politics

In short, I'm sick of 'em. But not so much that I'll swear off them completely—that would just be madness. You know me.

Anyway, if you follow the news at all, you've probably heard about Obama's support of the FISA bill. Highly disappointing. And really, it's not like they have to vote on these things—McCain didn't. When senators are running presidential campaigns, they miss votes all the time. So that means Obama made a special effort to show up that day to vote that way on that bill. The wrong way, might I add.

So I sent a letter. I know, I know, it's not really a whole lot, but I don't often send letters to elected officials (and he is one, don't forget, he's still an Illinois senator, and as a student at a college in Illinois, I am a constituent), so it's something, anyway. I have copied the letter here, because this is my blog and I can. And if you happen to feel the same way I do, you should write him too!* (Or even if you feel differently. Everybody should be involved. Our government, after all, is supposed to be participatory.)

Mr. Obama,

As a registered voter and contributor to your presidential campaign, I was sadly disappointed by your support of the FISA bill. On your campaign website, it says, "It's time to put an end to the say-anything-to-win politics of the past," and yet, that seems to be exactly the kind of politics you are playing here. You tell voters (of the more liberal variety) that you won't stand for the abuses of power committed by the current administration, but your support of this bill says the exact opposite; this is either an attempt to draw in more hawkish voters in hopes that the rest of us won't notice (or won't care), or it is a revelation that perhaps you're not so different from the current president after all.

Either way, as I'm sure you know, this bill gives retroactive immunity to the companies that enabled the current administration to ILLEGALLY SPY ON AMERICANS, and supporting it is the same thing as saying, "Yep, that's okay by me." As a person who fully supports the Constitution and the rule of law, this does not sit well with me at all. I want a president who will protect the rights and freedoms of the American people, not the bloated, shady government organizations (DHS) and the anything-for-another-dollar corporations.

I hope that in the future, you will think more carefully about the effects your decisions will have, instead of trying to pander to the more conservative voters—you don't balance a tipped see-saw by standing in the middle, and the time for trying to please people on both extremes has long since passed.

Sincerely,

Andrea Johnston

_{*That's the link for his Senate website; if you don't live in Illinois—or go to school there, as I do—you'll have to find your own means of contact, sorry. I'm too lazy to do it for you. Though I'm sure it's not hard.}