JOSHUA FRANK & MERLIN CHOWKWANYUN: On Civil Liberties Myopia

[Tace]

Bush Didn’t Start the War on the Bill of Rights

By Joshua Frank and Merlin Chowkwanyun -- World News Trust

So when did the assault on Americans’ civil liberties get kick-started? The current liberal establishment seems to deem 9/11 the chief catalyst. Many of the most influential members of the liberal club imply that drastic incursions on Americans’ civil liberties only began after 9/11, while the Clinton Administration represented a civil liberties paradise.

Take John Kerry partisan drone and stand-up comedian Margaret Cho, who at a MoveOn.org benefit, railed: “I mean, I'm afraid of terrorism, but I'm more afraid of the Patriot Act,” even though her candidate of choice not only voted for the legislation but authored many of its components.

Or how about Albert Gore, who in 2003 exclaimed: "They have taken us much farther down the road toward an intrusive, Big Brother-style government -- toward the dangers prophesied by George Orwell in his book '1984' -- than anyone ever thought would be possible in the United States of America.”

With such a sour musk in the air, it is unsurprising that hysteria reigned supreme over how much George W. Bush’s administration was to blame for the police conduct at the Republican National Convention last summer, where more than a thousand protestors were detained for up to 50 hours prior to being released. This infringement was indeed awful -- but hardly unique to the Bush years alone.

more

http://worldnewstrust.org/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=1907