The NSA scandal -- what to do now

Everyone -- or rather, every American -- who cares about their rights and wants to take responsibility for their own government ought to read this post by Glenn Greenwald.  I agree with all of it, in principle and as a matter of strategy, but would underline the following in particular:

There are scores of prominent conservatives and conservative organizations vigorously opposed to the Administration’s actions, and every public event and campaign should include them in order to prevent this scandal from being (falsely) depicted as the by-product of liberal softness on terrorism or personal hostility towards the President. There are multiple ways to achieve this and several reasons why doing so is vitally important.  . . . .

. . . .  Opposition to the Administration’s law-breaking among conservatives is substantial and it is growing. And it is easy to understand why this is so – the Administration’s theories of presidential power are repugnant to many core principles of true conservatism, from the supremacy of the rule of law to the importance of restraining the powers of the Federal Government (as the Founders intended), particularly when it comes to those powers which can be wielded by the Government against American citizens.

Greenwald is also absolutely right that this is not just a marriage of convenience:

Importantly, this is not a case where liberals and conservatives arrive coincidentally at the same place despite beginning from radically different premises -- the way, say, Pat Buchanan’s isolationist theories just coincidentally lead him to the same anti-war views as certain pacifists on the Left. Here, the basis for opposition to the Administration’s action among liberals, conservatives and everyone in between comes from exactly the same set of principles and beliefs -- namely, that what is at stake in this scandal is whether America will continue to live under the principles of law and the system of government on which our country was founded and which has kept us both strong and free.

The current administration is not only advancing but acting on positions that are as close to fascism -- in the technical and not the rhetorical sense of that word -- as we have come in this country's history.  There ought to be, and there can be, a popular front of people of good will from across the political spectrum to oppose it.  That means we need to hold hands -- in good faith and without holding our noses -- with people with whom we otherwise vehemently disagree.  It's the only hope, at least in the near term, to stop the political back-slide in which we find ourselves.