Specter Sells Out The Constitution

Senator Arlen Specter (Rep-PA), true to form, sold out his nation and its people in orchestrating a so-called compromise with the Bush Administration.  Specter, as predicted, managed to leave a loophole large enough for the Bush budget deficit and the planet Mars in his sordid deal.

White House Agrees to Review of Surveillance Program (New York Times)

The White House has agreed to allow limited judicial review of the eavesdropping program run by the National Security Agency, Senator Arlen Specter, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a White House spokeswoman said today...

...Although the accord could be seen as a victory for Mr. Specter, who had insisted that the surveillance program should be subject to more review and that the “the presidency is walking all over Congress” by refusing to go along, it was also clear that the White House had held firm on some key points. Nothing in the bill will require future presidents to submit eavesdropping programs for judicial review, for example.

In other words, this bill does not represent a commitment to a simple principle:  that future presidents cannot attempt to violate the Fourth Amendment without first going to the courts to get a valid search warrant.  In fact, since this legislation only applies to this particular program of the Bush Administration, this President might merely create a 'new program' and violate the Constitution in secret, until the rest of us were to learn about it from the New York Times, if they are still around.

There is a simple question: Does this President and this Congress recognize that the Constitution requires a court order, after a determination of probable cause?  Answer. No.

Comments

[nonheroicvet]

Arlen Specter wanted to be Chairman of the Judiciary Committee more than anything. Now we can see what this world class boot licker was willing to give up for it.