McCain: I'd Spy on Americans Secretly, Too

McCain: I'd Spy on Americans Secretly, Too

blog.wired.com

If elected president, Senator John McCain would reserve the right to run his own warrantless wiretapping program against Americans, based on the theory that the president's wartime powers trump federal criminal statutes and court oversight, according to a statement released by his campaign Monday.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 4/6/2008 by Mirthful Me]

Privacy may soon be nothing more than nostalgia. The onslaught against it seems to be coming from all directions. I'm not sure it even matters who is elected, the end result will be the same.

blog.wired.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by SystemiK


i tend to agree with you that privacy is going the way of the "buggy whip", lets hope that america can get some more judges (state or federal) that will protect the rights "of the people" that are written in our constitution.

Sorry, but I need more than some dudes blog in order to know exactly what was said. Not that I would not trust some unknown person to embellish or spout something out of context......oh wait, I would not trust some dudes blog.

reply to post by SystemiK


One of the many reasons why I'd never vote for this man, unless your happy with the way Bush ran the country.

McCain is the same as Bush.

The man appears to idolize Bush!



I believe he won't change a thing if he gets to be president and we'll have Bush III in office!

McCain believes in Bush policies and ideals!

McCain agrees with Bush on farm bill veto

McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion

McCain agrees with Bush, Obama is an appeaser

McCain: ‘No one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have.’»

McCain Embraces Third Bush Term: ‘I’d Be Honored To Be Anywhere With Him’


McCain’s Economic Policies Like A Third Bush Term? Blunt Says Yes!
McCain says economy fine!


John McCain and George W. Bush want to spend "a trillion dollars in Iraq over the next 10 years."

McCain, Bush largely similar on nuclear policies

McCain Foreign Policy: Bush Doctrine Plus

Sen. John McCain and President Bush Knowledge Of Economics On Display


And he has THE WORST endorsement possible!

Bush: McCain is "Exactly What We Need in a President"
That right there should be enough to scare people away from voting for McCain!



Bottom line is McCain = Bush III

[edit on 6/4/2008 by Keyhole]

Privacy became a nostalgic memory long ago. My opinion is that the same would be true if either Obama or Clinton were elected also. Three different flavors of the same bad medicine.

@WhatTheory:
You're right, "some dudes" blog is not sufficient testimony that McCain would pursue warrantless wiretapping of American citizens. You also need a little common sense, and minimal background information on the candidates.

What a guy huh? He has to know what we had for breakfast so the country can be safe from terrorists.

Ridiculous.

reply to post by Keyhole



Wait a minute, i have seen that picture before of Mccain hugging Alex Shrub(Bush to those who are not GTA vice city fans) Honestly, and I know that if there is hell, i am going there for this, i thought it was a retarded kid who was also a burn victim. I kinda feel bad now for admitting that.

And not like i expect the government to not spy on us, regardless of who is sitting in the hot seat. I would vote independant if i knew who was running.

Why is this even news for you? Voting for McCain is like putting Bush for another term. The war in Iraq will continue, the war in Afghanistan will continue, and the war in Iran will soon happen regardless of who you pick.

McInsane = McSAME = McBush

No suprise he would violate the peons just like his ever-corrupt criminal predecessor...And sadly enough, millions of sheeples will STILL be voting in droves for this lunatic.

Originally posted by Equinox99
Why is this even news for you? Voting for McCain is like putting Bush for another term. The war in Iraq will continue, the war in Afghanistan will continue, and the war in Iran will soon happen regardless of who you pick.

So then by your beliefe regardless we are screwed, and are going to create more war not less. Revolution anyone?

reply to post by Finn1916


Revolution is futile. The war with Iran is inevitable and everything is set-up. All is needed is probably a little more convincing work from lobbyists and everything is done. This war is being pushed by the most influential lobbyists in Washington. Call me anti-semitic but the Jewish lobbyists are destroying your country.

Tam Dalyell, a Labour party deputy and the longest-serving House member, said: “A Jewish cabal have taken over the government in the United States and formed an unholy alliance with fundamentalist Christians… There is far too much Jewish influence in the United States.”
Source

It is important to know that Israel has many connections and that is how the wars start. They do not start based on evidence they are based on lobbyists. The revolution should end companies that lobby for Israel and end corruption and frankly most US people are not ready for that.

It's going to happen regardless of who is in the Trite House....

reply to post by WhatTheory


Here's some other sources that show what McCain thinks about warrantless wiretapping program against Americans. Or rather, spying on Americans!

Here is what he said BEFORE voting "YEA" to giving telecommunication companies immunity for the warrantless wiretaps.

John McCain's Summary of Positions
(PS, a very good website to find out where the presiidential candidates stand on different issues.)

"Should telecommunication companies receive immunity for allowing the government to conduct past warrantless wiretaps?"

Not Clearly Pro or Con: "The struggle against Islamic fundamentalism is the transcendent foreign-policy challenge of our time. I am committed to winning this battle, enhancing the stature of the United States as beacon of global hope, and to preserving the personal, economic, and political freedoms that are the proud legacy of the great sacrifices of our fathers.

Every effort in this struggle and other efforts must be done according to American principles and the rule of law. When companies provide private records of Americans to the government without proper legal subpoena, warrants, or other legal orders, their heart may be in the right place, but their actions undermine our respect for the law.

I am also a strong supporter of protecting the privacy of Americans. The issues raised by S 2248, and the events and actions by all parties that the preceded it, reach to the core of our principles. They merit careful and deliberate consideration, fact-finding, and exploration of options. That process should be allowed to proceed before drawing conclusions that may prove to be premature.

If retroactive immunity passes, it should be done with explicit statements that this is not a blessing, there should be oversight hearings to understand what happened, and Congress should include provisions that ensure that Americans' private records will not be dealt with like that again."

But he voted to give them imunity anyway!

McCain seems to shift right in terror debate

Senator John McCain, who has long distanced himself from the Bush administration on legal issues involving the war on terrorism, this week aligned himself with conservative supporters of the White House on key votes related to the interrogation of prisoners and warrantless surveillance.

Obama, not McCain or Clinton, Votes for Electronic Privacy

The vote was on an amendment to deny AT&T and other telecommunications companies legal immunity if they are proven in court to have violated federal privacy law by opening their networks to the National Security Agency.

Obama voted for the amendment. That's a vote for electronic privacy and for the rule of law. It means that AT&T and any other companies that may have violated the law would be held accountable for any illegal actions they committed. Conversely, if AT&T, et al, violated no laws, its lawyers have nothing to worry about.

McCain opposed the amendment. This is a flip-flop from his earlier statement to us that we published as part of our News.com voter's guide earlier this year.

Candidate Positions on Surveillance

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Sen. John McCain McCain, the expected GOP nominee, has expressed concerns about the legality of the wiretapping program in the past, but in 2007 he did not vote on the bill. More recently, McCain has stood with Republican leaders in support of the overall bill and the immunity provision.

Unlike Clinton and Obama, McCain was present and voted for the FISA bill in February. He has also stepped up his rhetoric around the importance of the surveillance program. After the House of Representatives failed to renew the government surveillance program, McCain joined President Bush in calling the move "disgraceful."

So, in my book, he is clearly on Bush & Co. side for giving immunity to the communication companies for allowing the warrantless wiretaps to even start, they knew it was against the law without a warrant!

I see no reason why McCain would change his opinion on this if he gets to the White House.

There I did the homework! No blogs!

[edit on 6/4/2008 by Keyhole]

Even with all of these links posted for videos & articles that show how much McCain likes Bush...I seem to notice that there's no links to show how much Bush likes McCain enough to help fundraising McCain's campaign.

Guess it should be pretty easy to figure out who's going to be the next person "levered into" the White House next, regardless of the votes?

Originally posted by Equinox99
Call me anti-semitic but the Jewish lobbyists are destroying your country.

I won't call you that because I more believe that it would be more accurate for you to refer to "Zionist Jews," who (if I'm not mistaken) did not originally come from Semite stock, but were Khazarian.

If any American is talking to terrorists, and planning attacks against Americans, and our government sits back and does nothing to prevent this. I would call for that Presidents impeachment.

This is nothing more than collecting battlefied intelligence. Since 9/11/01 America is a battlefied. No one will ever know how many attacks have been prevented because of these measures. How can you agree with not monitoring potential terrorists plots. How easy do you want the terrorists to have it?

We haven't been attacked since 9/11/01 yet there are people out there who want to take away a huge reason for that. It makes no sense.

Originally posted by MidnightDStroyer
Even with all of these links posted for videos & articles that show how much McCain likes Bush...I seem to notice that there's no links to show how much Bush likes McCain enough to help

I didn't bother to post any of those because they are both Republicans.

Bush, being a Republican president is, more or less obligated to campaign for their presidential nominee.

how much Bush likes McCain enough to help

I do believe though that even if the Republicans didn't expect Bush to campaign for McCain, he would have anyway.

These two guys think alike.

I think they might be brothers that were separated at birth and just don't know about it!

reply to post by Keyhole


Well, Keyhole, I was truly impressed with your post tying McCain to Bush and the far right (not the same, btw).

To me, McCain is too liberal. McCain-Kennedy. McCain-Feingold. McCain-who-votes-for-liberal-judges-like-Ginsburg-and-Breyer. McCain-who-voted-against-Bush-tax-cuts-twice.

And I don't think that his support for the war or terrorist surveillance is altogether bad. If you want bad, think Obama the appeaser.

Originally posted by RRconservative
If any American is talking to terrorists, and planning attacks against Americans, and our government sits back and does nothing to prevent this. I would call for that Presidents impeachment.

I agree. If anyone, American or not, is caught collaborating, or even suspected of collaborating with terrorists, by all means, tap their phone. The problem is that they're fishing with dynamite. How would you feel if the cops showed up and demanded to search your home for drugs, not because there were any indications that you had any, but just to see if they could get lucky and find some. It's the same logic.

Originally posted by RRconservative
This is nothing more than collecting battlefied intelligence. Since 9/11/01 America is a battlefied. No one will ever know how many attacks have been prevented because of these measures. How can you agree with not monitoring potential terrorists plots. How easy do you want the terrorists to have it?

First of all, America is NOT a battlefield, and it's citizens are not combatants. Sounds like you're foaming at the mouth for Martial Law. You're propagating fear like a real professional. The above statement nearly amounts to "You'd all be dead if it weren't for these [unconstitutional] measures".

Nobody, and I mean nobody, has disagreed with monitoring potential terrorist plots. We just want them to monitor potential terrorist plots, not my Friday evening call with my ailing father. The most popular Ben Franklin quote of all time sums this up nicely: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety". Sounds to me like you're really, really afraid of terrorism. You've given the terrorists (whoever they may be...) exactly what they want. You're scared, and now willing to give up any liberty our forefathers died for, so you can feel safe and sound in your lazy-boy, with a remote in one hand and a beer in the other.

Originally posted by RRconservative
We haven't been attacked since 9/11/01 yet there are people out there who want to take away a huge reason for that. It makes no sense.

We've been under constant attack since 9/11/01, you just haven't been paying attention. In fact, you're a POW and don't even know it. The walls of a concentration camp have been built around you, and you're in for "reeducation". Seems the reeducation has been successful for you, as you now don't even want your right to privacy. Much easier to take something away from someone who doesn't want it in the first place.

I suggest you start questioning some of the information you so blindly accept.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective

McInsane = McSAME = McBush

= McLame!

Anyways, it seems McCain is taking a page out of Chavez's book!