RNC Passes Resolution Condemning NSA Spying

The RNC has passed a
resolution relating to NSA surveillance which outlines the
following encouragements:

RESOLVED, the Republican National Committee encourages
Republican lawmakers to enact legislation to amend Section 215 of
the USA Patriot Act, the state secrets privilege, and the FISA
Amendments Act to make it clear that blanket surveillance of the
Internet activity, phone records and correspondence — electronic,
physical, and otherwise — of any person residing in the U.S. is
prohibited by law and that violations can be reviewed in
adversarial proceedings before a public court;

RESOLVED, the Republican National Committee encourages
Republican lawmakers to call for a special committee to
investigate, report, and reveal to the public the extent of this
domestic spying and the committee should create specific
recommendations for legal and regulatory reform ot end
unconstitutional surveillance as well as hold accountable those
public officials who are found to be responsible for this
unconstitutional surveillance; and

RESOLVED, the Republican National Committee encourages
Republican lawmakers to immediately take action to halt current
unconstitutional surveillance programs and provide a full public
accounting of the NSA’s data collection programs.

According to
MSNBC, “Not a single member rose to object or call for further
debate, as occurred for other resolutions.”

The news comes a day after the Privacy and Civil Liberties
Oversight Board released its
report on the NSA’s collection of telephone data. Three of the
five members of the board said that the NSA’s telephone data
collection program is
illegal. The report’s executive summary states that the program
has also not helped prevent any terrorist attacks:

Based on the information provided to the Board, including
classified briefings and documentation, we have not identified a
single instance involving a threat to the United States in which
the program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a
counterterrorism investigation. Moreover, we are aware of no
instance in which the program directly contributed to the discovery
of a previously unknown terrorist plot or the disruption of a
terrorist attack.

Earlier this week,
I wrote about a recent Pew/USA Today poll that
highlighted, among other things, that the GOP is divided when it
comes to the NSA. Among those who consider themselves Republican or
Republican-leaning and associate with the Tea Party 68 percent
disapprove of the NSA’s collection of phone and Internet data.
Among those who consider themselves Republic or Republican-leaning
but not party of the Tea Party the collection has 52 percent
disapproval.

While it is good to see the RNC passing a
resolution condemning the NSA’s outrageous behavior, some
Republican legislators in Washington, D.C. are strong defenders of
the NSA’s data collection. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike
Rogers (R-Mich.) are among the most prominent Republican supporters
of the NSA’s activities. King has gone so far as to say that the
NSA
should spy on members of Congress, and has said that Sen.
Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the Republican lawmakers who has been
critical of the NSA, is either “totally uninformed” or part of the
so-called “hate America crowd.”

Rep. Rogers has said that NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden,
who he calls a
traitor, may have had help from the Russians in leaking
confidential information.

MSNBC notes that the passing of the RNC’s resolution “is a sign
of the increasing influence of the libertarian wing of the party,
especially supporters of Ron Paul and his son, Rand Paul, who have
made government overreach in pursuit of terrorists a top
issue.”