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Columnist wishes Obama would carry on illegal wiretaps and "kick" the Left "in the teeth"

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ProSense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:07 PM
Original message
Columnist wishes Obama would carry on illegal wiretaps and "kick" the Left "in the teeth"

Stuart Taylor: Obama should carry on Bush legacy of illegal wiretaps and ‘kick’ the Left ‘in the teeth.’

National Journal columnist Stuart Taylor offers President-elect Barack Obama some national security advice in his latest piece today:

(T)he prospect of anyone in the U.S. being inappropriately wiretapped, surveilled, or data-mined seems to stir the viscera of many Bush critics more than the prospect of thousands of people being murdered by terrorists. This despite the paucity of evidence that any innocent person anywhere has been seriously harmed in recent decades by governmental abuse of wiretapping, surveillance, or data mining.

On these and similar issues, Obama will have a choice: He can give the Left what it wants and weaken our defenses. Or he can follow the advice of his more prudent advisers, recognize that Congress, the courts, and officials including Attorney General Michael Mukasey have already moved to end the worst Bush administration abuses — and kick the hard Left gently in the teeth. I’m betting that Obama is smart and tough enough to do the latter.

Matt Ygelsias notes, “For years now the sensible center has engaged in the weird conceit that dislike of illegal violations of Americans’ constitutional liberties is some kind of odd symptom of possessing unduly vocifierous dislike of George W. Bush. But the issue, of course, extends far beyond Bush. The issue is whether or not we’re going to have meaningful limits on the power of the federal executive to conduct surveillance.”
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Occam Bandage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:10 PM
Response to Original message
1. Whatever he decides, I am confident that:
1. The right wing will attempt to claim it as a victory for Bush and conservatism.
2. The far left will declare that it is no better than what Bush did.
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BOSSHOG Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:10 PM
Response to Original message
2. And he can also invade Norway
The workings of the conservative mind never cease to amaze.
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saracat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:16 PM
Response to Original message
3. Well, Obama did vote in support of FISA.
Edited on Fri Dec-05-08 04:18 PM by saracat
:shrug:
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atimetocome Donating Member (236 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:25 PM
Response to Reply #3
6. He also said he would fix FISA if elected. Time will tell.
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BrklynLiberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:17 PM
Response to Original message
4. Can someone who works for the National Journal actually be called a "journalist"?
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Thrill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:17 PM
Response to Original message
5. All these idiots who think Obama is going to be a centrist. Are going to be fooled big time
He's going to make being called Liberal. Cool again
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ProSense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 05:25 PM
Response to Reply #5
10. A lot of people are obviously having a hard time coming to grips with
Obama's massive win.

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RC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 06:40 PM
Response to Reply #5
13. Ah..., have you taken a look at his Cabinet picks yet?
That doesn't look Liberal to me.
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Thrill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 10:12 PM
Response to Reply #13
15. What does that have to do with the President?
Who will be setting the agenda.
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RC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 10:42 PM
Response to Reply #15
16. In that case why not have some Liberals then?
Why are they all center right and right?
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Thrill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 10:51 PM
Response to Reply #16
17. They aren't all center right and right? Thats nonsense
Since when is Tom Daschle center right? Hillary? Center Right? They may be center Left. But I fail to see where you get that his appointments are all Center-right or Right.
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RC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Dec-06-08 03:46 PM
Response to Reply #17
24. Hillary Center Left? Since when?
Hillary has never been to the left of center. She is not and never has been Liberal

I suppose now you will tell me Obama is a comfortable Left Liberal also? He is to the Left of Hillary, true, but still Right of center.
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Proud Liberal Dem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:40 PM
Response to Original message
7. True: Obama DID vote for the FISA "reform"
and I wasn't happy about it but since he will be President I don't think he actually needs to "fix" it since theoretically he could decide what powers to exercise and what not to. I'm sure that Bush, Cheney, et. al probably weren't thinking about Obama being elected when they were heavily pushing the legislation. My guess (or hope) is that Obama will choose to exercise vastly less power than what the law (now) actually allows him to do. OTOH he and the Democrats should still review and modify it to prevent future administrations from having so much power.
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No Elephants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:52 PM
Response to Original message
8. "The Left?" Is that what the RW is calling the Consitution of the United States these days?
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TheDoorbellRang Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 11:04 PM
Response to Reply #8
18. Well, you see
They had so many meetings under the topic "The Constitution: What's Left?" it was almost inevitable.
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samsingh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 04:58 PM
Response to Original message
9. the right, conservatives, and repugs are liars and fools. they have completely failed
and cost the world more than any leftist idea ever did or could.

repugs and their stupid ilk should shut the fuck up and hang their heads in shame forever. They are nasty, treacherous, useless, immoral, and cowardly.

Go away assholes, your eight year experiment failed. Let the grownups get to work. Maybe we can fix the disaster you've created.
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11 Bravo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 05:31 PM
Response to Original message
11. Stuart Taylor is to journalism as corn is to shit.
The former, while technically a part of the latter, plays no substantive role in the process.
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Johonny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 05:33 PM
Response to Original message
12. wow that's a real strong argument
Weakening the constitution weakens America. With no proof offered that illegal wiretapping did anything to increase security, what exactly is this guy complaining about? His argument is a circular reasoning with no facts. What crap.

Illegal stuff was done, it didn't really hurt anyone, we stopped doing the really bad stuff, Obama should break the law to spite his own party because... it was done, it didn't really hurt anyone, we stopped doing the really bad stuff.

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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 07:29 PM
Response to Original message
14. If anyone needs their fucking teeth kicked in..
it's the fucktard who wrote this, stuart taylor.
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Moochy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 11:09 PM
Response to Reply #14
19. Seriously
Edited on Fri Dec-05-08 11:14 PM by Moochy
Kick him gently in the teeth.

Gotta love the fascist middle!
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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Dec-06-08 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #19
23. Yeah, gently.. he's
toothless already:)
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Bjorn Against Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-05-08 11:29 PM
Response to Original message
20. Is this the same "non-partisan" National Journal the corporate media was always telling us about?
The same National Journal that said Kerry was the most liberal Senator before the 2004 elections and Obama was the most liberal Senator before the 2008 elections? The same National Journal that the Republicans and their corporate media stenographers told us was non-partisan? Well now it appears the non-partisan National Journal thinks we should ignore the Constitution so that we can "kick the left in the teeth". This doesn't look like the writings of a non-partisan source to me.
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PBS Poll-435 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Dec-06-08 03:48 PM
Response to Reply #20
25. I was going to post this same exact thing
You beat me to it, you bastid!
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tanyev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Dec-06-08 08:06 AM
Response to Original message
21. Let's stop all illegal wiretaps. Except Stuart Taylor's.
I wonder if he'd change his tune then?
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chieftain Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Dec-06-08 09:52 AM
Response to Original message
22.  Stuart Taylor, posing as a legal scholar, gave credibility
to the impeachment gang's efforts against Bill Clinton. My recollection is that he wrote an influential article for National Journal suggesting that the impeachment effort was well based in constitutional jurisprudence. He made multiple appearances on news show pushing his specious line of reasoning at a time when the charges against Clinton had lagged. He was never identified as the RW foot soldier that he clearly is. I had hoped that the little ferret-faced asshole had retired.
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