Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Senator Ron Wyden, Jennifer Hoelzer, has a post on TechDirt that makes clear how, despite his rhetoric yesterday, the administration and members of Congress did everything they could to actually stifle meaningful debate about NSA programs.
Hoelzer raises some excellent points about why it is hard for Americans to trust their government.
Personally, I’m not struggling to trust our government. I don’t trust them and simply won’t trust them until they earn that trust. There’s no free pass on trust anymore. Nor should there be.
When my children were younger, I did what most parents do – I cautioned them about lying to me, saying “Trust, once it’s broken, is almost impossible to restore.”
The same holds true for members of Congress and the administration who flat-out lied to us. If I had my way, they’d all be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors or prosecuted criminally for obstructing justice and the rule of law. Failing that, I’ll just continue to disbelieve them until they can prove their claims.