The right wing has jumped on this TSA 'government violation' issue. Why?

[applegrove]

They want Americans to tie the feeling of being potentially violated by the TSA with rejection of paying taxes. It is with emotional layer upon emotional layer that they build up their base's feelings of rejection of all things government. They either make a member of their base more ardently against government 'violation'...or they plant the seed of 'government' and 'violation' in some unsuspecting American who just doesn't like the idea of have his/her junk touched.

Either way they want to make sure this feeling sticks with Americans.

[rpannier]

1. They already tipped their hand

They want to turn the whole thing over to a private contractor

[PSPS]

3. You're right.

The TSA is on the verge of unionizing. This is a convenient pretext to stop that by "privatizing" it (giving the contract to a favored briber "campaign contributor.")

Then the "private contractor" slashes everyone's wages & benefits, gouges the government for the service, starts the usual laundering of a portion of the resulting profit back as bribes "campaign contributions," and, voila! Another off-the-shelf self-sustaining money laundering operation to fund the institutionalized corruption of the government! Plus, we have a new CEO who gets made a billionaire at the taxpayer's expense!

[Lasher]

4. Yep. Plus, Obama's in charge.

If Junior were still president they would be all 'support the troops' an stuff.

[avaistheone1]

16. Are you expecting me to support a union whose job is to force me to

endure a radiation scanner or grope my genitals in order to fly?

Support them with tax dollars, and then they get to gate rape me? No thanks.

[PSPS]

24. Of course not. But that wasn't the question that was asked.

[Gman]

5. I'm learning to analyze everything they do or say in the light of

who stands to make money.

[Historic NY]

12. Yup, follow the money.

[applegrove]

7. It is certainly true that they want to privatize all. That is the only way

wealth can be created in the USA... by privatizing many industries. The old industries are mature and as much productivity has been squeezed out of them. So no more huge profits to be made there. So in order to have their fortunes grow in the USA, they need to open up new frontiers like newly privatized industries or lowering taxes and regulations.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. To privatize the TSA, I mean we could not

have workers on the verge of a union.

That said, they are violating the fourth... I didn't need Rush to tell me that. Hell, I doubt Rush knows that.

[pinboy3niner]

6. What's not to love?

It's a great opportunity for them to slam public employees, defeat unionization and bash government--AND to move for privatization of a government function. Plus, as Lasher points out, they can use it to attack a Democratic President. If a Republican were in the Oval Office, they'd be asking objectors, "Why do you hate America and why do you want the terrorists to win?"

[Ian David]

8. Because Black men are touching your White grandma. n/t

[avaistheone1]

13. Shit. No man of any color should be touching grandma of any color.

[frylock]

9. is the aclu a right wing org?

[krabigirl]

11. Lol, +1.

[avaistheone1]

14. ^5

:rofl:

[sabrina 1]

10. What nonsense this is.

I have been asking this question of those who are attempting to minimize the legitimate outrage over this latest government abuse of our Constitutional rights for several days now, and have yet to receive an answer.

Were you FOR these machines back in 2004 when Civil Rights Organizations responding to the outrage of the possibility that they would ever be installed in our airports, began the fight to stop yet one more attack on our rights?

Are you aware that the 'left' along with others from across the political spectrum and in fact from many other countries, has been fighting, successfully until last year, the installation of these machines?

Is the ACLU now suddenly 'rightwing' despite the battles it has fought over the past six years to protect our rights?

Whose side were YOU on when this battle began under the Bush administration? Because I remember when it began. I remember that it was a huge issue for Democrats and it would have been hard to find a single post on a democratic blog that supported the installation of those machines.

Considering the hitory of this battle for our rights part of which definitely involved these machines, your post makes zero sense.

The only people I ever saw supporting them were people like Republican Rudolph Giuliani, Michaels Chertoff and a whole host of other prominent REpublicans. And of course, freepers. They called Democrats 'terror supporters' for their opposition to these machines. So, I ask yet again, were in agreement with the left or the right back then? And how could this possibly be a Rightwing plot when it is a six year old battle fought by the LEFT?

[pinboy3niner]

21. +100

We don't abandon our defense of civil rights just because conservatives suddenly take up the same cause for their own reasons. Under a Republican president, conservatives would be championing the new TSA policies as fighting terrorism. Under a Dem president, it's Big Government intruding on our rights (rights that mattered not so much under B*sh, lol).

For the Right, it's an opportunity to block unionization, demonize public employees and bash government--especially a Democratic administration. And a GREAT opportunity to push for privatization of a government function.

My impression is that the Left--including DU--is not abandoning the civil rights battle over this in order to oppose conservatives. We are, after all, the reality-based ones...

:hi:

[avaistheone1]

15. I am about as left wing as you can get and I am as appalled and angry as can be about these

radiation scanners and genital gropings. It is not a right or left issue, it is a civil liberties issue. The push against this is just getting started. Homeland Security and the TSA are out of control.

This is a total outrage and it is against the 4th Amendment of the Constitution.

[rcrush]

17. Just give up

TSA Groping of citizens without their consent is considered a joke on this forum. No one cares.

[avaistheone1]

18. Actually

I think there are many here who do care. Although there are some people who are acting like bullies and trying to shut the discussion down. There has been a lot of interest and continuous posting on the issue on this website.

Take heart. We have just begun to fight.

[pinboy3niner]

23. BS

While a few here may blow it off as 'no big deal,' my impression is that DU, as a community, opposes the new TSA policies as an intrusion on our civil rights. Just because the Right suddenly gloms onto our rationale (something they would never have done under B*sh) doesn't mean we'll abandon our civil rights principles simply for the sake of opposing conservatives. We are, after all, on the reality-based side...

[alittlelark]

19. A Black President and hopes for privitization

of security in airports etc.

Cuz 'Private' companies would NEVER do things like this.:puke:

[avaistheone1]

22. The critical issue here is not whether the president is black, or whether the workers

are government or private, or whether the workers are unionized or not.

The critical issue here is that people's Constitutional right to privacy is being violated.

No president regardless of color should be forcing citizens who are guilty of no crime to be radiated or to be groped

No employee government or private, whether they are unionized or not should be radiating a citizen without their consent, or forcing a genital groping.

:grr: :grr: :grr:

[JDPriestly]

20. I don't think it is a right or left thing. It's just a human thing.

We really don't like to have someone else basically make us undress in front of them. It's really demeaning.

If the government insists on doing it, the government needs to explain why it is so necessary. The equipment is very expensive, and the whole thing looks like an exaggerated reaction to whatever threat is real. It just looks like the purchase of the machines was the result of lot of corruption.

There will probably be investigations in the House about the purchase of the machines. The Obama administration needs to be ready to defend those purchases. I think this could get very ugly.

And, as I said, it's not just the right wing that is reacting negatively to this intrusive surveillance measure. The machines are a huge political mistake.

The strange thing is that Americans of all political points of view are reacting so negatively to these machines but did not react so negatively to the fact that our government tortured prisoners. After all, most of us have not been asked to go through these machines, and most of us have never been tortured. But once the government forces one person to go through the machines or some other horrible procedure, then they can force any of us to do that. Similarly, if the government can torture one prisoner, it can torture any of us.

So, why are Americans so outraged by these machines and the body searches but not outraged by the torture? Seems to me that the torture is much, much, much worse.

Obama missed his opportunity to get a political advantage from the outrage that Americans would have felt had he prosecuted the members of the Bush administration for their approval of torture.

Now Obama's weakness will be returned with a show of great strength by the Republicans who will turn these machines into a big political show.
It's always best to do what is right. Obama needs to learn that lesson. The right thing would have been to punish the torture and not buy these stupid machines.