> CK
Safire has long shown he has a libertarian streak. He was one of the few (perhaps the only) major op-ed voices who opposed the FBI sting against Marion Barry, which was, as Safire termed it, police state entrapment. (Barry was looking to get laid by the woman who set him up. She practically had to shove the pipe in his hands, and suggested that if he partook, she'd comply. Here's an excerpt from that sting: http://www.monk.com/placestogo/DC/marionbarrycracktapes.html.)
There are many on the right who are very pro-Bill of Rights and pro-citizen privacy. Shouldn't come as a surprise.
DP