Rodney Alexander, the U. S. Representative from Louisiana’s Fifth Congressional District today voted to continue what the sponsor of the measure (Justin Amash, R, Michigan 3rd) called the indiscriminate collection of Americans’ phone records.
The measure was offered as an amendment to a $598.3 billion defense spending bill for 2014. It would have canceled the statutory authority for the NSA program, and ended the agency’s ability to collect phone records and metadata under the USA Patriot Act unless it identified an individual under investigation.
Alexander voted no.
See here the Roll Call Vote.
Lincoln Parish News Online 
07/24/2013 at 8:59 pm |
Alexander had a chance of a lifetime to limit the scope of government’s illegal snooping into our emails, and phone conversations. Alexander is certainly not voting for our constitutional rights. His vote is for bigger government and more loss of freedom for the ones he was elected to represent. When an elected one votes against constitutional rights, He should be voted out.
I emailed him a day before the vote asking his support for the limitation of government surveillance. All I received was a computer generated reply that his office had received my email. That’s all! He could care less about the people back home,
07/24/2013 at 10:39 pm |
exactly right!!
07/24/2013 at 11:48 pm |
RINO-Republican in Name Only-no matter how many times they jump ship to get elected-the old hard line Democrat is still alive and well. Look at the voting history. Look at the La. State Attorney General and now Fannin, it’s all about a continued place at the public trough.
07/25/2013 at 7:39 am |
I have limited knowledge of the specifics of this situation, so I will limit my comments until I know more, but…
assuming the secret activities of the NSA and other related organizations are necessary and “for our own good”, and not that of the politicians and bureaucrats who are seemingly determined to preserve and grow the Big Government status quo, government has lost the respect and trust of the People, and this may be one casualty.There will be other casualities of this and their loss will be more obviously detrmental to the American people.
07/25/2013 at 8:35 am |
How did he benefit from his vote? Knowing him I thought he would vote for less Gov.than more.He was brought up better than that.
07/25/2013 at 9:28 am |
Rodney Alexander also voted for extending the Patriot Act wiretap provision and allows a secret FISA court to collect business records or anything else and requires a person or business to produce any type record without reasonable suspicion and probable cause. More personal freedoms lost by his vote. Moves us further away from our constitutional form of government.
07/25/2013 at 2:39 pm |
dont expect the government to protect you then bash how they go about it, just shut up and be thankful . if you are doing nothing wrong who gives a crap .
07/25/2013 at 4:03 pm |
We are thankful when our super secret agencies intercept a message from an Arab diaper-head directing that an American wannabe terrorist blow up, say the Brooklyn Bridge. We are grateful that the act was stopped and no Americans were killed or injured. WHERE DO YOU THINK THEY GOT THEIR INTELLIGENCE ABOUT THE PROPOSED ACT? FROM READING THE TERRORIST DAILY NEWS? FROM LISTENING TO FOX NEWS? 99.9% of what is heard via their listening devices is discarde. They don’t give two rats asses about 99.9% of what we say or e-mail, but that .1% they hear from the diaper heads helps to keep our country safe. I don’t like a thing about Rodney Alexander (my feelings go back to a local election involving Rodney and Flop Shively and the aftermath that occurred at Quitman High School involving one of Flop’s sons) but for this I must applaud him (even though the vote was not his idea as the Republican leadership told him how to vote). Rodney needs to be sent packing next year. And I bet you he won’t return to Quitman but will get some kind of lobbying job in DC. Anyone wanna bet?
07/25/2013 at 5:29 pm |
thats true on his move back to Quitman.
he sold house and bought in Ruston
07/25/2013 at 8:37 pm |
Great news knowing that he grace the landscape of Ruston should he return to Louisiana.
07/25/2013 at 8:28 pm |
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin 1775
07/25/2013 at 9:55 pm |
Government isn’t having to take Americans’ freedom: they are running toward government to hand it over, in exchange for food stamp cards and free stuff, and it all of dubious value at best.
The entire evil mess is collapsing before our eyes. Poor, ignorant blacks and their pimping leaders have destroyed Detroit, and are in the process of destroying other big cities, and white people are too cowed by the false racism charge to do anything about it ( at least O’Reilly called them out on it). Wiener takes photos of himself and puts them on the Internet, and New Yorkers could elect him their mayor. Bill Clinton and Wiener have treated their wives like dirt, and for some reason they have stayed with them, and they dare to claim they are for women’s rights and equality. What a bunch of losers.
07/26/2013 at 11:07 am |
Alexander’s vote puts our very freedom in danger. Probably 99.9% of Americans say they have nothing to hide. That is a false understanding about government intrusion into our privacy. Without any recourse by the citizens it is also about how the data collection is used and government is given undue power over its citizens. “Nothing to hide” is just a small part of privacy invasion. Bits and pieces of information gathered and stored can build a dossier that makes you be put on their watch list as a possible terrorist , dangerous person. , or other lists.
Governments are very capable of error. They may post the activities of someones else’s actions on your data base, and they are not accountable to you, nor do they reveal what is on your data base. It’s government secret!
You may suddenly find yourself in a heap of trouble , when all the while, “you had nothing to hide” and approved government invasion of privacy..
The government collects data, but does not fill in the reasons for your actions; it can be misinterpreted and you have NO recourse. They have the data that you don’t mind them collecting , knowing you have done no wrong and have nothing to hide. This is getting too long for Mr. Abbot’s site. Thank you Mr. Abbot for your site. I’ll try to give a short example.
A college student is assigned a paper to write on Hitler. The student checks out library books, even buys some and looks up Hitler’s actions on the internet, talks to a fellow student about the findings. Nothing at all wrong and nothing to hide! No ulterior motive, except to satisfy an assignment. But….data without any motive for the reason for the sudden interest in Hitler’s tactics is entered into the student’s data base. He could be placed on a dangerous person’s list. Nothing to hide and nothing wrong done, but there are dangerous consequences.when governments snoop into our private lives
07/27/2013 at 8:18 pm |
Just a note, not really related to the above discussion – Rodney and the rest of the so-called congressmen and women went on a month-long vacation, starting today. Ain’t it nice that several times a year our elected leaders can take “month-long vacations” and just leave important matters danging in the wind? Me thinks that Rodney and about 434 more members of the house need permanent vacation. You folks do realize that in 2014 all 435 members will be up for re-election (or as I hope, RETIREMENT BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE). I also think that they should be docked their salaries during these absences from what they were elected to do.
07/29/2013 at 9:15 am |
The Defense Industry contributes to lawmakers’ campaign funds. Those congress people who have been receiving the most from the Defense Industry over the last two years for their campaigns are the ones who voted NO to the Amash amendment to halt NSA’s unconstitutional collection of data on American citizens.
Read this and see Alexander’s receipts from one industrial complex that will benefit to allow NSA to continue their dirty deeds.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/07/mone …
Rodney Alexander sold out the Constitution and America in favor of dollars in his pocket! What a disgrace. People we must vote him out!! He does not have our interest and welfare in his actions and voting. It’s all about keeping himself at the public trough and centralizing more power in the government.