By filibuster, with five Republicans voting on the civil liberties side. Here’s some quotes from the cloture debate, which was heavily flavored by today’s NYT story of massive illegal spying:
“I don’t want to hear again from the attorney general or anyone on this floor that this government has shown it can be trusted to use the power we give it with restraint and care,” said Feingold, the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act in 2001.
“It is time to have some checks and balances in this country,” shouted Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. “We are more American for doing that.”
Leave a Reply