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| Image Source: FunnyJunk.com |
February 22, 2016
By now, civil libertarians should be fully aware that, if they are looking for a candidate that reflects their values, the best rule of thumb would be to find Hillary Clinton on the map of the political spectrum and move in the opposite direction.
Perhaps the most obvious bell weather of Clinton’s respect and support for American civil liberties can be seen in her support for the PATRIOT Act.[1] Clinton wholeheartedly supported the passage of the PATRIOT Act in the dark days after 9/11, voting for the act as a member of the US Senate. Five years later, Clinton once again expressed support for the evisceration of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution by voting for the 2006 reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act.[2]
In April 2014, Clinton appeared at the University of Connecticut where she suggested that Snowden was guilty of treason and possibly working with the Russians and the Chinese. Although her words were not direct, her position was clear enough. As Emma Roller wrote for the National Journal,
By now, civil libertarians should be fully aware that, if they are looking for a candidate that reflects their values, the best rule of thumb would be to find Hillary Clinton on the map of the political spectrum and move in the opposite direction.
Perhaps the most obvious bell weather of Clinton’s respect and support for American civil liberties can be seen in her support for the PATRIOT Act.[1] Clinton wholeheartedly supported the passage of the PATRIOT Act in the dark days after 9/11, voting for the act as a member of the US Senate. Five years later, Clinton once again expressed support for the evisceration of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution by voting for the 2006 reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act.[2]
In April 2014, Clinton appeared at the University of Connecticut where she suggested that Snowden was guilty of treason and possibly working with the Russians and the Chinese. Although her words were not direct, her position was clear enough. As Emma Roller wrote for the National Journal,
Speaking at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night, Hillary Clinton made a restrained but nonetheless damning attack against Edward Snowden.
At the event, an interviewer asked Clinton whether she thought the former National Security Agency contractor's disclosures about its domestic spying programs had any positive effects on American security policy or public discourse.
Without ever explicitly mentioning the NSA's spying programs, Clinton justified their utility in protecting the U.S. from another terrorist attack in the wake of 9/11.
