Jack Seaman: Kevin Cramer Has Consistently Voted To Expand Government Surveillance
U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer talks to a supporter during an election-watch party Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, at the Elks Lodge in Bismarck. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
As is the tradition whenever tragedy strikes, the shooting in Orlando was yet another terrible event in our country that has stirred national debate once again. Television, talk radio and of course social media are ablaze with a fervent discussion of gun violence, gun control and terrorism, along with every possible angle of each of these topics.
With each tragedy since 9/11, the pattern repeats itself- public outcry wanting government to “do something” about it, followed by poorly written and thought out legislation passed in haste by Congress to appease their constituents, with full approval of the now nearly all-powerful Executive Branch.
It’s incredible to look at the changes to our Republic since 9/11. Our 4th Amendment rights have been shattered, thanks to a Congress that grants government the authority to spy on it’s own citizens in a multitude of ways, not to mention also the right to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without charge or trial, all in the name of “security”.
[mks_pullquote align=”left” width=”300″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#000000″]Rep. Kevin Cramer has voted consistently to expand our government’s surveillance of U.S. citizens, voted in favor of indefinite detention of U.S. citizens and voted for more war, destruction and death in the Middle East- financed by more U.S. debt.[/mks_pullquote]
Now our 2nd Amendment and 5th Amendment rights are under attack from a knee-jerk Congress looking to enact useless gun control legislation that deems certain citizens guilty until proven innocent. Instead, they should be voting on eliminating federal “gun free zones” which would immediately allow citizens to protect themselves, something government has shown an inability to do.
On January 20th, 2001, our national debt was $5.7 trillion dollars. Now, after 15 years of the “War on Terror” with a plethora of invasions, interventions and regime changes, it’s approaching a $20 trillion, to go along with our weak-at-best economy. It’s obvious that this policy is completely ineffective the fight against terrorism and is bankrupting the country.
Of course, the bipartisan response to this is to double down on failed policy.
Rep. Kevin Cramer has voted consistently to expand our government’s surveillance of U.S. citizens, voted in favor of indefinite detention of U.S. citizens and voted for more war, destruction and death in the Middle East- financed by more U.S. debt.
If the terrorists’ playbook was/is to effect significant financial hardship along with drastic changes to the foundation of our country and instilling a culture of fear and paranoia, well, I’m sorry to say, at this point it seems to be working. Which is why we need a new direction for our country.
Terrorism can be defeated by making logical and rational changes to our foreign and domestic policies that will protect our citizens, our rights, our economic system and our way of life.
The current path we are on will continue to erode all of the above, severely impacting our country and future generations in the process. The clock is ticking, and it is up to the voters to start fixing what is obviously broken. Let’s try something different. The approaches of both Democrats and Republicans have been proven to be ineffective and counter-productive so far. The time for change is now.
