Jon Powers Flails on FISA
In the course of one week and in three different statements, Mr. Powers went from “no answer” on FISA passage to a vague invocation of the founding fathers to a rambling answer about “re-balancing powers.” It appears the only “powers” that needs “re-balancing” is Mr. Powers himself.
First in a local blog, 26thDistrict.com:
Democratic candidate Jon Powers was asked by 26thDistrict.com for his stance on these important issues. Campaign Manager John Gerken responded on behalf of the Powers campaign saying Mr. Powers does not support immunity for the telecommunications companies.
When asked if Mr. Powers would have voted for the FISA bill had he been in Congress Mr. Gerken responded “I have not read the FISA Amendment Act in its entirety, so I cannot say whether or not he would have supported it without reading the bill first.”
The campaign did not add any further information about their stance on the issue.
Then . . . in a comment on a local blog, the Albany Project, one of the commenters compared Mr. Powers’ “position” with that of Mr. Massa, and asked, “who cleared the air and who danced?”
Jon Powers on Domestic Surveillance - NY-26 Candidate
"Growing up in Western New York, one of the first lessons I was taught was that each of us has to take responsibility for our actions. As a social studies teacher, I came to understand this principle in the broader context of our democracy. We are, first and foremost, a nation of laws. Each of us should be treated equally under the law, and no one should be given special treatment. The founding fathers designed the courts as the proper place to weigh one's actions under the law, not the White House. I trust that the courts, which have ensured the rights and liberty of all Americans for over 200 years, are more than able to continue providing the wisdom and protections that keep us free."
Mr. Powers then added to the confusion in a blogradio interview that he proudly posts on how own campaign website:
Robert Harding: Where do you stand on FISA? The Telecom immunity and, uh, that whole issue there?
Jon Powers: “That’s a great question Robert, and definitely it’s a challenging question right now. I . . . as you know, I am a social studies teacher, and I come from this from the angle that we need, you know, balance of powers in this country, and I think under this Administration, they have unbalanced those powers. And, and the FISA, the courts are set up as a way to help make sure that you know, the information . . . and the, you know that the information, and, we, we were domestically handling our, our information in the right way.
You know, we, looking at what’s going through the House and the Senate right now, you know, while I think that there’s some good enforcement being put into place with some of these bills, the problem is the Telecom immunity. And, actually, Senator Dodd today is putting forth an Amendment to strike that piece, Telecom immunity, from, from the bill.
Uh, especially since there’s no accountability in it. You know, if the system was set up to have these, these, uh companies come in, and . . . explain what had happened, then maybe we’d have a different discussion, but it hasn’t gone in that way. So you know, I, again, I’ve think we’ve gotta look at re-balancing the powers in this country that have been totally shifted under this administration.
Robert Harding: Excellent, excellent. I’ll move on to another caller here . . .
Excellent? Good Enforcement? Warrantless Wiretaps are good enforcement? Trusting the Department of Justice to be the “decider” is "excellent"?