Given the opportunity to stop the NSA surveillance on citizens, Legislators we thought were conservative defenders of the Constitution have disappointed us.

The full vote is here

Michele Bachman may have been the biggest surprise for me.  Perhaps next was my own Congresswoman, Kristi Noem.

So what am I missing?  Before we trash these two (and other) House members who voted AGAINST this amendment, let’s look at the basics of what it effectively would have accomplished.

The amendment has three important practical effects.  First, it ends the mass surveillance of Americans.  The government no longer is authorized under Sec. 215 to hold a pool of metadata on every phone call of every American.  Second, the amendment permits the government to continue to acquire business records and other “tangible things” that are actually related to an authorized counterterrorism investigation.  The government still has access to this tool under the amendment, but it’s forced to comply with the intent of Congress when it passed Sec. 215.  Third, the amendment imposes more robust judicial oversight of NSA’s surveillance.  The FISA court will be involved every time NSA searches Americans’ records, and the court will have a substantive, statutory standard to apply to make sure the NSA does not violate Americans’ civil liberties.

The author of the amendment has offered a full and comprehensive explanation.

I would like to hear from Bachman and Noem on this issue.

Kristi and Michele, will you please explain to us WHY you voted against this amendment?  You certainly owe us an explanation.

***Gordon Howie is a nationally syndicated author, host of Liberty Today TV and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***

Get DAILY updates… Friend me on Facebook, or join me at www.teapartycommunity.com

You can help spread this conservative Christian message. Share it with your email list, facebook and Tea Party friends. and click the Donate button on this page NOW!!