As a strong supporter of DFL candidates like Tim Walz and Amy Klobuchar during the last election cycle, I’m deeply dismayed with their vote to authorize the Protect America Act (a title that is only a smidgen less cynical than the PATRIOT Act). The law grants the government the power to conduct warrantless wiretaps with almost no judicial oversight or explicit restrictions on the surveillance of domestic communications. As it’s currently worded, the law contains a gaping hole that lets the administration spy on any phone call or e-mail as long as the surveillance is “directed at a person reasonably believed to be located outside of the United States”. I read this to mean that the government can listen in when my mom calls one of my uncles in Germany. Or it can read the e-mails I send to my brother when he’s overseas.
I’m not completely surprised by Walz’s vote. He’s a Blue Dog Democrat who is trying to look tough for the conservative voters back home. Except this isn’t acting tough–it’s acting scared. Walz flinched when the administration put on its Bin Laden mask and said, “Boo!” Disappointing, but predictable. Klobuchar, however, should know better. When she took her oath as an attorney, she vowed to uphold the Constitution. Even when it’s politically inconvenient. Even when it might earn you the scorn of Fox News. Even when you’re tired and crabby and ready to go on vacation. All the time, Amy. All the time.
I know my fifty bucks doesn’t mean much, but they’re going to have to do a lot better than this if they expect me to pull out my wallet for them in the future.
