How Obama Became a Civil Libertarian's Nightmare
http://www.alternet.org/rights/155045/how_obama_became_a_civil_libertarian%27s_nightmare/When Barack Obama took office, he was the civil liberties communities’ great hope. Obama, a former constitutional law professor, pledged to shutter the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and run a transparent and open government. But he has become a civil libertarian’s nightmare: a supposedly liberal president who instead has expanded and fortified many of the Bush administration’s worst policies, lending bipartisan support for a more intrusive and authoritarian federal government.
It started with the 9/11 attacks. Within a week, Congress, including many liberals, gave the White House blanket authority to wage a war on the terrorists. A month after that, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act, authorizing many anti-terrorism measure including expanded surveillance. By mid-November, the White House ordered creation of military tribunals to try terrorists who were not U.S. citizens.
Bush quickly expanded covert operations, creating a shadow arrest, interrogation and detention system based at Guantanamo that violated international law and evaded domestic oversight. While the Supreme Court eventually ruled that detainees have some rights, the precedent that the Constitution does not restrict how a president conducts an endless war against a stateless enemy was firmly planted. In response, groups like the American Civil Liberties Union proposed reforms the newly elected president could make. What few anticipated was how he would embrace, expand and institutionalize many of Bush’s war on terror excesses.
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But they shouldn't be able to do it here. Last I checked, this is still "Democratic" Underground, not "Civil Libertarian" Underground. Fuck 'em. 
If they aren't - they should consider - seriously - joining the Republican party.
They know they can't outright campaign for Gary Johnson here, but they've found a workaround. Hey, if you can't go in through the front door, pry open a window, you still gain access, before the homeowner even knows what happened to him. 
And I wonder if this is posted over at Civil Libertarian Underground? Oh, that's right.....
Have civil libertarians come out with an official endorsement yet?
CL's get the best of both worlds. No one's ever gonna elect one of them, because despite what Americans tell pollsters, they care about safety, and whether intended or not, CL's sometimes seem to be working at odds with that concept. That's a luxury no sitting president can afford. It's a delicate dance, but I think this administration has tried to protect our rights, while doing everything possible to keep us safe. Afterall, if there's another large scale incident on American soil, CL's won't take the fall for it, but guess who will? 
