ENDA signed? And why is the NSA data mining American citizens?
See, I’m smarter than the average bear, and I pay attention. I’ve been paying attention since Bill Clinton first let me down by signing DOMA and DADT and repealing Glass-Steagall. I’m paying attention now. I know that Bernie Sanders voted to keep Gitmo open. I know Chuck Schumer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wall Street and I know Elizabeth Warren just issued a statement on Iran that made my head hurt. And I know that something is wrong with an administration either ordering or allowing the NSA to data mine American citizens in the name of “the war on terror.”
There are no perfect politicians, simply because when a person decides to pursue a career in politics, a little (or a lot) of their soul dies. The new GOP seems to be completely soulless when it comes to the poor, the middle class, kids, women, minorities, the LGBT community, anyone who isn’t a fundamentalist Christian and, well, just about everyone in America who isn’t richer than Croesus. What about the Democrats? Aren’t we supposed to be better than this, do better than this?
I took an online political test today and the result found me so left of center, my car shouldn’t even turn right. I don’t know what I am anymore except tired of the lies, tired of the political rhetoric, tired of not knowing who to believe or trust. In 2014, because all my representatives are Democrats, I’ll vote Democrat. But as 2016 looms ever closer, I have a suggestion for my party: get your act together, recognize that the time for business as usual is over and find a presidential candidate who will work for the American people, and the people of the world.
Finally, to the people who have called me stupid, ignorant and a “Firebagger” for having the audacity to question the Obama administration on this issue, let me ask you this: If this were the Romney administration, and the facts were the same secret FISA order, millions of American’s phone numbers mined all the for the “war on terror” would you be defending President Romney?
Would you be calling people like Robert Reich and Bernie Sanders, and groups like the ACLU stupid and ignorant? If the only difference here is who’s president, you might want to ask yourself why it’s perfectly okay under a Democrat, but horribly wrong under a Republican.
So glad to read that (well, not the situation…)
I feel bad every time I think “Obama, our ‘savior’, has made some really evil decisions!” I still think that overall I would rather have Obama in charge then Romney. But just because Obama does it, that doesn’t make “it” good!
Excellent article, Erin. I contacted my Senators although I am not really sure why. I guess I felt the need to voice my utter shock and anger over this whole situation that unfolded over the last several days. When asked if I wanted to be called back I demanded they call me back “on my cell phone”. I thought that seemed only right. I still find myself going back and forth between dumbfounded and enraged. I did receive a return call from one Senator’s office with promises of ‘investigations and hearings’, I told him then and I still believe now there will be nothing more than lies then too.
In answer to your question; I would feel no differently than I feel now whether the President were Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Martian. I don’t care the party one claims, it is their actions by which I align myself to them. Currently, I feel I have no alliance in the political hemisphere at all.
Erin, you are saying what a lot of people are thinking, but can’t bring themselves to spit it out. What it boils down to is partisan politics suck, whether you are in Congress or a common voter. The Tea Party has infiltrated the GOP, Liberals need a similar vehicle. Keep the faith.
It’s amazing how many so called liberals are out there defending this. I can’t understand what it takes to feel safe in the United states.
It’s ironic that some of those gun nuts who claim they need there weapons to defend themselves from the government also feel the need to support the government when they take their personal information.
I guess only certain amendments to the constitution are worth defending
awesome piece Erin…Iam still shocked and dismayed…feeling let down by our president and not sure who to trust or back at this moment. I believe in the end all politicians have each other’s backs. No matter I will always be a liberal no matter what.