The GOP should jump on this...
Michael Tee ·
Nov 23, 2010 at 2:26pm
...if they haven't already.
The TSA debacle is all over the news. This is the government in action.
The people are upset about these searches, no doubt. It is the precise example the GOP should use as ineffective and intrusive government. For example if Americans think this is a boorish encroachment on their liberty, perhaps they should think about ObamaCare and the undesirable effects of that legislation.
I'd be hiring Rob Long to write the 30 and 60 seconds spots, ASAP.
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May '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
Agreed. The new policies are a wreck and saying nothing is implicit endorsement of the status quo. Consult with a few airline security experts, talk with the Israelis about what's worked for them, and get a brief list of suggestions out before Thanksgiving.
With the announcement that Congress is exempt from the TSA's invasive new procedures, the GOP is in danger of looking utterly disconnected from the voters less than a month after their sweeping victory. I don't want bombast and paranoia, but I'd hope the Republicans could translate public anger into policy recommendations. That is, after all, what they're paid for!
Tick-tock...
Edited on Nov 23, 2010 at 4:42pmMay '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
The least they could do is wrestle a coherent explanation of why the scanner/pat-down regime provides additional security commensurate with its expense and intrusiveness.
May '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
Congress should not be exempt, of course. But those heavily into this trumped-up issue need to remember that no one is forcing them to fly.
Jul '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
Sure, but Michael is right. This issue is a political winner. Trumped-up is code speak for "they're screwed on this one."
Edited on Nov 22, 2010 at 9:21pmJun '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
Duane, you know as well as I do that most flights are taken as a condition of employment.
Edited on Nov 23, 2010 at 3:12amNov '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
I don't have the "right" to fly--OK. This is my husband's position, too. Of course, all of his family lives within 2 driving hours of him. Those of us with family on the opposite coast are effectively cut off from visiting our loved ones if we can't fly. But fine. I'll let that go.
What right does the government have to search my person without cause? Or am I automatically suspect because I choose to board an airplane?
I've said before that I wouldn't even balk at these procedures if I believed that they were effective; I've willingly submitted to much, much worse in both Israel and Jordan. But I knew that both of these administrations were profiling; they were using every tool in their toolbox. I fell outside of certain parameters and was therefore questioned (Israel) and searched (Jordan) more...thoroughly. I'm *fine* with that.
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
I like your idea, Michael. Have you come across any polls that shows the exact break down of Americans who find the TSA procedures unacceptably invasive versus those who think they're necessary? Earlier this week, I found a Reuters article that said that Europeans were largely in favor of similar procedures, which was disappointing (though not surprising).
Nov '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
Brilliant, Michael. To borrow one of our president's favorite phrases, this is a "teaching moment", and should not be squandered.
Jul '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
What?
You actually think that the Republicans were interested in representing the views of We The People?
You must have them confused with someone else.
They are already showing their mettle and the degree to which they are going to brace the MainStream Media Talking Heads.
Any resemblance of actions by Republicans in power and the desires of the people who elected them are purely coincidental.
Mark My Words, in 2012 the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR will both have line items in the Federal Budget!
May '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
I agree this shows govt ineptitude but liberals will say that there is a difference between infringing on our liberties and privacy, on the one hand, and helping the sick and poor on the other. What is the best response?
Nov '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
TSA's security methods are both intrusive and utterly ineffective. Everyone is laughing at the TSA:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/22/tsa-is-a-joke-to-al-qaeda-too/
Too many people on this thread are simply ignoring the elephant in the living room. TSA airport security is a wreck. The whole system is broken. This is a dead parrot!
Jul '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
There is an argument against the Republicans getting too far out front. They would take some of the heat if there was a successful terrorist attack if security was eased. It might be smarter to have Janet -- surely one of the least attractive women in politics regardless of how it is measured -- continue to be the punching bag.
Oct '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
I wonder what Muslim men across the world think about American men allowing their women and children to be seen naked and/or groped in order to fly on an airplane?
Nov '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
As for the GOP...
Do not expect them to show any imagination on this issue. They wasted the last sixteen years when they should have been educating the American public and framing the debate for the big showdown between freedom and socialism.
Nov '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
And another thing...
British Intelligence recently reported that the next wave of terrorist attacks will probably introduce a new horror: the surgically-implanted bomb. Just imagine how the TSA will over-react to that. You ain't seen nothin', yet.
May '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
Jason Hart: ... but I'd hope the Republicans could translate pubic anger into policy recommendations...
Tick-tock... · Nov 22 at 6:46pm
Typo? Freudian slip?
<sorry couldn't resist ;) >
May '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
JKT_MA
Jason Hart: ... but I'd hope the Republicans could translate pubic anger into policy recommendations...
Tick-tock... · Nov 22 at 6:46pm
Typo? Freudian slip?
<sorry couldn't resist ;) > · Nov 23 at 4:26pm
Maybe both! I am filled with shame... this is the first Ricochet comment I've had to edit after posting.
I appreciate the help spotting a typo that somehow missed my TSA-like, multi-layered comment screening process!
Oct '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
This one is a big fat softball for the Republicans to whack right out of the park.
The current TSA security theater is the absurd, but logical end result of a system that is designed to focus on the nail clippers rather than the person carrying the nail clippers.
Jul '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
I disagree and here's why: Even if the GOP gets in front, and there's a terrorist attack, it proves the utter futility in touching my junk before getting on an airplane.
There is no foolproof way of ensuring the security of the people. Life consists of trade-offs. Ordinary Americans understand this; the elite do not. The former understand that with security "lax" that it obeys the 4th Amendment (The right of the people to be secure in their persons...against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated) yet puts them at risk.
As an aside, if I were running the GOP, I would not put out ads just at election time. I would put out ads all the time, especially for crucial legislation as repealing health care. The issue is a winner.
Edited on Nov 23, 2010 at 7:51pmNov '10
Re: The GOP should jump on this...
No one is forcing them to fly... Um? Should that imply that we do not have a right to fly or that the government should have the ability to restrict our movements within the country without just cause? Let's put this in a slightly different way - would you be alarmed if Obama picked you out of a crowd to personally give you a strip search before allowing you to enter a taxi cab? Sounds extreme? Is it? Compared to where we were in 1970 when I started flying --- we're not as far away from this hypothetical as it might seem and we are by no means safer. We don't need these security measures - we don't even need the metal detectors. All the flashy lights, long lines, high tech strip searches and sexual harassment by out of work pizza delivery drivers isn't what is going to save us. If the hijacker makes it to the security check point then the system has already failed. Afterall why bomb the plane when there are many times more people waiting at the x-ray machine?