i was shocked to learn that the RNC is full of shit. each excerpt from the clinton and carter executive order ends with an ellipsis. what the RNC cut out is language specifying that the search was only authorized if the attorney general's certification for a search complied with FISA. so while bush violated FISA, it seems that clinton and carter only authorized searches that complied with the statute.*
not that republican dastardliness should surprise me. president bush himself admitted his eeeeeeevil ways in a speech on august 24, 2005:
Our nation is engaged in... global... terror that affects the safety and security of every American... and... we... want to harm our people...put that on your web page and smoke it!
(RNC link via atrios)
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* not that any of this matters. i still maintain that even if clinton and carter did authorize the same kind of searches it doesn't mean bush isn't still a criminal. if i'm accused of robbing a convenience store, it's no defense to say "well the guy who used to work in my office robbed convenience stores too." the geniuses at the RNC apparently haven't figured that out yet.
