The politics of national security: USA Patriot Act:
The Senate Majority Leader has filed cloture on the Patriot Act reauthorization conference report. The vote on that motion is expected on Friday, and may well serve as an indicator of the strength of any possible filibuster attempt.
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), the lone Senator who voted against the Patriot Act when it was originally considered in 2001, appeared on C-SPAN at 8:00 am ET to discuss where things stand on re-authorization. He said he could not support the version of the Patriot Act currently before the Senate because it makes "essentially the same mistake" as the original legislation.
When a very angry caller asked Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI): "If we have another terrorist attack, are you going to say 'it's my damn fault?'"
Feingold answered: "Good morning to Texas."
The Wisconsin Senator went on to say he wants to make sure the US government can't get the library records of "law-abiding citizens" in El Paso, TX, the caller's hometown, "just because it feels like it."
Nine Senators - including four Republicans (Sens. Craig, Sununu, Murkowski, and Hagel) - sent a "Dear Colleague" letter yesterday in which they write: "If the conference report comes to the Senate in the same form that it was filed in the House last week, we will oppose cloture on the conference report. We urge you to do the same."
The New York Times' Stolberg on Sen. Hagel joining the Feingold Four in opposition of the current version of the Patriot Act reauthorization legislation, Sen. Frist's opposition to a short-term extension, Sen. Leahy's prediction that the Republicans don't have 60 votes to stop a filibuster, and Ken Mehlman's ominous political threat to Democrats by resurrecting the specter of the 2002 vote on creating the Department of Homeland Security. LINK