Sen. Obama warned about Patriot Act abuses. President Obama proved him right.

[cali]

In recent months, Barack Obama has forcefully defended the use of the Patriot Act to gather the phone records of every American. But before he was elected president, he had a very different perspective on the issue.

In December 2005, Congress was debating the first re-authorization of the Patriot Act, a controversial 2001 law that gave the federal government expanded power to spy on Americans. And Barack Obama was one of nine senators who signed a letter criticizing the then-current version of the legislation for providing insufficient protections for civil liberties.

The senators focused on Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows the government to obtain “business records” that are “relevant” to a terrorism investigation. Sen. Obama and eight of his colleagues worried that the provision would “allow government fishing expeditions targeting innocent Americans. We believe the government should be required to convince a judge that the records they are seeking have some connection to a suspected terrorist or spy.”

Congress eventually re-authorized the Patriot Act, including Section 215. A few years later, Obama was elected president of the United States. And under President Obama’s watch, the NSA engaged in surveillance suspiciously similar to the broad “fishing expeditions” Sen. Obama warned about.

snip

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/02/sen-obama-warned-about-patriot-act-abuses-president-obama-proved-him-right/

[dipsydoodle]

1. How odd.

[rhett o rick]

2. Maybe candidate Obama thought he would have control of the intelligence agencies when President.

And the intelligence agencies re-calibrated him after the election. Actually I believe they re-calibrated him before the election.

Either the President doesnt have control of the intelligence agencies, or he agrees with what they are doing. I wonder if we say it's the former, will we make the "It's not Obama's Fault" Group happy?

[Electric Monk]

3. I find myself thinking of Bill Hicks a lot these days...

[zeemike]

14. And Bill Hicks may have been closer to the truth than we know.

It would explain a lot.

[JackRiddler]

17. I'm afraid there is no need for the "Bill Hicks moment"

The fix happens a long time before that.

[abq e streeter]

18. I wonder about this more and more all the time.

[Mojorabbit]

25. One of my favorites. nt

[Avalux]

4. Hey - Obama can only do so much.

The President does not have unilateral power although people mistakenly think he does. The Patriot Act is law and he can't change it, no matter how much he might personally want to do so.

It's up to US. Remember Obama's slogan "Yes we can"? It's that pesky word "we" that people forget about. Obama was elected and we did that but then lost enthusiasm and either turned on him or became complacent. The only way the Patriot Act and what it authorizes can be stopped is if the people demand it and pressure their Reps and Senators repeal it. I don't see that happening.

[NuclearDem]

6. Well, the least we could ask for is for him to use the power he does have

Like the veto power he didn't use in 2010 and 2011 when parts of the Act were extended.

I mean, we're not asking for him to single handedly take down the police state, but he could at least show us that he's trying.

[matthews]

8. Or what if he cut down on the signing statements? Like the ones on

Indefinite Detention or awarding himself the privilege of being judge, jury, and executioner of American citizens without a trial?

[Avalux]

9. And we could show him we're trying too.

But so many people want a Daddy to fix things - fast. The people of this country are at fault for electing idiots and allowing them to pass laws are unconstitutional.

Until we start taking responsibility for our lives and how we're governed, we get what we deserve.

[JoeyT]

11. I don't want a daddy to fix things.

I want one that stops opposing us every time WE try to fix things.

[Avalux]

12. What exactly have we tried to fix?

Some of us do - yes - but not enough. But the majority of American don't give a shit.

[JoeyT]

15. The majority of Americans don't give a shit,

and about half of Democrats stopped caring about war crimes, dead innocents, jailed MMJ patients, and spying on citizens when our guy got elected. Well, not so much stopped caring about as now vigorously defend.

They're our version of the Tea Party. Everything the government does is illegal and immoral until their guy is doing it. Then it's immoral to complain about it and in their mind ought to be illegal too.

[reusrename]

24. You are blaming the victim.

With the power that comes from the surveillance state, OWS was quickly and easily crushed.

So you would blame the protesters?

I don't like this whole blame the public for their own oppression. It's not right.

[Dragonfli]

23. You act like we unelected have the power to change or veto laws

It's up to US. Remember Obama's slogan "Yes we can"?

Forgive me if I am wrong but our elected representatives have our power by proxy, you think I can veto unconstitutional laws and it is my job? What is his job anyway? look pretty for the camera?

You claim he has no power as President of the United States but as a carpenter somehow I do.

Very well then! On what document shall I use my veto pen? Since his job is mine according to you and I have all the power I though we granted him when we elected him, why do I not get paid a few hundred thousand a year for life rather than him?

Since you say all he can do is sit in a chair and shrug helplessly I think we should disolve the position entirely as an obvious waste of money on what is nothing more than a powerless modeling job. Or get a Queen instead, as far as powerless symbolic leaders go at least royalty is posh and full of gossip.

[progressoid]

29. +1

[Waiting For Everyman]

10. Obama has a whole lot of clout over Executive Branch agencies like NSA.

He is the chief executive. He directs how all of those agencies are going to do their jobs. Or is Congress supposed to micromanage his job too now?

He certainly does not have to send people who work for HIM to the FISA court to lobby for ridiculous interpretations of the Patriot Act. Yes, he is damn well responsible for that. All by himself he is responsible for that. The same with indicting whistleblowers, that's entirely up to him and carried out by his Dept of Justice. He has a whole lot of say about how much classifying is going to happen, he sets these policies from the top. It could be different, but he didn't make it different.

His Secretary of State and his ambassadors grounding Morales' plane, and arm-twisting other countries about Snowden... yes that's 100% Obama too. He doesn't get a pass on all of this stuff just because he has been given so many passes on so many other things before. Enough is enough.

The perfect example of how un-hand-tied he is... When the House tried to pass the Amash-Conyers bill last week, did Obama lobby for it? Oh hell no, as we all know, he lobbied as hard as possible AGAINST it. So don't be blaming his faults on Congress. At least some of them are trying. He simply is NOT. He is dead wrong in all of this, and that is crystal clear.

[AppleBottom]

13. So the Patriot Act just renewed itself?

Drone strikes have the oversight of who?

[JackRiddler]

16. Is this a joke post?

Obama could have VETOED USA PATRIOT Act extensions as well as the NDAA 2012 and other atrocious legislation like the recent "Secret Service" exception for protests. Your statement, "The Patriot Act is law and he can't change it," is a 180-degree falsehood. He failed to change it when he had the chance and instead signed it back into law.

As for the pesky "we," another joke. The Obama 2008 movement (that is what it was) was told to go home after the inauguration. From the very first appointment - neoliberal hatchet man Emanuel - the signal was made that there would be no interest in encouraging or in any way serving a left social movement, but there was interest in neoliberal "grand bargains" with the Republicans.

[TheMadMonk]

21. Obama's idea of "WE" changed enormously after...

...his election.

[DirkGently]

5. Assume some ball is being played. Thus the

need for public pressure.

[matthews]

7. He wasn't the only one. Watch this...

#action=share

[gulliver]

19. "suspiciously similar"

The prosecution rests.

[tblue]

20. I voted for that Senator.

How sad.

[burnodo]

22. Ooops!

The conference report would allow the government to obtain library, medical and gun records and other sensitive personal information under Section 215 of the Patriot Act on a mere showing that those records are relevant to an authorized intelligence investigation. As business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have argued, this would allow government fishing expeditions targeting innocent Americans. We believe the government should be required to convince a judge that the records they are seeking have some connection to a suspected terrorist or spy... -Senator Barack Obama, 2005

[AnotherMcIntosh]

27. Unfortunately, praising Candidate Obama does not always set well. E.g., when my post count was very

low, I responded to a post by expressing my admiration for Candidate Obama and the principles that he said he valued. That offended someone's sensibilities and they alerted on the post. A jury even agreed to hide it.

I have to admit not knowing, however, that the OP was in the BOG.

Shhh

[qualitybeatsquantity]

28. Move beyond PBO he no longer matters, he is not running for office ever again

he has a totally different agenda now and we are not part of it, if we ever were in the first place.

We need to be looking at and supporting replacements, Liberals and Progressives to Replace the Corporate Dems.

If you want change via the ballot you need to be looking to the future.

All we can do now is to try and minimize the damage until we can elect those who will fix the damage intentionally inflicted upon the people by those that we trusted and elected to look out for us.