Progress Now Action

I recently delivered a column on the current administration's abuse of the NSA for domestic-spying purposes. Unfortunately, most of my detractors never made an attempt to address the underlying facts, or to understand the argument being presented. The majority of those e-mails began with statements along the lines of "you're an idiot!" and went on to make assertions about my politics based on what they believed to have read in the column.

Throughout history, leaders both good and bad have been adept at creating "dragons." To provide but a few examples in Western culture, the Crusades were about Muslims being in control of Jerusalem, so the popes at the time created the Muslim dragons. Hitler had the Jews. Reagan had the Evil Empire. Bush started his presidency with the Axis of Evil, until of course Osama bin Laden became an issue; when he couldn't catch him, Saddam Hussein became the dragon. When his policies are attacked, there is the Liberal Media or Activist Judges. Radical Islam has The Great Satan. Certain American commentators last year had the "War on Christmas."

Would you be defending the NSA's domestic spying if Hillary Clinton were president?