None of the righties had a problem with this twelve years ago. I know I didn't, and I voted for Bush in 2000.
By JULIET LAPIDOS, New York Times
June 10, 2013According to a new survey from the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans are O.K. with the National Security Agency’s surveillance program—i.e. secret tracking of phone records. Fifty-six percent think it’s “acceptable” while 41 percent think it’s “not acceptable.” That’s a slight change from seven years ago, when 51 percent said it was acceptable and 47 percent said it was not.
Those general numbers mask a large partisan shift. In 2006, when George W. Bush was president, just 37 percent of Democrats said the N.S.A. surveillance program was acceptable, while 61 percent said it was not. Now those numbers are 64 percent and 34 percent respectively.
Republicans appear to be fair-weather fans as well. In 2006, 75 percent said the program was acceptable, and 23 percent said it was not. Now 52 percent find it acceptable, and 47 percent unacceptable.
Partisan hypocrisy, it would seem, infects members of both parties. But there are other possible explanations for these shifts.
Checks and balances. In 2006, Americas were reacting to news that the government had not bothered to obtain court approval prior to tracking calls. Now the government loops in the courts. Democrats might think that judiciary involvement makes all the difference.
Time heals all wounds. 2006 was, obviously, much closer in time to the September 11 attacks. Maybe Republicans who have switched sides think of N.S.A. surveillance as an emergency measure that’s no longer justifiable.
Nixon in China. Democrats may feel that if the Obama administration has decided to continue a Bush-era program, that must mean it’s really necessary. That’s not hypocrisy, exactly, more like a matter of trust/mistrust in leadership.
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013...rss&emc=rss
