Friday’s vote to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reminds me of a famous quote from civil rights leader Malcolm X: “You’ve been hoodwinked. You’ve been had. You’ve been took. You’ve been led astray, run amok.”

His words were given in a different context, but they are all too fitting for today when it comes to lawmakers who swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, run campaigns in which they promise to protect our rights, and then immediately forget everything the moment they step foot in Washington, D.C.

The debate over FISA has been going on for years and intensified late last year when there was talk in the hallowed corridors of the swamp about possibly reforming the legislation. Of particular interest was Section 702, which effectively allows the federal government to spy on American citizens without first obtaining a warrant, a loophole that was gleefully exploited by the FBI and other federal agencies.

After a rocky start, Congress finally voted to extend FISA and even voted in favor of several amendments except one: Rep. Andy Biggs’ (R-AZ) proposal that would have required a warrant to conduct surveillance on Americans.

House Democrats mostly voted against the measure 84-126, while most Republicans voted for it 128-86. However, the vote ended in a tie, meaning that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) got to cast the tie-breaking vote. Unfortunately, he voted to continue allowing federal agencies to conduct warrantless surveillance on Americans in violation of the Constitution.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) criticized the post in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying it is “a sad day for America.”

This is how the Constitution dies.

By a tie vote, the amendment to require a warrant to spy on Americans goes down in flames.

This is a sad day for America.

The Speaker doesn’t always vote in the House, but he was the tie breaker today. He voted against warrants. pic.twitter.com/i49GnCzyPm

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 12, 2024

In this case, Biggs’ amendment should have been a slam dunk. It is not difficult to safeguard our God-given and Constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment very clearly disallows the state from conducting unreasonable searches and seizures and stipulates that the authorities must obtain a warrant to justify spying on Americans. In light of this, why the hell would anyone who swore an oath to defend the Constitution want to let the state surveil Americans without going through the appropriate processes?

Every time I see Republicans and Democrats vote against protecting our natural rights, I ask myself one question: When will America stop letting them get away with this?

The problem, as I see it, is that politicians from both parties know they will never be held accountable for the choices they make. They know that even if they vote against the best interests of their constituents, they will still be reelected. The fact of the matter is that since there is no accountability, there is nothing stopping them from expanding the government’s influence in our lives.

We can pretty much guarantee that during primary season, none of the lawmakers who continued empowering the state to violate our Fourth Amendment rights will have to fear being replaced because, by and large, the people are not paying enough attention to these issues. To keep one’s seat in Congress, one does not actually have to deliver results; they need only to remain popular enough to win enough votes to return them to D.C.

At the end of the day, the blame lies with those tasked with selecting our leaders. If things were different, each of those who voted against the amendment would be terrified about facing their constituents. People would turn out in droves during the primaries to get rid of those who falsely promised to protect their rights. Unfortunately, it appears that much of the populace does not believe these issues are important enough to get more involved in the political process.

By the way, if you wish to know whether your congressperson voted against the amendment, you can find out here.