“Rather...it’s LOTS of LONG-TERM safety we’re talking about. Big difference.”
Based on that, you should prefer random and warrant-less car stops and searches, random and warrant-less home searches.
Heck, why not an NSA camera up your butt?
You have nothing to hide, right?
Why not microchip every citizen so we can track everyone in real time (that one is in Obamacare)?
If trashing the 4th amendment is helpful, why not do exactly the same in every area? You will increase your safety by LOTS. It will be for the children and for you! You will be safer against the evil terrorists.
May I ask, if you are willing to give up your Constitutional Rights and Guarantees that many American founders fought and died for, what are you left to protect against the threat of terrorism? Just your life with no rights? Once you strip away the plain language of the Constitution that guarantees your rights AGAINST the government, how does that make you better off than Russians?
No, favoring some phone surveillance does not automatically translate to favoring full surveillance.
There's no evidence that random car searches, etc. stopped any terror attack. However, phone surveillance has. And if phone surveillance was stopped the terrorists would have free reign to chatter and form plans all they want in one of the easiest ways possible.
I'm not sure why people are so hyped up over this on the right. Did no one know that the Patriot Act was in place? Do people have horror stories of themselves, their neighbors or even distant acquantances being violated? What's changed other than one punk now harbored by communist China (who used to be an Obama supporter and is probably an OWS type) telling us that, yes, the Patriot Act is in effect?