DNC Admits Obama WAS Collecting Information on People

In an attempt to justify the invasion of privacy by the White House, Talking Points Memo's Greg Sargent compares the flag@whitehouse.gov debacle to John Cornyn's Senate website.

The distinction between the two should not be lost -- one is given freely, the other is given by a snitch. And that is -- running it up the flagpole.

A report in RedState:


DNC Admits Barack Obama WAS Collecting Information on People Via Flag@Whitehouse.gov
By Erick Erickson, August 20, 2009

Greg Sargent, doing his part as a mouthpiece for the online left, is trying his best to deflect concerns over flag@whitehouse.gov, but in the process reveals that Democrats are now admitting the White House collected data on individuals from flag@whitehouse.gov.

Here’s the deal — and you’ll have to pardon wading through the stupid that is Greg Sargent regurgitating DNC talking points:

John Cornyn has a contact form on his Senate website.

You can contact Cornyn by filling in your name, address, etc. and sending an email note.

Greg Sargent breathlessly reports that:

"Now the DNC is striking back by pointing out that similar email collection is done on the Web sites of Senators and members of Congress, including … John Cornyn.

Over on Cornyn’s Senate Web site, for instance, you find that people who want to contact the Senator are asked to submit personal info, such as their names, addresses and emails, which are all required."

In other words, “John Cornyn does it too.”

But, as Cornyn points out, and the DNC admits, with Cornyn’s website it is an individual offering their own information to contact the Senator. With Barack Obama, it is people offering other people’s information.

The distinction is huge.

But the DNC argues this is a meaningless distinction. Following Cornyn’s logic about the White House, the DNC says, shouldn’t those who write in to Cornyn’s Web site to criticize the Senator ask what his office will do with their personal info?

Of course that is desperation on the Democrats’ part. Trying to deflect attention from the White House invading people’s privacy, the Democratic National Committee is making real news by admitting flag@whitehouse.gov was used to collect data on people being turned in by third parties.