The close 217-205 vote defeat in the House of Representatives on the amendment by freshman congressman Justin Amash and veteran John Conyers (both from Michigan) to curb the surveillance powers of the NSA clearly has shaken up the establishment. David Kravets finds that there was a significant pattern in how people voted: “It turns out that those 217 “no” voters received twice as much campaign financing from the defense and intelligence industry as the 205 “yes” voters.”
On The Daily Show, Jon Oliver talks about the unusual coalitions that are forming that oppose and support the government’s authoritarian programs. These critics of the NSA may be bolstered by the fact that despite the government’s strenuous efforts, most Americans see Snowden as a whistleblower and not a traitor and the country is split down the middle on whether they approve or disapprove of what the NSA is doing
(This clip aired on July 29, 2013. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post.)
The NSA spying becomes a serious issue only if there is a website on which your personal information is listed. Till then, no one cares. And sure as hell they are not going to vote their party candidate out for that. They’ll simply rationalize it as “both sides do it”
A nearby congresswoman (but not mine) Krysten Sinema had the unusual pleasure of both sponsoring the Amash legislation in June, then voting against it in July. (She has also recently voted to delay Obamacare).
Her explanation of why she voted against the Amash bill is classic. Classic because it is the same reasoning given by so many that opposed civil rights, gay rights, women’s rights, ADA, …
http://sinema.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=b23deeab-d42e-4a22-808c-787ef7190761
“I am for X, but this bill Y goes too far, we must take this more slowly.”
The clip was funny, but one should be clear on what Amash is--so crazily Tea-party as to make the Kent County Republicans not-too-covertly back a Democrat against him in a general election. His joining with Conyers in a sure-to-be-defeated amendment is a part of positioning himself for the R primary and then the general election in a bid to replace the retiring senator Carl Levin. A link to his brief career in the Mich legislature appears (I hope--it may be too long) below. Note in particular his introduction of a state-constitutional amendment to requre a 2/3 majority in both houses in order to increase state taxes; this would be Calif Prop 13 as applying to the state income and sales taxes.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(x2jhyf55p5duz345wop2exvn))/mileg.aspx?page=ExecuteSearch&legislativesession=2009-2010&chamber=House&sponsor=Justin%20Amash