As my sigline reads, "in politics, sometimes the jackasses are on your side." That's my snarky way of reminding that no matter what your views, you'll eventually find allies on the other side of the aisle.
That is certainly true of the Patriot Act, portions of which are due to "sunset" at the end of this year: in other words, they automatically expire unless renewed by Congress.
President Bush has repeatedly called on lawmakers to make the provisions permanent, telling Congress in his 2004 State of the Union Address, "Key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire next year. The terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule." (How long did it take Michael Gerson to come up with that zinger?)
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with number of other organizations associated with liberal causes, want Congress to modify, if not repeal, portions of the Patriot Act.
Now they have company.
An organization called
Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances has been formed to push for reform of the Act. Its members include:
- Former Congressman Bob Barr, who chairs the organization;
- Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform;
- David Keene, the head of the American Conservative Union;
- Paul Weyrich, the CEO of the Free Congress Foundation; and
- Larry Pratt, executive director of the Gun Owners of America.
On Tuesday, leaders of the organization wrote
a letter to President Bush asking him to reconsider his unqualified endorsement of three controversial Patriot Act provisions: §213, which authorizes "sneak and peek" searches; §215, which authorizes searches of "business records," a category so broadly defined that it includes those of libraries and doctor's offices; and §802, the expansive definition of "domestic terrorism."
Their letter also reminds the President:
The emergence of international terrorism on our shores cannot be allowed to dissolve the carefully constructed structural foundations for preserving our liberty that are required by the Constitution, that very document our soldiers have sacrificed and continued to sacrifice their lives to protect.
So the split within the Republican Party between its authoritarian and conservative wings widens. It's a long way from tearing the GOP apart--the prospect of Hilary Rodham Clinton in the Oval Office will keep the coalition together in the short term--but it provides both an example and an opportunity.
Groups within the Republican Party, who normally would have little to do with one other, have formed ad-hoc coalitions on issues such as school vouchers and tax reduction. Democrats can--and should--learn from that strategy.
As for opportunity, perhaps the Democratic party can expand by appealing to small-"l" libertarians.
Forty years ago, the GOP started wooing Southerners by endorsing states' rights and limited government. George W. Bush has left both of those issues on the table. They're there for the taking. The question is whether we want them.