(Thanks to Democratic Underground via Rachel Maddow/Facebook for this.)
There's no guessing whether this is hypocrisy! Blatant.
On the subject of the NSA program and the Snowden leak: I had a conversation with a friend this morning. A very bright, well-informed liberal friend. She's been experiencing a range of emotions about this whole thing—anger, frustration and conflicting thoughts. Like me, she has been disappointed by some of the Obama administration's adherence to (and expansion of) Bush administration surveillance policies. Angry about the big net being used to "keep us safe" with what seems like outrageous amounts of data mining and privacy invasion. And yet we know there needs to be a certain amount of secrecy when it comes to warding off terrorism. We were both glad to have awareness of the information Snowden revealed. She wondered whether I think he should be prosecuted. And here's what I think about that—today.
Edward Snowden is young, but he's an adult, and it seems he chose the route he took knowing the consequences of his actions. He might be considered a hero, and he's also a criminal. It's hard to hold those two realities in the same thought bubble, isn't it? From what I understand, he could have accomplished the same, or nearly the same, "mission" by simply doing it differently— as a whistleblower. I don't see, given what he has done, how the government can do anything but apprehend and prosecute. We can't pick and choose which citizens to let off the hook and which to prosecute for breaking the same law. Right? (I'm beginning to doubt damn near everything, and trying so hard not to become completely cynical.)
My friend was doubting her own thoughts and feelings on the NSA thing; however, being a devotee of PBS, she was watching a segment with Shields and Brooks on The News Hour and heard many of her own thoughts reflected there. And she mentioned that it's mind-boggling to hear conservatives saying what liberals "should" be saying and the liberals often saying what you'd think would traditionally be coming from the mouths of conservatives! Anybody else noticing that trend? (When I say "conservative" I mean the David Brooks conservatives, a dying breed with the likes of Ted Cruz and Rand Paul taking over the Republican Party.)
By conversation's end, my friend and I agreed that it's a complex situation. Pretty much where we began. But we felt better after sharing our feelings. We agreed that we're disappointed in some of our President's actions— and in his failure to act decisively in other instances. One thing that's not confusing or conflicting: the abundance of hypocrisy among the GOP and their news source of choice. The hypocrisy is crystal clear. And you're the poster guy today, Mr. Hannity.
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