The Patriot Act and bipartisanship

By Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, 05.23.2011%0D %0D Several days ago I noted that Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell had agreed to a four-year extension of the most controversial provisions of the Patriot Act -- a bill Democrats everywhere once claimed to revile -- without a single reform (despite the long and documented history of its abuse and despite Obama's previously claimed desire to reform it). Tonight, a cloture vote was taken in the Senate on the four-year extension and it passed by a vote of [bold]74-8[/bold]. The law that was once the symbolic shorthand for evil Bush/Cheney post-9/11 radicalism just received a vote in favor of its four-year, reform-free extension by a vote of 74-8: only resolutions to support Israel command more lopsided majorities.%0D %0D As I've noted several times, I once thought that the greatest American political myth was "The Liberal Media," but I realized some time ago that it's actually the claim that "there is very little bipartisanship." Washington is driven by overwhelming amounts of bipartisanship, as today's vote (and the Reid/McConnell agreement that preceded it) yet again demonstrates. The 8 Senators voting against cloture were Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democrats Jeff Merkley, Mark Begich, Max Baucus, and John Tester, and GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, and Dean Heller (GOP Sen. Mike Lee announced he'd vote NO but missed the vote due to inclement weather). Sen. Paul, along with Sen. Tester, took the lead in speaking out against the excesses and abuses of the Patriot Act and the vital need for reforms.%0D %0D But what's most notable isn't the vote itself, but the comments made afterward. Sen. Paul announced that he was considering using delaying tactics to hold up passage of the bill in order to extract some reforms (including ones he is co-sponsoring with the Democrats' Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Leahy, who -- despite voicing "concerns" about the bill -- voted for cloture). Paul's announcement of his delaying intentions provoked this fear-mongering, Terrorism-exploiting, bullying threat from the Democrats' Senate Intelligence Committee Chair, Dianne Feinstein:%0D %0D [quote]"I think it would be a huge mistake," Feinstein told reporters. "If somebody wants to take on their shoulders not having provisions in place which are necessary to protect the United States at this time, that%E2%80%99s a big, big weight to bear."%0D %0D In other words: [italic]Paul and the other dissenting Senators better give up their objections and submit to quick Patriot Act passage or else they'll have blood on their hands from the Terrorist attack they will cause.[/italic] That, of course, was the classic Bush/Cheney tactic for years to pressure Democrats into supporting every civil-liberties-destroying measure the Bush White House demanded (including, of course, the original Patriot Act itself), and now we have the Democrats -- ensconced in power -- using it just as brazenly and shamelessly (recall how Bush's DNI, Michael McConnell, warned Congressional Democrats in 2007 that unless they quickly passed without changes the new FISA bill the Bush White House was demanding, a Terrorist attack would likely occur at the Congress in a matter of "days, not weeks"; McConnell then told [italic]The New Yorker[/italic]: "If we don%E2%80%99t update FISA, the nation is significantly at risk"). Feinstein learned well.%0D %0D %0D

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/05/23/bipartisanship/index.html



• Meanwhile, Electronic Frontier Foundation -- the organization that heroically sued over and over to stop Bush/Cheney excesses to the cheers of progressives -- is tonight praising Rand Paul "for defending 4th Amendment rights in Patriot Act debate." A similar dynamic occurred several months ago when newly elected conservative House members (including some from the Tea Party caucus) joined with the most liberal Democrats to temporarily block quick passage of the Patriot Act extension on privacy and civil liberties grounds.%0D %0D So when they were out of power, the Democrats reviled the Patriot Act and constantly complained about fear-mongering tactics and exploitation of the Terrorist threat being used to stifle civil liberties and privacy concerns. Now that they're in power and a Democratic administration is arguing for extension of the Patriot Act, they use fear-mongering tactics and exploitation of the Terrorist threat to stifle civil liberties and privacy concerns ("If somebody wants to take on their shoulders not having provisions in place which are necessary to protect the United States at this time, that's a big, big weight to bear," warned Feinstein). And they're joined in those efforts by the vast majority of the GOP caucus. Remember, though: there is no bipartisanship in Washington, the parties are constantly at each other's throats, and they don't agree on anything significant, and thus can't get anything done. If only that were true. %0D %0D * * * * *%0D %0D Is it not so very inspiring how the death of Osama bin Laden has enabled the country to take a respite from its fear-driven assault on civil liberties in the name of Terrorism?%0D %0D

• [italic]Here is a link to the list of the vote...........[/italic]

  http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00075

• Depressing. I really have no hope for the future.

• I happened to watch "The End of America" last night and thought this was all over what with the end of the Bush era. Obviously, I was wrong.%0D\ %0D

  http://endofamericamovie.com/

• It is really disheartening. This is the reality of the current state of politics. Pathetic.

• This is why I always mock the people who say that the Democrats are sooooooo much better than the Republicans. There''s not a goddamn bit of difference between the two parties on any issue of substance.

  RPT

• [italic]Actions[/italic] speak louder than words, R6. Socially, the Republicans are the ones who take action toward fucking over people''s on social politics. But for other policies -- like national security and economics -- not too much difference between them.

• T

• No government gives back powers once it has seized them.

• Dwight Eisenhower's 1961 warning:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DnUXtyIQjubU

  2012%20Poll%20Troll

• No Action

  http://www.rall.com/rallblog/2012/06/04/no-action

• Shocking.

• The fact that REAL liberals hate Obama and his policies drives people crazy.

• Has Obama repealed this yet?

• Is he waiting until after the inauguration to repeal this?

• I thought repeal of the PATRIOT Act and ending the wars was one of the reasons 0bama was elected? Instead he expands them, and we are silent? Sick. Sad. No wonder the average person distrusts the government.

• Why aren't socialists upset with Obama for not repealing the Patriot Act? If he had an (R) by his name you would be screaming for his head.

• Unless you're doing something wrong it's no big deal.

• So, R18, the Jews were wrong for being born Jewish? The gays were wrong for being born gay? The blacks were wrong for being born black? Hateful, ignorant, racist fuckers like you need to see what it's like to be targeted by the government.

• I do so love the difference between this comment [quote]Unless you're doing something wrong it's no big deal. and this response: [quote]Hateful, ignorant, racist fuckers like you need to see what it's like to be targeted by the government. This is some seriously hilarious shit. Thanks for the laugh, R19.

• Has Obama repealed this shit yet?

• [quote]So, [R18], the Jews were wrong for being born Jewish? Liz Taylor was born Jewish?

• R20- Do you care to explain? Or are you just too stupid to see the connection? Fucktard was invented for people like you.

• People, what you have to realise is that nothing is temporary. When you look at how politicians and the gov't exploited the events of 9/11, supposedly creating and rushing through this legislation within 6 weeks - 6 weeks! This was planned, a planned consumption of our civil rights and privacy that made all of us criminals before the act of anything happening. And it was said it was temporary, for our protection. Same with the economic meltdown - a grab by corporations of 100s of billions of dollars of our money because otherwise disaster would strike - and we're the only ones who have felt the pain, without any corporations or institutions facing any criminal charges while they use our money to pay lobbyists to fight reform. The clock does not go back. Things do not return to normal. This is the way things are now. Always be wary of someone who is causing you pain and claims it is for your own good.

• R24- That's why secessionist movements are growing. DC must be stopped. It is evil.