Republican Senator Pretty Sure We Aren't Going To Have To Start Censoring Mail Yet

The operative word, of course, is yet.

That from a guy who is already on the record suggesting that bloggers might not have 1st amendment rights, and that you shouldn’t be worried about the NSA tracking your phone call as long as you’re not talking to terrorists.

Responding to reporters’ questions about the National Security Agency’s massive surveillance efforts, Graham argued that the U.S. government once censored mail.

“In World War II, the mentality of the public was that our whole way of life was at risk, we’re all in. We censored the mail. When you wrote a letter overseas, it got censored. When a letter was written back from the battlefield to home, they looked at what was in the letter to make sure they were not tipping off the enemy,” he said. “If I thought censoring the mail was necessary, I would suggest it, but I don’t think it is.”

Graham also said the “First Amendment right to speak is sacrosanct, but it has limits.” He added that Americans should be more willing to give up certain civil liberties in dangerous times to prevent terrorist attacks.

We also put Asian American citizens in internment camps during World War II on the suspicion that they might be spies.

Should we make that mistake over again too?