Do we want to let the following be repeated over and over, without fighting back...
Do we want to let the following be repeated over and over, without fighting back?
"It's a difficult matter of balancing security needs and civil rights."
Folks, for far too many the phrase "civil rights" doesn't carry a strong positive connotation. It's, well, part of that "unrest back in the sixties." It's tied, for all too many, to "minority rights." And so forth. Wish it weren't true, but there's a lot of that out there.
We need to insist that the issue is about the "Bill of Rights" and "Constitutional protections," not "just civil rights." It's not about "judicial review," it's about "checks and balances protecting us from Big Brother."
More reframing. We all know that Democrats have been hit over and over with "weak." It's time to counter: Why did those "weak, permissive Republicans on the committee let Gonzales get away with lying to Feingold and the American people?" "Didn't the Republican majority have the courage to ask the FISA judges, those who have the responsibility to protect Americans basic rights from government snooping, testify in front of them and the American people? Why did they just give the stage to Gonzales, the administrations "mouthpiece"? Are they afraid to let "the other side" speak?
The Republican's have spent decades doing this, twisting language and bending/ignoring facts. Time to get far more aggressive about fighting fire with fire.