Several days ago, I posted a video showing the stark differences between the positions on massive surveillance programs by candidate Barack Obama in 2007 and President Barack Obama in 2013.
And now, since we’re nothing if not “fair and balanced”, here is a short video of Sean Hannity of Fox “News” repeatedly lauding massive NSA surveillance programs during the George W. Bush Administration…and then decrying the very same programs as “tyranny” and a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution now that Obama is doing it.
With all due respect to Hannity — and I have none — his over the top hypocrisy then versus now trumps even Obama’s, hands down. Not to mention the small detail that the programs, as carried out under Bush were, at the time, illegal, while under Obama they have been made “legal”. (Or so we are told. There is so much secrecy around them, of course, it is virtually impossible for the public to know either way.) Enjoy!…
Also recently related: “Republicans Suddenly Decide to Care About Big Government Overreach“
Fox News is the source of most of the ignorance of the right wing of today. They created the tea party extremist idiots. President Obama is making tough decisions for our national security. With all the attacks on him as a Muslim and Muslim sympathizer he has tried very hard to prove them wrong.
brad said,
founding fathers say,
the Constitution can not be changed with a simple law,with the patriot act congress attempted to change probable cause to reasonable cause but all the secret interpratations in the world do not change the fact that only a ratified amendment to the Constitution could make that change to the 4th amendment
Of course we can expect poor Sean Hannity to respond to this by dropping the words “a foolish” from Ralph Waldo Emmerson’s “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of simple minds.”
“How dare you, Brad Friedman,” Sean protested, “compare my reading of Fox ‘News’ talking points past with Fox ‘News’ talking points present!”
It isn’t just Fox that is hypocritical. A Gallop poll reports that 49% of Democrats approve of the domestic spying administered by their leader Obama (40%) disapprove). I’ll bet a much larger number of Democrats disapproved of the program under Bush. Of course the same poll reveals the same flip-flop hypocrisy of Republicans queried.
What happened to principles?
SKA-T (#4),
You’re right that Fox and the Repubs have no lock on hypocrisy.
But they are better liars.
But, Brad, it’s not Tyranny When Our Side Does It.
I thought everyone knew that.
Hannity’s a tool. But by his position the Presidents hypocrisy easily trumps that of a partisan political pundit. My two cents. Nice job the past week covering this story Brad.