Friday’s vote to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reminds me of a famous quote from civil rights leader Malcolm X: “You’ve been hoodwinked. You’ve been had. You’ve been took. You’ve been led astray, run amok.”
His words were given in a different context, but they are all too fitting for today when it comes to lawmakers who swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, run campaigns in which they promise to protect our rights, and then immediately forget everything the moment they step foot in Washington, D.C.
The debate over FISA has been going on for years and intensified late last year when there was talk in the hallowed corridors of the swamp about possibly reforming the legislation. Of particular interest was Section 702, which effectively allows the federal government to spy on American citizens without first obtaining a warrant, a loophole…
