HYPOCRITES Leahy and Frist !! (read)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, demanding increased protection of civil liberties, defied
President George W. Bush on Friday and blocked legislation to renew the USA Patriot Act, a centerpiece of his war on terrorism.
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On a Senate vote of 52-47, mostly Republican backers of the measure fell eight short of the needed 60 to end debate and move to passage of it.

Proponents of the legislation warned that much of sweeping anti-terror law was to expire at the end of the month, and if it did, the nation could be placed at increased risk.

"We have a clear choice before us today: Do we advance against terrorism to make America safer or do we retreat," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said shortly before the vote.

Senate Democratic and Republican foes of the proposed renewal said the law could be swiftly reauthorized if lawmakers agreed to better balance national security with civil liberties.

"None of us wants it to expire, and those who threaten to let it expire rather than fix it are playing a dangerous game," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), a Vermont Democrat.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051216/pl_nm/security_patriot_dc

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Then read this:

http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00358

Frist (R-TN), Nay
Leahy (D-VT), Nay

issues that they don't like. Frist and Co turned it down - shows the ReThugs want to play political games with our security.

http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/05/12/20051216.html



What they are looking for is not that the Patriot Act disappears, but that the Senate version, that was voted unanimously and is a lot better, is passed.

The act was, what, 1,400 pages long? There is a lot of decent stuff in there, and a lot of stuff that DOES make America safer.

The Senate offered a compromise renewal that did indeed re-authorize these good parts without the bad.

The Republicans in the conference committee, and the White House, did NOT want that compromise. They want it all, and rather than accept the compromise, they tried to ram the other thing through and got blocked.

I believe Leahy was referring to the REPUBLICANS' refusal to fix things, not to the DEMOCRATS' threatened filibuster.

so he could move to recommit, which he has already done. At some point in the future, if he thinks he can break the filibuster or if a compromise is reached, he can move for another vote.

I dont get it.

... he can't ask for cloture again if the bill is re-presented?

As for Leahy, many Democrats (and that would include Feingold and Durbin) offered a 3 month-extension so that they can negotiate the renewal of the Act.

Do we believe anything that comes out of the mouth of a man under investigation for stock fraud, or don't we?

Note to Repugs: I know the list is getting narrower every day, but you might find someone in your party who is NOT under investigation or indictment to do your propaganda work.

for his gaffe about Strom Thurmond ... ?

dp