Thank you, Senator Feingold!

Extension of Patriot Act Faces Threat of Filibuster

From the New York Times:

"WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 - A tentative deal to extend the government's antiterrorism powers under the law known as the USA Patriot Act appeared in some jeopardy Thursday, as Senate Democrats threatened to mount a filibuster in an effort to block the legislation."

""This is worth the fight," Senator Russell D. Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who serves on the Judiciary Committee, said in an interview."

""I've cleared my schedule right up to Thanksgiving," Mr. Feingold said, adding that he was making plans to read aloud from the Bill of Rights as part of a filibuster if necessary."

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Thank you to you Democrats who are finally standing up. After almost five years of being railroaded by a Republican House, Senate, and White House, the only bipartisanship that interests me right now is this kind.

Patriot Act Update

by Senator Russ Feingold (via Daily Kos)

"I'm pleased to announce that early this afternoon, Senate leaders threw in the towel on their plan to jam a Patriot Act reauthorization bill through the Senate before Thanksgiving. Bipartisan resistance to the tentative agreement reached by conference committee Republicans stopped them in their tracks. We will come back in December and have a real debate on the Patriot Act, and in the meantime, we can keep up pressure on the conferees to move closer to the unanimously supported Senate bill from this summer. "

"Your support in this effort was crucial. In the past 36 hours, I've had conversations with dozens of Senators that led me to believe that we would have won a vote to block the bill if it had come up. They were obviously hearing from back home that there was no need to act in haste."

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The Democrats are showing some backbone and it's finally beginning to look like there are two parties in Congress again. Please, no more Republican-lite Democrats!