I think the NSA is as important to national security and defense as the Marine Corps, and NSA can get enemies thwarted or killed before any American boys have to put their lives on the line.
Snowden and the nuts who support him are trying to destroy that capability. It's a lot more dangerous than the wholesale democrat attacks on the CIA back in the 70s and 80s.
Snowden is the Aldrich Ames of his generation. I agree with General Hayden, who was head of NSA during W's administration:
"...it takes a special kind of arrogance for this young man to believe that his moral judgment on the dilemma suddenly trumps that of two (incredibly different) presidents, both houses of the U.S. Congress, both political parties, the U.S. court system and more than 30,000 of his co-workers."
Snowden doesn't have any moral judgment, he's simply an enemy of the United States.