The response from Silicon Valley has been uniform. They contend that they have had no prior knowledge of PRISM and only hand over their user's information to the government if it has been previously subpoenaed. They also say that if the NSA is gaining access to their systems then they are doing so without their knowledge. This side of the story is still developing and hopefully soon who knew what will become a little clearer. (Greenwald & MacAskill, 2013)
Washington's response has been somewhat as expected. The more establishment Democrats like Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have defended the program. Feinstein said when asked about PRISM, "It's called protecting America". (Mac & Everett, 2013) More liberal Democrats like Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) attacked the administration for its policies. He said, "This type of secret bulk data collection is an outrageous breach of American's privacy. Can the FBI or the NSA really claim that they need data scooped up on tens of millions of Americans?". (Associated Press, 2013) More hawkish Republicans like Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) have supported the program. He said this while speaking to a reporter, "I don't think you're talking to terrorists. I know you're not. I know I'm not. So we don't have anything to worry about". (Kogan, 2013) The more Libertarian Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken.) have attacked the program. He said, "American tradition has been to err on the side of liberty. But what we're seeing now. An all-out assault on the constitution."(Vamburkar, 2013)
These responses bring to light some innate hypocrisies in the 2 political parties. The establishment Democrats along with the administration are implementing and using policies that they so hardly protested against in the George W. Bush era. And on the Republican side we have Senators who are shrugging off the accusations of the unconstitutionality of PRISM, which in my opinion violates the unwarranted searches and seizure clause of the 4th amendment. These republicans who only as far back as the recent gun control debate voted against mandatory background checks for all gun sales citing the second amendment.
We have lawmakers in this country who identify themselves as originalists, however they rely on the constitution only when it supports their argument. When their beliefs don't match up with the words written in the constitution they will just as well throw it out. This is the problem in my belief with originalism. For I don't believe any lawmaker believes that an African-American is 3/5 of a person. Constitutions evolve. Just as our country does. I don't believe the framers intended us to abide by the constitution as if it were a holy book. That is why they so brilliantly came up with the amendment process. So we could evolve as people and as citizens.
When it is all set and done I have to acknowledge the courage of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) who, as well as a couple of their colleagues, attacked the administration for the NSA's PRISM program. They did so while being fully aware of their respective parties' positions, and I believe that, those actions are something to applaud.
Works Cited
Associated Press (2013, June 6). Wyden, Merkley decry NSA phone records order. Retrieved KGW's website: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/dianne-feinstein-on-nsa-its-called-protecting-america-92340.html
Greenwald, G. & MacAskill, E. (2013, June 6). NSA PRISM program taps in to user data of Facebook, Yahoo and others. Retrieved June 7, 2013 from The Guardian's website:
Kogan, M. (2013, June 7). PRISM Surveillance Scandal: Welcome to George W. Obama's America. Retrieved June 7, 2013 from PolicyMic's website: http://www.policymic.com/articles/46993/prism-surveillance-scandal-welcome-to-george-w-obama-s-america
Mac, T. & Everett, B. (2013, June 6). Dianne Feinstein on NSA: 'It's called protecting America'. Retrieved from Politico's website: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/dianne-feinstein-on-nsa-its-called-protecting-america-92340.html
Vamburkar, M. (2013, June 7). Rand Paul Tears into Obama's 'All-out assault' On Constitution: 'Literally No Protection' Guaranteed To Americans. Retrieved from Mediaite's website: http://www.mediaite.com/online/rand-paul-tears-into-obamas-all-out-assault-on-constitution-literally-no-protection-guaranteed-to-americans/
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