Bush Draws Terrorism Law Into Campaign By ADAM NAGOURNEY, NYTimes
”Those who criticize the Patriot Act must listen to those folks on the front line of defending America,” Mr. Bush said with a glance at the police chief from the nearby town of Amherst, sitting crisply in his uniform two stools away. ”The Patriot Act defends our liberty, is what it does, under the Constitution of the United States.” [mjh: Lies Are Truth, War Is Peace!]
This was the third time in just four days that Mr. Bush had publicly invoked the USA Patriot Act. And it reflected what aides said would be systematic references to it in his speeches and television advertisements through Election Day, as this signature statute of his administration becomes a crucial part of his campaign strategy. …
There are even reservations within Mr. Bush’s own party about some provisions, which, conservatives maintain, invite government abuse. …
Not coincidentally, Mr. Bush has wrapped himself in the Patriot Act at the very time that his own credentials as a terrorism-fighter have been under challenge….
Politics and the Patriot Act, NYTimes Editorial
President Bush campaigned in Buffalo yesterday, wrapping himself in the Patriot Act and urging Congress to extend parts of the law that do not expire until the end of next year. The Patriot Act has always been a tempting bit of election-year politics, an easy way to seem tough on terrorism. But it also is bad law, and the president should be heeding calls from conservatives and liberals to remove provisions that trample on civil liberties.
The Patriot Act sailed through Congress just weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, in a climate, and bearing a name, that made it difficult to raise questions. Instead of conducting a serious investigation of the law enforcement flaws that made the nation vulnerable, its drafters came up with a rushed checklist of increased police powers, many of dubious value in fighting terrorism.
Among the most troubling provisions is Section 215, which allows the F.B.I. to order libraries, hospitals and others with personal records to hand over such information about individuals. People like librarians can be jailed if they refuse, or if they notify the targets. Another authorizes ”sneak and peek” searches, in which the government can secretly search people’s homes and delay telling them about the intrusions. As troubling as specific provisions like these is the ”mission creep” that has inevitably occurred. Mr. Bush’s own Justice Department told Congress last fall that the act’s loosened restrictions on government surveillance were regularly being used in nonterrorism cases, like drug trafficking and white-collar crime. …
It is not hard to see the attraction of making a political issue out of the Patriot Act, with an independent commission raising questions about the administration’s vigilance before 9/11. But Mr. Bush’s sweeping praise for the act sidesteps the real debate. Members of Congress from both parties, including conservatives like Senator Larry Craig, the Idaho Republican, and Congressman Don Young, the Alaska Republican, have expressed concern about features of the act, like the expanded search powers, that could harm civil liberties.
With more than a year and a half before central provisions of the act are due to expire, even its supporters do not need to rush to reauthorize it. It would be more productive for Mr. Bush and Congress to spend the time finding ways to fight terrorism that do not take away important liberties.
The Patriot Act was thrown together in a rush without any congressional review. It is very suspicious how quickly it was put together and passed, as if large pieces had been sitting on the shelf for months or years before. Now, long before parts of the act expire (a provision used to persuade a few doubters to pass it), Bush is making it a campaign issue and doing everything to discourage discussion or consideration. mjh
There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. — James Madison
[Thanks, NewMexiKen!]