A Progressive on the Prairie

Thune: Constitution? What Constitution?

So what does John Thune say about Bush authorizing domestic spying? “I will not fault them for exercising the steps they thought necessary to protect the American people.” Apparently, the question of whether those steps tread on federal law or the Constitution is irrelevant.

By the way, Thune’s rationale also works quite well to justify the actions of any totalitarian government or even the so-called “Islamofascists“. As long as you can say you thought you were doing what was necessary to protect your [insert nation, creed or race], it’s all good. For a guy who wraps himself in the flag, Thune’s take seems awfully contrary to concepts like liberty and justice.

Tim Johnson and Stephanie Herseth expressed concern in the same article about civil liberties. That kind of begs a question. Where was that concern last week when they voted to support reauthorization of portions of the Patriot Act?

It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties … which makes the defense of the Nation worthwhile.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren,United States v. Robel (1967)