"Oh, I thought they were listening to you ..."
Way back in the day, when we first
learned about warrantless wiretaps and
an NSA plan "to create a database of every call ever made," we on the
"professional left" cried foul. And we continued
to do so when President Obama carried out those same policies. And the media, for the most part, cheerfully played stenographer while reporting on those programs, the Patriot Act, freedom fries and whatever other 9/11-changed-everything-and-we're-patriotic-never-mind-the-Constitution load of crap that Washington came up with.
But now that it has been confirmed that the NSA has their massive database of phone records, and as lawmakers insist that there's nothing to see here, some in the media are having a sad:
Let's see. I was a reporter for the AP in Washington. I'm a Verizon customer in America. Way to go, govt. You have my phone records covered.
— @BenFellerNY via Twitter for iPhone
Yeah, sing it, Ben. Oh, wait ... it seems that Benny-boy was singing a
different tune back in 2008, when he admiringly wrote:
For an unpopular guy on his way out of his office, President Bush still has some juice.
When Bush signed a law Thursday to broaden the government's eavesdropping power, he served notice of how much sway he still holds on matters of national security. [...]
Why the difference on security?
Because protecting the country is, in fact, a different matter. The president commands the military in a time of war. He leads a nation that was infamously attacked -- and no one has forgotten 9/11.
So going against him can mean being labeled as soft on terrorism or unsupportive of the troops. In an election year, try going to the voters with that around your neck.
So, way to go, Ben. You had a national megaphone and this is how you used it. And you weren't the only one. So you—and a good chunk of your media brethren—can shove your shock and outrage now that the shoe is on
your foot.