Democrats defy Bush on spy program and immunity | Politics | Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led House of Representatives defied President George W. Bush on Friday and recessed without replacing an expiring spy law with one that would shield telephone companies from lawsuits.
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POLS 354 and 101:
What do you think about this issue? Should people be able to sue the phone company for violating their privacy rights when they went along with Bush administration warrantless wiretaps?
1 comment:
It has been fairly well documented that under perceived threat people tend to acquiesce to policy that infringes on personal liberties; "perceived future terrorist threat leads to greater support for an aggressive national security policy" (Huddy, et. al. "The Political Consequences of Perceived Threat and Felt Insecurity; Annals AAPSS, Nov 07). So the question is whether or not American's still perceive enough of a threat to continue to support such intrusive security policy. If the actions of the House members mirrored the feelings of their constituents, it would suggest that most Americans are fed up with the government spying on them. I would agree. I am sure that the telecom companies felt tremendous pressure to go along with the wiretaps; the publics' cry for increased security, Bush's "with us or against us" propaganda, and probably some tax incentives. However, we should all hope these giants of industry ponder the greater consequences of their actions, such as the constitutional legality of what they do. If the high courts deem warrantless wiretaps unconstitutional (and I personally hope they do) the telecom companies should pay the price.
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