The politics of the Patriot Act, once again the Dems blew it

[Hippo_Tron]

It's amazing how these people are convinced that not showing spine and caving in on every issue is good politics. How wrong they are.

If you take a poll, most Americans will tell you that they support the Patriot Act. Of course it's pretty apparent that if several members of congress haven't read the Patriot Act, most of the people being polled haven't either. Most of the people being polled don't know what is in this act. I think that there are several provisions that the Democrats could have gotten removed from the act had they decided to hold it up. Regardless though, there is one provision of the act that would have absolutely made great politics if we had decided to oppose it. Yup, it's the infamous library provision.

Democrats needed to only do two things. Filibuster the Patriot Act demanding that the library provision be removed (and also possibly other provisions, this can be argued) and have the DNC start running ads about big brother looking at your library records.

For those of you who think that this will backfire I will remind you that this strategy is straight out of President Clinton's playbook. Clinton won the budget shutdown because he refused to sign the budget bill until Gingrich would back off of medicare, framing the issue as Gingrich being against poor senior citizens (which happened to be true). This is how Clinton beat Gingrich, this is how Clinton won re-election, and to a certain extent this is how Clinton survived monica-gate.

Democrats blew a perfectly good opportunity to make the Republicans look like asses and create a great campaign issue for November. An especially good opportunity considering that Bush already looks like one from the NSA spying thing, the Dubai port deal, and 34% approval ratings.

But hey if we want to remain permanently in the minority, we can fail to show any spine whatsoever and just agree with the Republicans most of the key issues. Then all that is left is who has more money and a better organization and I hate to break it to everyone, but it ain't the Democrats.

[BillZBubb]

1. It's pretty depressing.

Our side blows it on issue after issue. I'm afraid our representatives are really conservatives at heart--in that they are afraid to take "risks". They keep trying to play it safe, when in fact they are playing to lose.

[Hippo_Tron]

2. kick

[IndianaGreen]

3. Our Founding Fathers would be ashamed of today's politicians

and the easy way in which they pissed away our hard-won freedoms.

The late, great American republic went out with a whimper!

[Jim Sagle]

4. They lose because corporate cash pays them to lose. Losing is their job.

[ReadTomPaine]

5. Give than man...

a cigar.

[sandnsea]

6. They fixed the library provision

Only libraries that are actual internet service providers are subject to subpoenas and they are no longer subject to the National Security Letters.

So much for people who knowing what is actually in the act.

[Hippo_Tron]

7. What is a library that is an actual internet service provider?

Is that a library with a computer that has access to the internet? Doesn't that include like every library these days?

[sandnsea]

8. It is specifically NOT that

That was specifically addressed, the FBI has to serve subpoenas on the library's service provider, NOT the library. Unless the library actually IS the service provider, I imagine like my bank and credit union offer internet access, some libraries do too, maybe even just for employees. In any event, the library privisions were fixed.

[Hippo_Tron]

9. I've read otherwise, but I'll look it up