FISA, NSA, and President Spying

Yglesias arguing how the Dems need to handle the illegal intelligence surveillance in the political realm.

As with Social Security, what's needed is a strategy for stripping the debate of mumbo-jumbo. As with Social Security, yes, this will be a loser for Democrats if and only if massive deception is allowed to pervade the public discourse. And as with Social Security, such deception will work if and only if Democrats refuse to challenge it. If, by contrast, the public can be made to understand the issue, then grants of dictatorial power and an effort to place the White House above the law will not prove popular. The task of Democratic politicians is to take a stand--some things simply cannot go unchallenged by the opposition, however risky opposition may be. The task of the strategists is to find a way to make opposition effective. It's been done before, and it can be done again.

Only problem with this comparison being that people are not nearly as worried or concerned with Social Security returns in the far future. Terrorism and national security concerns loom over our nation's collective heads in a completely different fashion then budgetary and specifically Social Security concerns. Bush won the last election based on fostering fear in our nation's citizens. He very well could win this battle over the expansion of Executive Powers, no matter how unconstitutional and wrong his actions are.