As if Burns needs any more problems, Schweitzer is using some of his considerable political capital to
hammer him on the Patriot Act.
Montana's governor is pushing Republican Sen. Conrad Burns to oppose renewing the Patriot Act, saying the measure intended to help in the war on terror goes against what the vast majority of Montanans believe.
"Montana values are not neighbors spying on neighbors," Schweitzer, a Democrat, said Wednesday.
Burns, however, said he supports the act and indicated he expects to vote for renewing it.
The Patriot Act, passed in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was intended to give law enforcement more tools in tracking down terror suspects. Some of the most contentious parts of the act include allowing police agencies to secretly get access to library and medical records and other personal data during investigations of suspected terrorist activity.
Schweitzer said contempt for the act is widespread in Montana. The 2005 Legislature overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing parts of the act as an invasion of privacy, and a number of cities and counties across the state have passed similar resolutions -- some of which call for prohibiting local officers from helping enforce provisions of the act [...]
"This is going to be tough for him, because I understand the president wants him to vote another way," said Schweitzer, the first Democrat to be elected governor in the state in 20 years. "But he is not the senator from Texas, he is the senator from Montana."
Burns is already battling ethics charges as the largest recipient of Abramoff largess. Schweitzer already plans to shine a bright light on ethics in the 2006 elections with a ballot initiative targetting lobbyists in Montana.