Democrats Expand Government Wiretaps

In my morning survey of the news, I came across an article saying that Bush Official Acknowledges Multiple Secret Surveillance Programs.

It links to an article that reports on Democrats Scrambling to Expand Evesdropping because the Democrats are worried about being labeled "soft on terrorism."

Whereas there seems to be little or no concern about being "soft on tyranny" or, in other words, being "soft on constitutional limitations on arbitrary use of government power."

Here, the natural next step is to blame the Democrats for being cowardly.

However, it hardly makes sense to defend liberty by handing control of the government back to those who have so effectively dissolved these checks on arbitary government power over the past six years.

These Democrats are, no doubt, listening to polls and marketing experts who tell them that the people actually want government spying - or, at least, the Republicans can package their Constitutional violations in a package that American voters will find appealing.

Ultimately, the failure rests with the American people, who themselves seems to be more than happy to let the Constitution itself fade and crumble into dust.

It is a failure of those who value liberty and who see the danger of arbitrary government authority to get our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to understand that, throughout history, foreign criminals have done far less harm to the citizens of a nation than fellow citizens wielding unchecked government power.

It is only one of several contemporary attitudes that threaten the well-being of future generations. Whereby previous generations left us liberty and a government confined by constitutional limits, we give future generations a government of unlimited power and no checks and balances to prevent possible abuses.

Will they thank us?