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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPresident Carter: "America has no functioning democracy"--"The invasion of privacy has gone too far"
NSA affair: Ex-President Carter Condemns U.S. Snooping
By Gregor Peter Schmitz in Atlanta
Ex-President Carter: "The invasion of privacy has gone too far"
The Obama administration has tried to placate Europe's anger over their spying programs. Not so ex-President Jimmy Carter: The Democrat Carter sharply criticized U.S. intelligence policy. The disclosure by the whistleblower Snowden was "useful."
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was in the wake of the NSA spying scandal criticized the American political system. "America has no functioning democracy," Carter said Tuesday at a meeting of the "Atlantic Bridge" in Atlanta.
Previously, the Democrat had been very critical of the practices of U.S. intelligence. "I think the invasion of privacy has gone too far," Carter told CNN. "And I think that is why the secrecy was excessive."
With regard to the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, Carter said his revelations were "likely to be useful because they have informed the public."
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/nsa-affaere-jimmy-carter-kritisiert-usa-a-911589.html
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2013/07/der-spiegel-ex-president-jimmy-carter.html
leveymg
(36,418 posts)First man I ever voted for President is still the best man I ever voted for.
cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)leveymg
(36,418 posts)woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Thank you very, very much.
IDemo
(16,926 posts)I never woulda guessed!
factsarenotfair
(910 posts)Anyone?
Rex
(65,616 posts)Or is he just talking about Big Brother and not the owners of Big Brother?
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)mathematic
(1,439 posts)I know he's a critic but "no functioning democracy" just doesn't seem like something an ex-President would say. It appears that that's a "rough translation" of a German story that already translated Carter's remarks. (Unless he actually gave them in German). So it's a translation of a translation.
Anybody know if there's a source for his original untranslated english remarks?
SunSeeker
(51,694 posts)According to Der Spiegel, Carter was in Atlanta when he said that today. But the speech he gave today in Atlanta had to do with the problems causes by the "legal bribery of candidates." As noted in another post (http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3285384):
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"It's accepted fact," Carter said during a speech in Atlanta. "It's legal bribery of candidates. And that repayment may be in the form of an ambassadorship to someone who has raised three or four hundred thousand dollars to help a candidate get elected."
Carter spoke at a forum where an agency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe released its report on last year's U.S. election. The U.S. government invited the European agency to observe the process.
He said the U.S. Supreme Court made a "very stupid" decision by removing limits on independent campaign spending by businesses and labor unions, which the court found was a constitutionally protected form of political speech. The Democrat said that he and his Republican opponents used public financing to run their general election campaigns in 1976 and 1980.
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Carter said that while elections in the United States once set an example for the world, the country's reputation diminished in 2000 when the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in a Florida vote recount, effectively deciding the election in favor of Republican George W. Bush. He also criticized GOP-led state legislatures for changing polling hours in ways that Carter said were meant to frustrate likely Democratic voters.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/carter-unlimited-contributions-legal-bribery-19687763
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I would have to agree with Carter if he meant that unlimited campaign contributions are hurting our democracy. Nonetheless, even though it may be on life support, it is not dead yet.
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)...but we make a great corporation. Cold. Calculating. Unfeeling. Money is ALL that matters.
- Yet they're a person just like you and me.....
K&R
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GlashFordan
(216 posts)That President Carter was a raging RWNJ afflicted with ODS...