Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush stated that he is “nervous” about criticism of the NSA and that he wished the president would do a better job defending government surveillance systems on Monday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show.”
Bush said that lone wolf terrorism “is a serious threat in a world where we’re so connected with the rest of the world. We have people moving in and people moving out. People get their information now, not everybody gets to listen to your show to get all their information. People get their information in different ways. They get disaffected, disillusioned, preyed upon, and so yeah, I think that this is an ongoing threat, and I hope that our counterintelligence capabilities are always vigilant. I’ve always been nervous about the attacks on the NSA, and somehow that we’re losing our freedoms by keeping the homeland safe. I think we need to be really vigilant about that.”
“I think we need to be really vigilant about” what, exactly?
If I’m reading Bush’s statement correctly, he thinks Americans knowing the truth about an essentially unlimited domestic surveillance program is more dangerous than the essentially unlimited domestic surveillance program itself. Bush also seems to have essentially unlimited trust in the NSA, and that its unprecedented doings really are “keeping the homeland safe.”
His position then is for Americans to shut up so the NSA can go about its business without having to worry about little things like what the hell the voters think. On top of that, he seems to have a deeply uncurious mind, at least about this matter — which is an important one to me.
I held my nose and voted for Romney in 2012, but I’m increasingly doubtful that I could do the same for another Bush.
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