At least they can agree on one damned thing. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are normally worlds apart on everything, even the type of cups to be used in the congressional cafeteria, for Gods sake. But theres one thing they can agree on: The federal government should continue to have the power to spy on anyone in America for any reason, at any time. To celebrate their joint custody of fascistic priorities, Boehner and Reid have agreed to a four-year extension of the controversial Patriot Act, the intrusive law enacted during the national post-Sept.11 panic attack. Here is the key sentence in the Associated Press story on the agreement: The idea is to pass the extension with as little debate as possible to avoid a protracted and familiar argument over the expanded power the law gives to the government.
Yeah, I bet they want to avoid that argument, because once you publicly explain to citizens whats included in the Patriot Act, theyre usually either horrified or they think youre joking. It will be interesting to see if the two congressional leaders can sneak the Acts extension through. Its well known that many of the new GOP members of Congress want to cut back on the Patriot Acts designated federal powers; and its no secret that many progressive Democrats want to do the same thing. It will be interesting to see how strong these congress members love of individual freedom and civil liberties really are. Enough to bring together Tea Party libertarians and the more liberal-leaning Democrats in a strange bedfellows coalition? That would be sweet and, if pursued, could lead to other interesting Tea Party/Progressive coalitions, including getting us the hell out of Iraq and Afghanistan. I wouldnt hold my breath waiting for it to happen, but, as Brian Wilson once said, wouldnt it be nice?
Showing 1-2 of 2