ACLU Report On Obama's First 18 months

[TexanRudeBoy]

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/establishing-new-normal

"Indeed, on a range of issues including accountability for torture, detention of terrorism suspects, and use of lethal force against civilians, there is a very real danger that the Obama administration will enshrine permanently within the law policies and practices that were widely considered extreme and unlawful during the Bush administration"


So Obama has fully endorsed, and in some cases expanded (whistleblower prosecutions, presidentially authorizeed-due process free assassinations of US citizens) the Bush/Cheney terror doctrine.

For years we were told over, and over, and over, and over again about how evil these policies were. We were promised some kind of "change", most specifically in regards to these policies. Where is it?

More importantly, where's the outrage?

[realisticphish]

1. i think

that part of the problem is he's "our guy." Even if we disagree with him, it seems like the left, for the most part, seems to keep quiet about it. And the right AGRESS with it, so no noise from them.

But I agree, this is one aspect of the Obama administration that has gone almost unchallenged from most of the left

[zipplewrath]

3. Not around here

He gets hammered for it regularly around here. The biggest issue is that much of it is constantly presented as a work in progress. "Gitmo will be close". "Holder is working on that".

All in all it's being presented as a big waiting game, but it is starting to become clear that it won't end well.

[flyarm]

7. where I live the left is not quiet about it..in fact left, progressives and regular ole Dems are

damn pissed!

There is almost no group of his constituamts have not been sold out!

If you think for one moment that it is just people here complaining..you have a rude awakening!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. Where's the outrage?

Right here -- look around DU - there are many of us who have been FURIOUS with very vocal about this comtinuing obscenity by th is admonistration.

And when we do so we are dismissed as "haters", liberal idealogues, and a whole slew of other such nonsense.

The O Administration has been dead wrong on these continued abuses and it shames me they are being done by a Democrat.

[Lorien]

4. A friendlier fascism, and the perfect cover for pushing an ever more extreme agenda

the elites who pull the strings couldn't get away with it under another repug administration. So now they have put a friendly, eloquent, highly educated face on their endeavors, and through their own media they've branded him a lefty liberal (when he is anything but. Both sides expect liberal legislation from this President, so when he acts as a right wing puppet of the elite-just as Bush was- nearly everyone is blind to it. The Right won't believe it and the Left thinks that it's part of some secret multi dimensional chess game that will all shake out for the best of us all in the end. And for those of us that DO notice they have the highly convenient "all powerful blue dogs" to point to as the dastardly architects of this right wing agenda. The President is painted as both a helpless victim and the doers of great deeds simultaneously by his advocates here. It's quite an effective ruse-but more and more people ARe seeing it for what it is.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. "...but more and more people ARE seeing it for what it is."

Thankfully.

During the Bush years I used to say I felt like the Kevin McCarthy character at the end of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" trying to warn everyone of the danger -- sadly, I am finding myself in the very same position today. :(

O has certainly driven a stake through any remaining illusions I had about who is now running the Democratic Party and our country.

Which is a good but terrifying thing.

[saracat]

5. There has been a lot of outrage here. But much has not yet made its way into the media.

Those of us who expressed outrage were taunted with "poutrage" and its for our "ptotection" , and "different" . I too, am shamed that this is happening under a Democrat. But as has been pointed out often, when Presidents acquire the power to do these things they never return it. Whenever we next get a GOP Prez, he will be very powerful.