Article:
Senator Barack Obama disappointed a number of his supporters
last week when he changed his position on the new FISA bill. He
had previously said that he would oppose any legislation which
granted the executive branch the power to wiretap American
electronic communications without getting approval from the FISA
court. The so-called compromise bill still granted
telecommunications companies who assisted in illegal wiretapping
immunity from prosecution. A great number of Obama supporters
expressed outrage at their candidate’s backflip on the issue.
So what happened to Obama’s message of “hope and change”?
Those who are familiar with the world of politics probably
aren’t too surprised to see such a change in a “change”
candidate. The truth of the matter is that power is corrupting.
While the junior senator from Illinois isn’t guaranteed to win
the White House in November, it seems likely that he will win.
It may sound cynical, but Obama seems less outraged at
unconstitutonal expansions of the president’s powers when he
is likely to enjoy those powers himself.
Even the politicians with the best intentions usually end up
sacrificing their principles in the name of compromise. Some
will say that the ability to compromise is a virtue in a
democratic society, but it is usually just an excuse for
political expediency. I am not completely convinced that Obama
has abandoned his principles, in this case, because his
expressed principles are so vague as to be nearly meaningless.
The fact that the campaign has focused on the need for
“change” has set the stage for this type of conflict with
its own supporters. Change is such a subjective term that each
individual can believe that when Obama talks about change, it is
the kind of change which that individual believes is necessary.
Obviously, this sets expectations which cannot be met.
This is not likely to be the last policy reversal on the part of
Obama. He has already begun to soften his rhetoric in regards to
the Iraq War because Iraq is no longer as big an issue with the
voters as it was at the beginning of the campaign. Like most
politicians, Barack Obama cares about securing votes and
advancing his own personal agenda. While many of his supporters
may not have fully realized this fact, many of them will quickly
wake up should Obama win the White House.
The problem is not limited to Obama. Most politicians in both
parties quickly break their campaign promises, often times
before ever taking office. Most notably, the Democrat-controlled
Congress has failed to either end the Iraq War or protect civil
liberties. It appears that House Democrats supported this FISA
bill as part of a deal with the Bush administration. The
administration agreed to support $95 billion worth of domestic
spending as part of the Iraq funding bill in exchange for our
Fourth Amendment rights.
Only the most naive individuals can really believe that Obama
and the Democrats will solve the problems brought upon the
country by the Republicans. They have already shown that they
are incapable of dismantling the police state apparatus once
they are the ones controlling it. Both parties are only
interested in new spending and programs which will cause even
more problems. The only real way to restore our civil liberties
is to move away from traditional partisan politics and return to
the Constitution.
About the author:
Nick is a freedom activist in New Hampshire. Feel free to
redistribute his articles, but please link back to
http://www.happilyoblivious.
