Republican Senator Admits to Flip-Flopping on NSA Because He Trusted Bush More Than Obama
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) used to like the Patriot Act and the powers it granted to agencies like the NSA. Now, like a lot of his fellow Republicans, he's concerned about the size and scope of the NSA's operations. He recently explained his change of heart to CQ Roll Call:
"I'm concerned you can go too far with something like this," says Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services panel. "I actually supported it originally. I felt a little more comfortable supporting it with Bush as president than the current president," Inhofe says, referring to the surveillance programs that began under President George W. Bush and were continued by the administration of President Barack Obama. "Is that shocking?"
Sen. Inhofe's Team Red tribalism is no more shocking than Team Blue tribalism. And if Americans elect a Republican in 2016, it won't be a shock to see Inhofe resume defending the excesses of the surveillance state, and Democrats resume caring about civil liberties.
Speaking of flip-flopping, this is probably the best supercut of a prominent talking head doing a solid 180 on the NSA: