FISA
Hmm.
I’ve been a strong Obama advocate since the democratic hoopla began. Then the FISA 2008 bill was passed. Obama voted yes.
I have kind of been preoccupied with the new iPhone 2.0 software about to come out, so I didn’t really know what has been going on. As a quick recap- our government is supposed to get approval from an independent group before they can do wiretapping. Last year Obama said he would “filibuster” any bill that provided retroactive immunity against the telecoms (like AT&T) over illegal wiretapping.
It passed. Eric was quick to bring this up in our kitchen last night. Then mentioned some other bill Obama supported that wasn’t the best (I forget which). Eric is part of the green party and I’m not sure what he was getting at, but it felt like he was trying to be smug. I was pretty mad about it all.
Overall I’m rather disappointed. No longer can I champion Obama’s political integrity because someone will try to shoot it down by bringing up this bill.
Hillary voted against it. McCain didn’t vote at all. Now everyone is in prime condition to throw stones at Obama and his decision. Ugh. It is frustrating. I thought I’d read that it was all somehow a misunderstanding, but no such luck.
I’ve read all about the grassroots group trying to get Obama to change his mind. Then his response to the group.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/rospars/gGxsZF/commentary
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“Democracy cannot exist without strong differences. And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That’s ok. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have. After all, the choice in this election could not be clearer. “
Arguments appear on the website echo setiments like:
‘am I stuck having to make the choice between the lesser evils?’ and ‘If he backs out of this, what else will he back out of?’
More fear and pain from being let down and bamboozled. I am angry no doubt, but I do side with his other views. It is hard to be a fan of something. Because there are so many parts to a machine or a person, it always disappoints someone. At work I’m always having to rebuke frustrations at Apple, at home now I have to talk about Obama. Bummer.
I was really excited about this campaign. I’m feeling a lot of things right now.
I feel embarrassed for having confidence in a canidate, and being let down.
I feel confused on where to go from here. I can continue to support Obama or use my one vote for someone else. That seems childish though. I don’t want to be led on, and continued to get hurt. What is worse is being rash over decisions.
The only bright side, and only hope is that this will be looked at in the next administration. The civil courts have lost their ability to sue the Telecoms, but the current administration still needs to held accountable. I don’t know how this will happen or what to do about it, but the other issues we face are important. I’ve always been disgusted at one-issue political supporters.
I care about the environment, and I want us to end this war with Iraq. I still have hope for change.