Wednesday, February 09, 2011
An Interesting Development
Hmmmm...it seems that the GOP may not have as tight a hold on some of the 'baggers as once thought.
The House defeated a bid Tuesday to extend for nine months the government’s authority to conduct roving wiretaps of terror suspects, along with two other expiring provisions of the Patriot Act. The vote, 277 to 148, fell short of the two-thirds majority needed.
It would be nice if the NYT had a bit more than a single paragraph though. Luckily, the WaPo has quite a bit more on what could be a very interesting development.
And of course, there's Glenn Greenwald:
while it shouldn't be overstated, there is a real significance here that also shouldn't be overlooked. Rachel Maddow last night pointed out that there is a split on the Right -- at least a rhetorical one -- between what she called "authoritarian conservatives" and "libertarian conservatives." At some point, the dogmatic emphasis on limited state power, not trusting the Federal Government, and individual liberties -- all staples of right-wing political propaganda, especially Tea Party sloganeering -- has to conflict with things like oversight-free federal domestic surveillance, limitless government detention powers, and impenetrable secrecy (to say nothing of exploiting state power to advance culture war aims).
The House defeated a bid Tuesday to extend for nine months the government’s authority to conduct roving wiretaps of terror suspects, along with two other expiring provisions of the Patriot Act. The vote, 277 to 148, fell short of the two-thirds majority needed.
It would be nice if the NYT had a bit more than a single paragraph though. Luckily, the WaPo has quite a bit more on what could be a very interesting development.
And of course, there's Glenn Greenwald:
while it shouldn't be overstated, there is a real significance here that also shouldn't be overlooked. Rachel Maddow last night pointed out that there is a split on the Right -- at least a rhetorical one -- between what she called "authoritarian conservatives" and "libertarian conservatives." At some point, the dogmatic emphasis on limited state power, not trusting the Federal Government, and individual liberties -- all staples of right-wing political propaganda, especially Tea Party sloganeering -- has to conflict with things like oversight-free federal domestic surveillance, limitless government detention powers, and impenetrable secrecy (to say nothing of exploiting state power to advance culture war aims).
Labels: politics
