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<DIV>...When Jane Hamsher and I founded Accountability Now, to target incumbents
who served corporate and Beltway interests rather than their constituents, we
did so by forming a coalition with libertarians and others devoted to civil
liberties protection. There is much greater agreement across the
ideological spectrum than our conventional political punditry wants to
recognize.<BR><BR>But clearly, the people on the Right genuinely devoted to
civil liberties and restraining executive power are (as is true for Democrats)
only a minority. The problem is partisan tribalism. Most people care
about restraining executive power and fighting for civil liberties only when
their party is out of power. When their party is in power, they place
blind trust in political leaders and believe they will do Good without any need
for checks and restraints, because they are Good. That's why conservatives
who spent the 1990s shrieking about the tyrannical FISA court (it issued
warrants for the Government to eavesdrop on Americans in secret!) suddenly
favored warrantless eavesdropping (and every other unchecked power) when a
Republican was President, and it's why so many Democrats who spent the last
decade pretending to be so upset about Bush's Terrorism policies and expanded
powers are perfectly content now that it's Barack Obama wielding them...</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>...<FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">The largest
corporations which own the largest media outlets need to maintain a positive,
constructive relationship with the government -- as the corporate-government
axis grows, that relationship becomes increasingly important -- so the last
thing they want to do is antagonize political power...</FONT><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>read more:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><A
href="http://www.theatlantic.com/special-report/ideas/archive/2010/06/an-interview-with-glenn-greenwald/57976/">http://www.theatlantic.com/special-report/ideas/archive/2010/06/an-interview-with-glenn-greenwald/57976/</A></FONT></DIV><br />--
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