In terms of security, it is now obvious that it was a really bad idea for Sarah Palin to conduct government business from a Yahoo email address. But security wasn’t the priority, the priority was secrecy. As the New York Times reported, “her staff members studied whether that could allow them to circumvent subpoenas seeking public records.” That’s not about privacy or security, that’s about avoiding public accountability.
Reacting to the news that Palin’s Yahoo address had been hacked, conservatives expressed outrage over the violation of her privacy. It just so happens that they’ve spent the past few years arguing that the government should be able to do just that, whenever they feel like it, without any legal oversight. These conservatives only see their own rights as absolute. John Hinderaker screeches that “liberals” hacked into Palin’s email account and links to a blog that declares “liberal online activists from 4chan are to blame.” Yes, the same liberal activists who brought you LOLCats. Glenn Greenwald has a detailed takedown of the sudden civil libertarians on the right.
What this person did was illegal, and Gawker posting the emails and contact list was reprehensible. But it’s hard to take the outrage seriously when, after pushing for the government to ignore privacy rights, they suddenly feel entitled to their own. Simply put, they don’t care if your rights are violated, they only care when it happens to them.
–A. Serwer
