“We've faced more serious crises than 9/11.”
A rather modest statement, actually:
BLITZER: Should there be a change in attitude after 9/11?But here's the thing: how many Republicans will dismiss a guy like Bergen because he's a Brit and he's being all airy-fairy about abstractions like "liberty" and "the Constitution?"BERGEN: I think the short answer is no. I mean, the nation has faced much more serious crises than 9/11.
We faced an existential crisis in the Cold War and with the Nazis; 9/11, obviously, was a very big deal, but I think we need to have some perspective.
We're not in a situation where our enemies can simply annihilate us as the Soviets could. Certainly, they can do us a lot of damage. But we have to, sort of, weigh that against the fact that we also want to live in a society where constitutional -- the Constitution is paid attention to.
I wonder how many Republicans believe what that wanker Sen. Cornyn said: “None of your civil liberties matter much after you’re dead.”
Me? I'm with Sen. Feingold: "Give me liberty or give me death."
(HT to Digby)